Tuesday, November 26, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 17 Recap: Moscow derbies tighten title chase

Back to back Moscow derbies allowed Lokomotiv to close the gap between themselves and Zenit to goals scored, sitting level with the St Petersburg side on both points and goal difference. Meanwhile, CSKA's win over Spartak allowed them to pull level on points with their rivals, but remaining in fourth place due to their inferior goal difference.

football formationsZenit 0-2 Rostov
Zenit were stunned by two first half goals from Vitali Djakov and Timofei Kalachev, forcing them into action at the half as Luciano Spalletti made two subs in an effort to get back into the match. On the other hand, Miodrag Bozovic's side sat deep to hold their lead and was able to maintain it until the final whistle to take an incredible result away from home.

Tom 0-1 Rubin
An uninteresting first half was followed by an exciting and combative second period, in which Tom Tomsk's Pavel Golyshev was sent off and Rubin were issued six yellow cards. It was Sergei Kislyak who ultimately got the winner, however the visitors would likely have expected more goals given their utter dominance.

Amkar 3-1 Kuban
Kuban took the lead just before the half hour mark and then proceeded to sit back and park the bus for the remainder of the match. Initially, it appeared to work, however Amkar rallied in the final quarter of an hour, scoring three times to take the win and continue their excellent season.

CSKA 1-0 Spartak
Spartak controlled possession throughout the match while CSKA countered strongly, yet ultimately it was a joint error from Artem Rebrov and Evgenni Makeev that allowed Seydou Doumbia to score the winner in only the 7th minute.

Lokomotiv 1-0 Dynamo
On the other hand, the weekend's second Moscow derby was even throughout as the two teams battled for the three points. It was Dame N'Doye who gave Lokomotiv the lead halfway through the second half, but Dynamo looked likely to equalise for much of the rest of the match, with only Loko's excellent defence holding onto the win.

Ural 1-1 Krylia
Denis Tumasyan scored first for the hosts, but his efforts were undermined by Aleksandr Erokhin, who got sent off just after half time, allowing Krylia to completely dominate the match. However, their attempts came to nothing until very late on, when Luis Caballero's late equaliser salvaged a result for the visitors.

Anzhi 0-0 Volga
This match was very boring and very ugly. Anzhi are still terrible.

Krasnodar 3-2 Terek
Krasnodar took the spoils in a back and forth match that could very easily have gone Terek's way. The hosts first went ahead via a Marcin Komorowski own goal, before Oleg Ivanov equalised just over a minute later. It was Krasnodar's Pavel Mamaev who scored next, but again the visitors pegged back immediately via Ivanov, who scored less than a minute after Mamaev. However, the winner ultimately came from Krasnodar, when Wanderson scored just over 15 minutes from time to take the three points.

Table:
1 - Zenit
2 - Lokomotiv
3 - Spartak
4 - CSKA
5 - Amkar
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Dynamo
8 - Kuban
9 - Rostov
10 - Rubin
11 - Krylia
12 - Volga
13 - Tom
14 - Ural
15 - Terek
16 - Anzhi

Saturday, November 23, 2013

CSKA 1-0 Spartak: CSKA capitalise on Rebrov blunder

Seydou Doumbia capitalised on an Artem Rebrov mistake to score the only goal in an exciting Moscow derby, the first of the weekend.

Both sides retained their typical 4-2-3-1 formations as the hosts made just one change from the side that beat Terek two weeks ago, with Mario Fernandes returning to action after six months out with a knee injury. Spartak saw more changes, with Joao Carlos returning to first team action in place of the suspended Tino Costa, allowing Rafael Carioca to push forward into his preferred defensive midfield role. Kim Kallstrom and Ariz Ozbiliz were also replaced in favour of Jose Jurado and Pavel Yakovlev respectively.

