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PREMIER LEAGUE WEEK 30 REVIEW
After thirty extraordinary rounds of competition,
the Rosgosstrakh Championship of Russia came to a brilliant conclusion
on Sunday with Rubin Kazan once again crowned champion.
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Rubin celebrates Premier League gold medals
Photo SPORT EXPRESS
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In successfully defending its crown, the Tatarstan side
has accomplished what few considered possible and though they lack the
funds to investment of their counterparts, they tore the campaign with
the tactical precision and an astonishing level of professional maturity.
With the title, Rubin Kazan reserves its spot in the Champions League,
with Spartak Moscow joining them after earning the silver medal at second
place. Despite a late season swoon, the Krasno-belye will remember the
year for the stunning turnaround orchestrated by Valeriy Karpin. Though
lacking in managerial experience, the stylish midfielder stepped in from
the boardroom to take over from the failed Michael Laudrup-regime and
quickly resurrected the pride and glory of Spartak under the legendary
Oleg Romantsev.
In the third spot, albeit with more than a morsel of controversy attached,
Zenit Saint Petersburg overtakes Lokomotiv Moscow on goal differential
and earns a spot in the qualifying round of the Champions League. Like
Spartak, after the 'sky-blues' faltered under the highly regarded manager
Dick Advocaat they turned towards for former Zenit Leningrad and long
term assistant Anatoliy Davydov.
Though Mr. Davydov rarely seemed to be choice of front office, he magically
transformed into tight compact unit that fought with a never say die attitude
and against all odds, climbed up the table to grab a spot in the premier
European club competition. While there is some controversy of Zenit not
being punished for infringing upon the use of non-domestic players with
some calling for a special one-off playoff with Lokomotiv to decide the
outcome, it is undeniable that under Anatoliy Davydov immediately transformed
into a side that can threaten for the hardware.
While the paint has not dried on that situation, the return of the Railwaymen
to prominence in Russian football in 2009 is one of the most remarkable
stories of the year. The previous two years have been challenging for
Lokomotiv's supporters but there was little doubt when the 'People's Coach',
Yuriy Semin, returned from Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kiev, success was
imminent. Under Mr. Semin, Lokomotiv carefully worked its way up the table
and with the loss of captain Diniyar Bilyaletdinov to English-side Everton,
Dmitriy Sychev quickly picked up the slack to push the Railwayman to their
best finish since 2006 and a berth in the Europa League. Not to be out-done,
CSKA Moscow who frustrated supporters for much of the year with sub-par
performances under Zico and Juande Ramos, made the brilliant decision
to hand the reigns to Leonid Slutsky and under the thirty-eight year old
manager, the Army-Men stormed back in convincing style to claim fifth-place
and the final spot in the Europa League.
The end of the campaign also sees Khimki and Kuban Krasnodar relegated
to the First Division. Whilst Khimki avoided relegation last year, with
much owing to the exemplary leadership of Egor Titov who arrived late
in the campaign from Spartak Moscow, they suffered through the lowest
point total recorded in the top flights history. Though Khimki rarely
suggested they were able to compete at this level, Kuban Krasnodar's demise
is due to the stunning turnaround by Spartak Nalchik. It is a bitter pill
for their hearty supporters face relegation as Kuban has won promotion
three times during the decade but the following year they have felt the
doom of promotion.
In their spots come First Division champion Anzhi Makhachkala of Dagestan,
who return to the top-flight after a seven-year absence and Siberia's
Sibir Novosibirsk, who after narrowly avoided relegation to the Second
division in 2008 but turned it around and will debut amongst the domestic
elite next year.
Turning to the final day of competition, each match started with a very
special and highly appropriate of moment of silence for the many that
sadly perished in the Nevsky Express train derailment Friday evening.
Kuban Krasnodar 0 Rubin Kazan 3
Rubin Kazan concluded its domestic season with a solid 3-0 defeat of Kuban
Krasnodar. In consideration of their key Champions League match against
Internazionale on 9 December, Kurban Berdyev adjusted the Rubin line-up
and gave the day off to his regulars including Sergey Semak, Sergey Ryzhikov,
Roman Sharonov, Alejandro Dominguez, Alexandr Bukharov and Gokdeniz Karadeniz.
