A Win with Aces Still up the Sleeve

FC Krasnodar – FC Anzhi (Makhachkala) – 2:0 (1:0)

Goals: Joãozinho, 35, from penalty kick, Martynovich, 74 (Adzhindzhal, 2:0).

FC Krasnodar: Dykan (Sinitsyn, 46), Kaleshin (Petrov, 46), Granqvist (Martynovich, 60), Sigurðsson, Joãozinho, Gazinskiy (Adzhindzhal, 68), Izmailov (Akhmedov, 46), Shirokov (Lanin, 87), Pereyra (Wánderson, 46), Mamayev (Batyutin, 87), Ari (Bystrov, 60).

FC Anzhi (Makhachkala): M. Kerzhakov, Aravin, Gadzhibekov, Zotov, Leonardo (Miroshnichenko, 46), Aydov, Chirkin (Komkov, 46), Kontsedalov, Moutari (Mitrishev, 83), Maksimov, Boli.

Yellow cards: Ari, 45 (unsporting behavior), Mamayev, 56 (foul play) – Aydov, 68 (attack breakdown), Aravin, 89 (attack breakdown).

Referees: Krug, Gidrevich, Yutsevich (all Belarus).

26 February. Turkey. Belek. Titanic hotel sports centre. Clear. 14 degrees. 500 spectators.

The clash with their well-familiar FC Anzhi became the second to last sparring for FC Krasnodar during the winter training period. This match led to an increased interest on the part of the football beau monde, and the only stand of the Titanic sports centre main pitch in Belek could boast gathering several hundred spectators, some very concerned persons among them. In particular, the head coaches of FC Ural Yekaterinburg and FC Mordovia Saransk, Alexander Tarkhanov and Yiru Semin, attended this game, since their teams are facing fixtures vs. FC Krasnodar very soon in the Russian championship, so these most experienced specialists would not miss a chance to watch their future opponent live, so to say.

It should be noted that FC Krasnodar boss Oleg Kononov kept most of the aces up his sleeve for this match, although the squad that made a start in the game was perhaps the most optimal one for the Bulls nowadays. The black-greens achieved a victory of the kind that is said to happen when a superior team meets a weaker opponent.

FC Anzhi made a rather vigorous and attacking start in the game. One shouldn’t forget though that Sergei Tashuyev’s teams always display this attack-oriented football, and FC Krasnodar was also a prominent example of such an approach when it was led by the present coach of Makhachkala team. The club representing the Russian Football National League (FNL) launched a brave assault, but the black-green defense was confident in taking to its duties. As for the Bulls, they did not rush with showing their best from the very beginning, but by the 10^th minute their playing advantage started to become gradually apparent, and then a first dangerous episode occurred next to the Makhachkala’s goal. Mamayev infiltrated the “yellow” box making a low cross almost from the byline. The ball rolled a meter away from the goal, but there was no one with FC Krasnodar who could provide a finishing touch.

FC Krasnodar attacks were not too swift but rather persistent, and they kept coming in waves against the goal of the Dagestan team, so on the 16^th minute FC Anzhi keeper, Mikhail Kerzhakov, got involved in the game in earnest for the very first time soaring into the air and taking the ball out from under the crossbar after it was sent there 25 meters away with a sling a.k.a. Joãozinho’s left foot. Precisely in the middle of the first half, after a trademark penetrating pass by Shirokov, Ari tried to one-touch the ball into the net, but the Makhachkala goalie once again did not blunder and warded off the threat. A few minutes later Pereyra’s shot hit Mamayev, his clubmate, but it made a poor rebound and Pavel failed with a short distance shot on goal. 4 more minutes passed, and it was Pereyra again who sent Ari with a vertical pass to a rendezvous with Kerzhakov. The keeper managed to touch the ball that the striker of FC Krasnodar was throwing over him, and then FC Anzhi captain, Gadzhibekov, arrived in time and cleared the ball far and away.

Nevertheless, on the 35^th minute the quantity of the black-green attacks and scoring chances turned into a quality in terms of an opener. Kaleshin responded to a pass by Ari and burst into FC Anzhi’s penalty area on the right to be knocked down with some inaccurate sliding tackle by Aravin who failed to reach the ball. Assistant ref observed everything perfectly, so he immediately reported to his boss about the committed foul with the latter pointing at the penalty spot. Joãozinho approached it and produced a powerful high shot. 1:0!

Two minutes later the only time in the first half occurred when FC Krasnodar keeper Andrei Dykan showed his worth parrying with his fists an unexpected shot by Kontsedalov from the corner of the box. On the 41^st minute it was Maksimov of FC Anzhi who now laid the claims for a penalty kick, but his slow and pictorial fall did not impress the Belarusian referee, so nothing changed in the score and the teams took to their dressing-rooms for a half-time interval.

A few subs made by the head coaches of both teams during the 15-minute break between the first and the second halves did not result in a great change of the game’s character. The black-greens kept dominating the pitch even though they did not force the events too far.  Wánderson could have doubled the score on the 54^th minute during a sweeping counterattack, but having received a useful pass from Akhmedov he made a shot directly above the keeper, so the latter saved his team. 3 minutes later Wánderson made a personal assist to Mamayev after making a drill cross from the right, but Kerzahkov was alert once again.

Makhachkala team created a threat of their own on the 61^st minute; however Komkov attempting to finish a sweeping combination failed with his shot and missed the target. The game was done when on the 74^th minute Krasnodar players executed a corner kick. Aleksandr Khatskevich, the Head Coach of Belarus national team, and his assistant coach Aleksandr Kulchy, an ex-player of the Bulls, were also present at this match and they were certainly pleased with their national team player Aleksandr Martynovich who scored this goal. The centre back of FC Krasnodar arrived into the opposition’s penalty area, made a high jump and plunged the ball with a header under the crossbar of Kerzhakov’s domain after a super accurate cross by Adzhindzhal.

Both teams were seen attacking in the time that remained, but the black-greens performed in a more dangerous way. On the 80^th minute Wánderson was close to scoring a third goal after another corner kick; he was first on the ball after it was served by Joãozinho and sent it flying next to the top corner of the net. About 4 minutes before the full time it was Mamayev’s turn to miss the target and he failed due to the ball rebounding from some of the opposition players.

2:0 as a result, and FC Krasnodar beat the FNL leader without particular effort going as far as keeping its potential hidden from the observing parties from other Russian Premier League clubs. So now in three days, on 1 March, Oleg Kononov’s squad is facing the final sparring of the winter training camps, a clash vs. the silver medalist of Kazakh football championship, FC Aktobe.