Neither side started the match particularly strongly and passing was sloppy in the opening minutes as possession changed hands rapidly early on, before the scoring opened in the 7th minute. A ball forward from Pontus Wernbloom prompted Artem Rebrov to come out and attempt to clear, but poor judgement meant that Doumbia got to the ball ahead of both Rebrov and Evgenni Makeev, tapping it up over them and slotting home coolly. It was a woeful error of judgement from Rebrov, however Makeev was also partially at fault for not dealing with the ball earlier. Despite going behind, it was Spartak who looked strongest as they pushed forward, but lacked the final ball into the box as Glushakov and Jurado struggled to create chances. Indeed, it was CSKA who had the next chance, when Zoran Tosic flicked the ball over Dmitri Kombarov and went one on one with Rebrov, who saved well and went some way to redeeming his earlier error. It was not until ten minutes later that Spartak finally got their chance when a Jurado free kick fell to Glushakov, whose shot was cleared off the line by Mario Fernandes. The most notable event of the remainder of the first half proved to be not a goal, but a foul on the verge of half time. Makeev was lucky not to be sent off for his challenge on Milanov, which led to a confrontation between players of both sides that the referee was able to manage and call half time.

football formationsCSKA came out firing after the break, and Keisuke Honda missed a simple chance within three minutes of the interval. Milanov broke through down the left and sent a perfect cross in, but instead of firing home, Honda took a touch away from goal and fired wide. It was a terrible effort at a point where the game could've been put beyond doubt. It was mere minutes later when Honda nearly made up for his miss, playing an excellent ball through to Doumbia, whose shot was blocked by Makeev. CSKA's following attack led to chances for all of Fernandes, Tosic, Milanov and Doumbia, yet none could find a way through to kill the match off. Nonetheless, they continued to push for a second goal and Wernbloom came close, heading the ball off the post from a Honda free kick. However, that proved to be the last big chance for CSKA, as Spartak forced themselves forwards in search of an equliser, with Jurado coming closest. Fifteen minutes from full time, he skipped through three challenges in the CSKA box before shooting straight at Akinfeev, who made a simple save. Following that chance, the match once again degenerated into a bunch of fouls and yellow cards, and from there the game fizzled out with CSKA taking the victory.

Notes:
- Spartak completely dominated possession but struggled to create chances. Their wastefulness gave CSKA many opportunities to counter-attack and get up the other end, but the hosts too lacked the final touch for much of the match.
- Yura Movsisyan definitely looked like he wasn't at 100% following his injury against Zenit. He seemed rather slow on the sprint and struggled to get involved.
- I'm not sure Pavel Yakovlev did anything while he was on the pitch. I really can't advocate starting him over either Aras Ozbiliz or Kirill Kombarov with McGeady on the left.
- On the other hand, Georgi Milanov really grew into the match, especially in the second half. He was dominant down the left flank and his performance was crucial in pinning back Sergei Parshivlyuk.

Man of the Match: Mario Fernandes
Fernandes made his return from a knee injury that kept him out of action for six months, yet managed to look like he hadn't missed a second. He was very good going forward, completing a higher percentage of passes than any other starter on either team, but the moment that separated him from the rest of the bunch was his fantastic block and clearance on the goal line in the 27th minute.

Honourable Mentions:
Georgi Schennikov - Included for similar reasons to Fernandes, Schennikov was great going forward and solid at the back. Fernandes only edges this due to his fantastic block.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 16 Recap: Surprising results abound

There were a few rather shocking results this weekend, among an abundance of goals as four separate teams scored four goals each. The team of the week was particularly hard to narrow down, especially in the forward slot, as all of Yura Movsisyan, Seydou Doumbia, Artem Dzyuba, Aleksandr Kokorin and Ibrahima Balde put in fantastic performances, but there just isn't enough room for all of them.

Ural 1-4 Rostov
Rostov got back to winning ways after far too long on the back of excellent performances by Artem Dzyuba and Guelor Kanga. Dzyuba scored either side of Arseni Logashov's goal, while Kanga assisted one and scored another of his own to put Rostov up by four goals. Spartak Gogniev scored one very late on to pull one back for the hosts, but it was far too little, far too late.

Tom 2-0 Lokomotiv
Tom stunned Lokomotiv early when Evgeny Bashkirov put the hosts in front after just 5 minutes. Things went from bad to worse for Loko just over half an hour later, when Jan Durica gave away a penalty that Pavel Ignatovich converted well, before Dmitri Tarasov was sent off 5 minutes later. The visitors were never able to find a way back into the match and suffered an embarrassing loss when a win could have put them in 1st place.

Krylia 1-2 Dynamo
football formationsKrylia drew first blood through Igor Semshov's strike in the 23rd minute, yet Igor Denisov equalised just 6 minutes later. For much of the match, the hosts looked better with the ball, yet Dynamo used the counter-attack to great effectiveness and eventually got the winner through Christian Noboa with just 15 minutes to play.

