SOGAZ Russian Football Championship 2015/16. MD 1. FC Amkar (Perm) – FC Krasnodar – 0:1
FC Amkar (Perm) – FC Krasnodar – 0:1 (0:0)
Goal: Petrov, 84 (Torbinski).
FC Amkar (Perm): Gerus, Butko, Cherenchikov, Belorukov, Zanev, Gol, Ogude, Idowu (Kurzenyov, 90+1), Balanovich (Komolov, 81), Peev (Salugin, 63), Prudnikov.
FC Krasnodar: Dykan, Jędrzejczyk (Kaleshin, 82), Granqvist, Sigurðsson, Petrov, Gazinskiy, Ahmedov (Laborde, 61), Pereyra (Torbinski. 75), Mamayev, Smolov, Ari.
Yellow cards: Prudnikov, 9 (cheating) – Gazinskiy, 13 (unsporting behaviour), Jędrzejczyk, 22 (unsporting behaviour), Mamayev, 72 (unsporting behaviour), Laborde, 73 (foul play).
Red cards: Prudnikov, 13 (2nd yellow card, unsporting behaviour) – Gazinskiy, 71 (2nd yellow card, attack breakdown).
Referees: Matyunin, Cheltsov, Bolotenkov (all Moscow).
20 July. Perm. Zvezda Stadium. Cloudy. 19 degrees. 10 000 spectators.
The championship schedule willed that FC Krasnodar was to open a new season on the artificial turf of the Zvezda Stadium in Perm. The starting lineup FC Krasnodar boss Oleg Kononov fielded for the game vs. FC Amkar was a rather expected one. His vis-à-vis from the Perm club, Gadzhi Gadzhiyev, did not surprise anyone with his first eleven, too, so all the best players of the both teams made a start in the game.
The playing advantage of the black-greens became felt very soon, and while shots by Ari and Ahmedov turned out to be more ranging than accurate, Smolov, to the contrary, had a real scoring chance on the 12th minute with his shot from within the box, but he hit the keeper with the ball instead. Immediately after that the Perm team was suddenly left at a numerical disadvantage. Prudnikov, who had been booked before for an obvious cheating, got engaged into an unnecessary quarrel with Gazinskiy. Both of them received a yellow card for their troubles, but the card given to the Amkar player immediately turned into a red one.
With a player of the home team sent off the flow of the game was predetermined for the next hour. Virtually all of FC Amkar fell back towards their own goal giving the Bulls hard time in breaking through their deep defensive lines. Krasnodar players had an enormous advantage in ball possession, but they were not able to produce many good chances next to the goal guarded by Gerus. Smolov was probably the one who came closest to scoring twice before the half-time. On the 34th minute he bent the ball skillfully sending it next to the goalpost. Four minutes later, when the home team lost the ball after launching an occasional massive attack of theirs, FC Krasnodar retaliated with a counter. After a calculated pass by Ari Smolov made a sure shot on goal, but the ball’s path into the net was blocked by the arm of FC Amkar’s Butko the right back sprawling on the ground. Alas, Matyunin the ref made no gesture towards the penalty spot calling for a corner kick instead.
In the second half the nature of the game did not undergo any serious change for quite a while. Krasnodar players kept on besieging methodically Fortress Amkar which looked rather impregnable. Smolov tested his luck with the shots from afar, but Gerus displayed a very reliable performance in the net. Then on the 71st minute the number of the players in each team became equal. Gazinskiy grabbed Salugin by his shirt, and the first thing he saw as a result was a red card that made up for his Birthday present from the referee.
The Perm players livened up immediately, so the ending of the game saw both teams in mutual attacks, but it actually played into the hands of the visitors. Gaps started to appear in FC Amkar’s defense, so on the 80th minute Laborde made a splendid burst into one of those with Gerus making no blunder in close combat. Anyway, four minutes later the keeper of the home team was forced to surrender after he had been taken by surprise with a crafty shot from afar by Sergei Petrov.
Keeping the score in the time that remained was no hardship for the Bulls, so the full-time whistle recorded the first win of the squad led by Oleg Kononov in the new Russian Football Championship, not a easy win but still a well-deserved one.
