FC Krasnodar 1-1 (1-0) FC Amkar Perm
Goals: Claesson, 25 (Pereyra, 1-0), Gashchenkov, 76 (1-1).
FC Krasnodar: Safonov, Yanbayev, Granqvist, Martynovich, Ristić, Kaboré (Shishkin, 61) Gazinskiy, Pereyra, Joãozinho (Wanderson, 77), Claesson, Ignatyev (Mamayev, 46).
FC Amkar Perm: Nigmatullin, Sivakow, Zaytsev, Miljković, Zanev, Condé, Balanovich (Gol, 73), Idowu, Ryazantsev (Gashchenkov, 46), Komolov (Kostyukov, 46), Bodul.
Yellow cards: Kostyukov, 83 (attack breakdown), Nigmatullin, 90+1 (unsporting behaviour).
Referees: Galimov (Ulan-Ude), Lebedev, Kudryavtsev (both Saint Petersburg).
13 August 2017. Krasnodar. FC Krasnodar Stadium. Clear. 33 degrees. 17 367 spectators.
Two matchdays were held in the Russian Football Championship this week, so one would expect all of the teams to be more or less in the same condition. And yet, the way the RFPL fixture schedule was composed, FC Amkar Perm had had almost six days to recover and prepare for the MD 6, and the fact that the Perm team doesn’t play in the UEFA Cups made things easier for them. With the Bulls defending the honor of our country in the UEFA Europa League there were less than three days for them in between the two games on Thursday and Sunday. Under the circumstances like these FC Krasnodar boss Igor Shalimov was forced to use active rotation in the squad again. For this reason five players, who had stayed in reserve in the most recent game won in Grozny, made an early appearance tonight in a clash with FC Amkar. Alterations were done to the flanks, both in attack and defense. Petrov and Mamayev on the right were replaced by Yanbayev and Joãozinho, while Ristić and Claesson did the same for Ramírez and Wanderson on the left.
Another unexpected rearrangement took place between the sticks. The main goalkeeper Sinitsyn had fallen sick the night before with high temperature, so the gifted 18-year-old Safonov received a chance to make his debut in the first team after proving his worth just fine performing for the FC Krasnodar youth team. Since Ignatyev (one can remember him scoring a winning goal against FC Akhmat on Thursday) was placed at the spearhead of the black-green attacks tonight, it has become the first time for the two players of the Club Youth Academy to be fielded simultaneously in the starting eleven for the Russian Premier League match.
The flow of events on pitch was rather habitual for spectators once the game began. Well, same thing can be observed in the ninety percent of the matches FC Krasnodar plays at home. Almost all of the visiting players retreated to their own goal repelling the attacks launched by the Bulls and looking forward for a chance to strike back with a counterattack. If Joãozinho were to score from a free kick early on the 3rd minute, it might have become easier for the black-greens, but unfortunately for them the ball shot from 25 meters was parried by the FC Amkar keeper Nigmatullin in a splendid dive. The next scoring chance of the game took place mid through the first half when a shot was taken against FC Krasnodar goal. Gazinskiy presented an opponent with the ball in a harmless situation next to the Krasnodar penalty area, so Safonov had to enter the game after an attempt by Balanovich.
Soon after that the Krasnodar players finally managed to convert their huge territorial advantaged into an opener. Viktor Claesson took a not-so-good header from a decent position at first, but his second try was better as he fired a skillful shot with his right foot from the 18-yard line next to an Amkar player. Nigmatullin had no chance to observe the moment the shot was taken, so he was unable to react to this one and the ball found its way into the first corner of his domain.
With this goal scored FC Amkar immediately switched to playing more aggressively in attack. It was time now for more open football with both teams having equal chances for success. Balanovich of the Perm team could have scored an equalizer almost right away, but he missed at short range. FC Krasnodar Ignatyev was very close to improve the lead soon afterwards, but the goalie of the away team was able to leave his goal area in time and block the shot. The spectators in the stands were not bored at all, since multiple shots were taken on goal before the half-time. Those were not accurate enough, so the score did not undergo any change.
Both teams entered the pitch for the second half with some substitutions done to their lineups. Kostyukov and Gashchenkov came in for the visitors, while Mamayev replaced Ignatyev with the Bulls making Claesson move to the centre-forward’s position. As time went by, it became more and more apparent the black-greens were losing their momentum like a car with its tires gone flat.
The attacks of the fresh Perm players have become more persistent, and with an hour of the game played the chances next to Safonov’s goal began popping up all over. The home team was lucky for a while, as the shots taken by FC Amkar players kept missing their target. The crowd in the stands did their best to cheer their favorite team up. Chants were sung, stadium waves were launched, phone lights were turned on, but it was all for nothing. FC Krasnodar attacking performance went amiss, and the amount of unnecessary ball losses went off scale. Claesson could have scored his second goal on the 73rd minute after Ristić had made a break-through towards the end-line providing him with the ball. The Swede missed with his shot however, and the payback for this wasted opportunity was ready to come. A fight for the high ball inside the Krasnodar penalty area made it drop to Mikhail Gashchenkov who took a shot past Safonov.
FC Krasnodar found some untapped energy to rush forward, so the game was concluded in unceasing attacks on behalf of the home team. The Permyaki defended confidently though and killed time when needed. The Bulls failed to produce yet another trick with scoring a goal at the death, and for this reason they had to suffice with the second consecutive tie at home that was definitely not part of their plan.