Spartak 4-2 Zenit
Both Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Hulk scored for the visitors, but the highlight of the match was definitely the performances of Yura Movsisyan, who scored an excellent hat-trick before departing due to injury, and Denis Glushakov, who scored a beatiful solo goal to stun the leaders and bring the gap between the teams back to just three points.

Amkar 1-0 Anzhi
Amkar completely dominated Anzhi for the full 90 minutes as the hosts barely touched the ball and failed to register a single shot on target. That being said, Amkar should be extremely disappointed in leaving it so late to score, with Dmitri Belorukov getting the winner in the 83rd minute to continue Anzhi's absolutely dismal season.

CSKA 4-1 Terek
CSKA had an absolutely fantastic first half as Seydou Doumbia scored either side of Sergei Ignashevich and Zoran Tosic goals to go into the half with a four goal advantage. They let off the pressure considerably and allowed Terek to pull one back through Ailton 20 minutes from time, but it was nonetheless an impressive result, especially with the absences of Alan Dzagoev and Ahmed Musa.

Rubin 0-1 Krasnodar
Rubin and Krasnodar looked mostly even for the majority of the match and it took a special moment from substitutes Wanderson and Joaozinho (the exclusion of both in the starting XI was perplexing nonetheless) to break the deadlock and continue Rubin's atrocious recent form.

Kuban 4-0 Volga
Ibrahima Balde scored first and last, while Ivelin Popov and Vladislav Ignatiev got one each in an absolute destruction of Volga by Kuban, which was really to be expected.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Spartak 4-2 Zenit: Movsisyan hat-trick highlight of incredible match

Spartak fought to a well deserved 4-2 victory over Zenit, thanks largely to a Yura Movsisyan hat-trick, however the Armenian's match was marred by an injury just before the hour mark. Also, as a side note, there is a notable lack of a formation diagram as the website I use for it appears to be suffering some issues right now.

Both sides lined up primarily in their expected formations: Spartak in a 4-2-3-1 and Zenit in a 4-3-3, however both managers made a number of changes both out of necessity and choice. Valeri Karpin brought in Aras Ozbiliz for the suspended Jose Jurado, while Kim Kallstrom replaced injured Joao Carlos as Rafael Carioca was dropped to centre back. Sergey Pesjakov was dropped in favour of Artem Rebrov, who hadn't played a league match for Spartak in over a year. For their opponents, Luciano Spalletti dropped the group of Roman Shirokov, Luis Neto, Danny and Igor Smolnikov for Konstantin Zyryanov, Tomas Hubocan, Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Aleksandr Anyukov respectively.

Spartak's first half (and Movsisyan's in particular) didn't start very well as he picked up a yellow card within 30 seconds after handling the ball into Yuri Lodygin's woodwork. The hosts suffered further as Kerzhakov put Zenit in front after only 5 minutes thanks to a perfectly weighted Domenico Criscito cross. And then things appeared to go from bad to worse in the 19th minute as Tino Costa fouled Witsel in the box to give away a penalty. However, Rebrov was equal to Hulk's poor effort and managed to clear the resulting scramble to maintain the one goal gap. Things started to change around 10 minutes later, as Spartak pushed forward. Costa tested Lodygin with a shot from range before Movsisyan sent a glancing header in off the post from a corner to equalise. Mere minutes later, Ozbiliz fired just wide after a corner fell to him on the edge of the box, and Nicolas Lombaerts had to be replaced after a terrible challenge from Aiden McGeady. It took just 3 more minutes before Spartak took the lead, when a horrible Hubocan clearance fell straight to Movsisyan in the box and he slotted away coolly, but he was still not content with that. In the final play of the half, the Armenian rounded Lodygin and shot on target, but Hubocan went some way to redeeming himself for his earlier mistake by clearing the ball off the line to end the half with just a goal in it.