Any thought of a Pathos Galatians' side pulling off an upset in front
of their home fans was quickly tested as Hasan Kabze gave the champions
the 1-0 lead nine minutes in. The hosts surged forward in search of the
equalizer but after coming up short on a few quality opportunities Rubin
doubled the two minutes past the half-hour as former Lech Poznan-man Rafal
Murawski hit the mark. With the result looking secure, Kurban Berdyev
wasted no time and summoned youngster Igor Portnyagin, Alexey Kotiyarov
and Davron Mirzaev in the final thirty minutes with from the bench for
some valuable playing experience. At the eighty-first minute Igor Portnyagin
rewarded the manager as pounced on a loose ball by the back post and drove
it to the back of the net from close range to bring the match to a 3-0
final score.
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2 Spartak Moscow 1
The premier match of the weekend was not short on fireworks, both figuratively
and literally, as Zenit Saint Petersburg overcame Spartak Moscow 2-1 in
front of their voracious supporters at Petrovsky Stadium. Concerned with
tensions boiling over, both sides were warned early of violent conduct
prior to the match and from the opening whistle referee Stanislav Sukhina
was intent on culling any indiscretions. In a rare situation, Vladimir
Bystrov was resoundingly jeered by both sets of fans as he stepped on
the pitch and with each touch of the ball. Spartak, without the services
of Zhano Ananidze and Pavel Yakovlev, was unable to unlock Zenit's compact
defence in the opening half. One minute past the half-hour, Vladimir Bystrov
had a perfect chance to break the deadlock as was played the ball on the
left channel but his effort lacked any power and was easily dealt with
by the much-maligned Spartak 'keeper Soslan Dzhanaev. At the forty-third
minute the match took a peculiar turn as Szabolcs Huszti was sent off
with his second yellow-card for taking a free kick before the referee's
whistle. Though the attempt to keep tensions under control was warranted,
the quick call nearly did the opposite as the Zenit side was nearing the
tipping point. Alexandr Anyukov was extremely fortunate not to receive
a straight red for physical contact with the referee but nonetheless the
match waged on with Zenit now facing a daunting task down a man. Still
there was the matter of the free-kick needed to be retaken and as he has
so often done veteran Konstantin Zuryanov stepped-up and took matters
into his own hands as he curled the ball into the net past Spartak 'keeper
Soslan Dzhanaev for the 1-0 lead. Mateja Kezman, anxious to make his stay
in Saint Petersburg permanent, was summoned after the break by Anatoliy
Davydov and only five minutes after the re-start doubled the margin as
Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts powerfully headed in a corner
from the. Zenit's resolute defending provided few scoring opportunities
until the eighty-third minute when Malik Fathi dove at the back post to
head in a cross from the left to make it 2-1. Tensions continued to run
high between the two rivals but after three minutes of added-time, the
match end 2-1 in Zenit Saint Petersburg's favour.
Khimki 1 Lokomotiv Moscow 3
Yuriy Semin's Lokomotiv Moscow extended its four match winning streak
with a 3-1 victory over relegation condemned Khimki to secure their spot
in the Europa League. The Railwaymen wasted no time and took at 1-0 lead
only five minutes as Peter Odemwingie was recipient of a perfect slide-rule
pass the bisecting the defenders and following a touch to the left he
drove the ball into the far corner of the net from twelve metres. At the
sixteenth minute Lokomotiv doubled its lead, as Renat Yanbaev surged down
the right channel before dispatching a perfect cross into the box that
Dmitriy Sychev nodded-in. Khimki continued to search for a way back into
the match and with twenty-four minutes remaining Alexandr Antipenko brought
them within one as he snuck behind the defenders to head in a cross from
the left. At the eighty-first minute Peter Odemwingie linked the ball
to Dmitriy Torbinsky in the box and after a series of back and forth passes
with Dmitriy Sychev, the later added his second of the day from close
range to give Lokomotiv the 3-1 victory.
CSKA Moscow 3 Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast 0
Riding a crest of confidence following their stunning victory over VfL
Wolfsburg in the Champions League, CSKA Moscow's late season rival under
manager, Leonid Slutsky continued as they trounced Saturn Moskovskaya
Oblast 3-0 at Luzhniki Stadium. The result secures fifth-place for the
Army-Men and a berth in the Europa League. After a scoreless opening half,
CSKA grabbed the lead at the thirty-three minute as Milos Krasic out duelled
Benoit Angbwa and Dmitriy Grachyov before providing the ball to Alan Dzagoev
on his right with the Russian international scoring from six metres out.
Two minutes shy of the hour, the Army-Men extended their lead as Georgiy
Schennikov sent a cross from the left flank that skipped through the box
to Milos Krasic who then drove his ninth marker from five metres out.
Eight minutes later Pavel Mamayev, flourishing under Leonid Slutsky, latched
onto a long ball and sent a powerful volley in from the edge of the area
to round out the scoring in CSKA's 3-0 victory.
FC Moscow 1 Dynamo Moscow 2
The Moscow derby that saw Dynamo travel to Eduard Streltsov Stadium to
face FC saw the 'white-blues' come out victorious 2-1. In recent weeks,
Dynamo manager Andrey Kobelev has seen his side to return to near complete
fitness and stirred the hopes of the 'white-blues' supporters for next
year with a series of solid performances. With a spot in Europe on the
line for the Citizens tempers ran hot and twenty-one minutes in boiled
up resulting in Zvonimir Vukic receiving a straight red-card and the Citizens
forced to play a man down. Five minutes shy of the half-hour Dynamo had
the 1-0 lead as Kirill Kombarov sent a drive from twenty-eight metres
to the back of the net. Playing a man down and in need of a win the Citizens
were pressing forward but in so doing, exposed their selves to Dynamo's
counter attack and ten minutes later Leandro Fernandez doubled the margin.
Though FC drew one back with an own goal courtesy of Denis Kolodin that
was as close as it would get as Dynamo claimed the full three points with
a 2-1 victory. The victory edges Dynamo to eighth in the final standings
whilst FC Moscow's hopes for Europe are dependent upon them or Zenit winning
the Russian Cup and squeezing into the extra Europa League spot.
Spartak Nalchik 4 Terek Grozny 2
Spartak Nalchik's remarkable turnaround continued to the final day of
the campaign with a 4-2 victory over Terek Grozny in front of their home
fans. The result pushes Nalchik to an improbable eleventh place with only
two losses in their final twelve encounters. Grozny was once again hampered
without services of Bulgarian international Blagoy Georgiev, Florentin
Petre, Andrei Margaritescu and Hector Bracamonte and fell behind 3-0 with
Leandro, Alexandr Amisulashvili and Vladimir Kisenkov scoring for Nalchik
before the break. Grozny drew one back at the fifty-second minute via
Timur Dzhabrailov's goal before David Siradze quickly restored Nalchik's
two-goal lead. Shamil Lakhiyalov added a consolation goal for Grozny at
time would down but that was as close as it would get as Spartak Nalchik
claimed the full three points with a 4-2 victory.
Rostov 1 Amkar Perm 1
In a fitting end to both sides season, Rostov and Amkar Perm fought to
a 1-1 draw. For Amkar, the end to the bitterly disappointing campaign
is welcomed as they, fell from nine spots from last years fourth place
finish and will not hand the rebuilding process to the capable work of
Rashid Rakhimov. Amkar snatched the lead nine minutes after the opening
whistle via veteran Sergey Volkov's marker. However, the lead did not
last long as Alexandr Pavlenko levelled the match at the eighteenth minute.
Despite opportunities at either end of the pitch neither side could break
through or the ended as 1-1 draw, honours even.
Prepared by John Davies
Sport
Express Daily, 30 Nov 2009
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