The second period began much as the first had ended, with Spartak dominant. So dominant in fact that Movsisyan bagged his hat-trick after Tino Costa sent a powerful cross into him after just over a minute. Unfortunately, that proved to be his last involvement as he twisted painfully just 10 minutes later and had to come off the pitch, yet was able to move to the sideline under his own power. Zenit looked fired up upon immediately conceding and managed to turn the flow of the game back in their favour and the added pressure paid off when Hulk smashed home an excellent free kick in the 64th minute to bring the visitors back within one goal. However, this goal seemed to give Zenit the impression that they could sit back and relax and, as a result, Spartak retook control of the match. Their renewed possession finally became important in the final 10 minutes, as substitute Luxas Barrios knocked home a Glushakov free kick, but his goal was disallowed for offside. Nonetheless, just 3 minutes later, Glushakov made a barnstorming run through Zenit's midfield and defence to finish off the match with an excellent individual goal. The visitors mounted a minor attack with minutes to go, but it was too little too late for Zenit and the match finished 4-2.

Notes:
- Yura Movsisyan was absolutely incredible in the hour that he was on the pitch. Not only was his finishing perfect, but his contribution to build-up play and his efforts in winning the ball back in the final third were excellent.
- Artem Rebrov had an up and down match. He was largely at fault for Zenit's two goals, yet was excellent in making saves outside of those two slip-ups.
- Hulk too was rather inconsistent today, as he worked well on the ball to create several chances, but struggled to get involved at times. His penalty was poorly taken, but his free kick was precisely the opposite and was fired into just the right area.
- So far this season Zenit have had an issue of starting halves slowly and taking hold of the match as play went on, but this match was the complete opposite of that. Aside from one chance at the beginning of each half, Zenit were dominant early but let their grasp slip as each period went on.

Man of the Match: Yura Movsisyan
Absolutely perfect performance from him. Could've had at least 1 or 2 more had his match not been marred by injury.

Honourable Mentions:
Denis Glushakov - Dangerous with the ball in the centre of the park, and his individual goal was well taken. He also dropped deep often to help in defence.
Aleksandr Kerzhakov - Constantly making dangerous runs into Spartak's box, but ultimately all but one came to nothing.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

2013-14 Matchweek 15 Recap: Derby day ends in resounding victories

It's the first Matchweek Recap for From Beyond the Iron Curtain for more than two months and it was a week of interesting results, including two decisive derby wins.

football formationsVolga 1-2 CSKA
Volga deservedly took the lead early through Luton Shelton before Seydou Doumbia earned the equaliser just minutes later. Volga looked the better side for the majority, but were punished when the in-form Zoran Tosic got the winner in the 72nd minute.

Dynamo 1-0 Tom
This was an excessively defensive match, as was to be expected considering the sides involved (Dynamo is an excellent defensive side and Tom just isn't very good). The only goal was a Maksim Bordachev own goal in the 42nd minute to give Dynamo the win.

Zenit 1-1 Amkar
Amkar did an excellent job of containing Zenit and definitely deserved at least a point in this match. The visitors went ahead early via Thomas Phibel's effort off a set piece and it took an excellent piece of skill by Danny to equalise for the hosts as the remainder of Zenit's attack misfired time and time again.

Krasnodar 1-2 Kuban
This Krasnodar derby was largely boring for the majority of the 90 minutes as Gigel Bucur put Kuban in front just after the hour. In stoppage time, Ivelin Popov added a second, while Gerard Gohou pulled one back for Krasnodar to end the derby in a flurry of exciting football.

Rostov 0-0 Rubin
Both sides traded chances for 90 minutes but neither was able to find a way through, largely due to the poor performances of their respective strikers.

Spartak 1-3 Lokomotiv
Spartak dominated possession but were torn apart on the counter-attack in this edition of the Moscow derby. Dame N'Doye hit twice for the visitors, while Aleksandr Samedov scored their third and Yura Movsisyan applied the only successful finish for the hosts, who have started to fall away from title contention.

Anzhi 0-1 Ural
Anzhi continued their terrible campaign with a home loss against fellow relegation candidates Ural. Anzhi's performance was marked by poor finishing, despite numerous chances coming on the break. Nonetheless, it took until second half stoppage time for Ural to clinch it, when Gerson Acevedo scored and crushed Anzhi's hopes.

Terek 0-1 Krylia 
In an exciting relegation battle, Terek had almost all of the chances, yet were constantly denied by Jan Mucha. Krylia took their chance early on to go ahead through Sergei Kornilenko and were able to hunker back and defend for the entirety of the second half to take the win.

Table:
1 - Zenit
2 - Lokomotiv
3 - Spartak
4 - CSKA
5 - Dynamo
6 - Krasnodar
7 - Amkar
8 - Kuban
9 - Rubin
10 - Krylia
11 - Rostov
12 - Volga
13 - Ural
14 - Terek
15 - Tom
16 - Anzhi

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Rostov 0-0 Rubin: Hosts dangerous yet fail to take chances

Rostov and Rubin played out a surprisingly exciting match that unfortunately ended in a goalless draw. In other news, From Beyond the Iron Curtain is back from hiatus with a new match report format which, in addition to detailing the events of the match and highlighting the best players, will include a notes section that features more general information about the course of the match.

Both sides started in their preferred 4-2-3-1 formations, with only one major change to Rubin's lineup and three to Rostov's. For Rubin, Solomon Kvirkvelia replaced the injured Ivan Marcano, while Rostov's Siyanda Xulu took Bastos's place in the starting XI after the former gave away a penalty against Spartak last week. Rostov's Spartak loanees Artem Dzyuba and Zhano Ananidze also returned to the starting lineup after having to sit out against their parent club.

Rostov opened the match well, looking sharp on the ball, yet they often lacked the off-the-ball runs to meet the ambitious passes of Ananidze and Timofey Kalachev. From the outset, Ananidze looked key to Rostov's chances of breaking through, as his dribbles off the wing wreaked havoc for Rubin's back line. Indeed, it was the Georgian wonderkid who provided the first chance of the match when his cross from the left fell to Dzyuba, who volleyed well wide from 10 yards. For the majority of the next 15 minutes, Rostov looked for a way through a stern Rubin defence, with an Ananidze through ball barely claimed by Sergei Ryzhikov before an onrushing Dzyuba could reach it. However, after a quick counter resulted in a Rubin corner, Kvirkvelia forced Stipe Pletikosa into an excellent acrobatic save to keep the visitors goalless. Minutes later, after a good dribble off the left wing, Guelor Kanga fired a good shot from long range, yet Ryzhikov claimed it easily. Ananidze and Kanga continued to be dangerous, their interplay across the pitch causing problems for Yann M'Vila in particular, who struggled with the greater numbers of Rostov's attackers. However, the final major chance before half time came from Rubin, who saw a Ruslan Mukhametshin goal rightfully called back for offside.

Rubin introduced Roman Eremenko in the place of Wakaso Mubarak after the break and the move looked the right one, as the visitors immediately looked more ambitious and dangerous. Rubin saw the first chance of the half as Mukhametshin put the ball wide from close range after being put through by Bibras Natkho, while Rostov almost went ahead 15 minutes later through Ananidze after he volleyed a chipped pass just across the face of goal. However, from then on everything went Rubin's way as the hosts were slowly shut out of the match. Karadeniz fired close over the crossbar after a quick passing move that covered most of the pitch, while the final chance of the match fell to Oleg Kuzmin, whose powerful header was held excellently by Pletikosa in the second minute of stoppage time. Ultimately however, the match ended goalless despite the plethora of chances for both sides.

Notes:
- Rostov had an excellent first half as they used all of Ananidze, Kanga and Kalachev to full effect. M'Vila and Natkho looked unable to cope.
- The Eremenko substitution was the perfect switch. Wakaso had done next to nothing in the first half and Rubin needed more physicality rather than finesse going forwards.
- Zhano Ananidze continues to show his potential week in week out, but he needs a bit more refinement to compete at the highest level. The 21 year old could perhaps be considered too ambitious, but his desire to impact games is clear.
football formations- Contrastingly, Artem Dzyuba was uncharacteristically poor. There were several Ananidze through balls that most forwards would have been able to reach, yet Dzyuba looked off the pace and his touch was very bad.

Man of the Match: Guelor Kanga
Constantly dangerous both on and off the ball, Kanga earned six free kicks for his side and almost beat Ryzhikov with an excellent long range shot.

Honourable Mentions:
Gokdeniz Karadeniz - Seemed to be behind every Rubin attack and was very dangerous dribbling in from the left.
Zhano Ananidze - Simply excellent throughout the first half but got marked out of the game as time went on. Nonetheless, he still managed to contribute effectively in defence on top of his normal creative duties.
Arseni Logashov - Excellent in dominating Rostov's right flank, getting forward well but also making a number of crucial tackles and interceptions.