“Sheriff” - “Spartak”: another puncture of the “red-white”

Moscow "Spartak" arrived in Tiraspol as a favorite. The club’s coach Vladimir Fedotov spoke of a clear intention to decide the outcome of the confrontation in the first game before the meeting, and sports director Stanislav Cherchesov, giving numerous interviews to the Russian press, estimated the chances of the “red and white” as high.

And apparently everything was on the side of Muscovites. A day earlier, Spartak legend and current double coach Fedor Cherenkov celebrated their 46th birthday, which was to give additional motivation for victory, and the players were eager to rehabilitate themselves before their fans for the last two optional draws in the national championship.

In Moldova, the team missed the Argentine striker Fernando Cavenaga and the Ukrainian midfielder Maxim Kalinichenko, who, according to Fedotov, is still recovering from the 2006 World Cup. However, in our opinion, the reason for their non-participation in the qualifying round of the Champions League is completely different. The management of Spartak simply prepares them for sale in foreign clubs. After all, it’s not a secret to anyone that Shakhtar and several European clubs are persistently interested in the same Kalinichenko. And in light of the sale of Tymoshchuk to the camp of the Dutch Feyenoord, anything is possible. But let’s leave the investigation to Sherlock Holmes and get back to the game.

Vladimir Fedotov put up for the match the basic structure of the times of “Stark”. The team settled down on the field in a 4-4-2 pattern. The "vacationer" Cavenagi was replaced by Pyanovich, otherwise there were no surprises. Leonid Kuchuk also did not become wise, releasing from the very first minutes the strongest squad of “Sheriff” at the moment.

The match began with sharp attacks by the beloved right flank performed by Vladimir Bystrov. From the very first minutes the Spartak midfielder was beaten hard in the legs, for which already in the fourth minute Gnanu received a yellow card. A minute later, the same jet Bystrov again broke through the flank and made a targeted transfer to the area of the 11-meter penalty mark of the hosts. The defender rudely played against Yegor Titov taking the ball in the lethal position, throwing it on the stadium’s unusually green lawn, but the judge ignored the violation. The next dangerous moment occurred eight minutes later. Jiranek marked a dangerous cross from the same flank, but the ball eventually ended up with the Sheriff goalkeeper.

The active start of the meeting was followed by a soothing development in the first half. Muscovites forwards - Pavlyuchenko and Pyanovich - could not catch the ball, the flanks stopped working, and the game in the pass simply did not go. The defense of the “red-white” was seriously alarmed in the first half of the match only once, when Alexander Kuchuk, the son of the head coach, after a solo pass on the right flank struck strongly into the corner closest to the goalkeeper, but Kowalewski was in place.

Towards the end of the time “Muscovites” got a little more active, which was the reason for the goal scoring under the curtain of 45 minutes. Amorphous Pyanovich fought for the horseback Rodriguez, throwing the ball at the oncoming Titov. He without hesitation sent the ball to the farthest corner from the goalkeeper with a whip, in the way of which the bar stood. The teams went on hiatus, keeping a dull draw on the scoreboard.

The second began with the active actions of the hosts. I don’t know what Kuchuk said during the break, but a completely different team entered the field for the second 45-minute. Lightning attacks replaced one after the other, however, at the last frontier, Kovalevsky confidently looked. And when he was powerless, the “red-white” was simply lucky. Seeing the situation on the field, Fedotov alternately released Quincy and Torbinsky, replacing Pavlyuchenko and Kovalchuk, who had not proved themselves. The Dutchman did not openly play, but Torbinsky acted well in several game episodes. After the substitutions made, Fedotov managed to slightly push the game away from the goal of Spartak, but dangerous moments still appeared periodically.

At the 76th minute, Torbinsky managed to earn a free kick about 30 meters from the gate. Mozart came up to the ball, the previous innings of which from the corners and penalties each time ended in loss of the ball. But this time, the Brazilian's serve was a sight for sore eyes, and Radoslav Kovacs, having jumped out, after hitting his head, sent the ball into the net of the goal of “Sheriff”. About 15 minutes remained until the end of the match. After a goal, Fedotov released the “hungry” Bazhenov instead of Pjanovich, hoping thereby to decide the outcome of the match away.

Inspired Muscovites began to play more actively in attack, forgetting about their own rear. At the end of the match at the gates of Spartak several dangerous moments arose, mainly when cornering. In the time added by the judge (92 minutes passed), the home team's free kick led to a goal. Kovalevsky, who came in for the interception, was unable to fix the ball, while Omotoyossi, who turned out to be the quickest of all, sent his ball into the net. 1-1. Deja vu?

Summing up the match, we can say that the home team responded to the curious and illogical goal of Spartak. We will not rush to conclusions, but wait for the return match in Luzhniki on August 2.

Yaroslav DMITRIEV

SHERIFF Moldova - SPARTAK Russia - 1: 1 (0: 0)

Goals: Kovacs, 76 (0: 1), Omotoyossi, 90 + 2 (1: 1)

Sheriff: Khutsan - Mom, Tarkhnishvili, Gnana, Korneenkov, Arbenash, Floresku, Epuryanu, Kochish (Suvorov, 82), Pyrsha (Gumenyuk, 66), Kuchuk (Omotoyossi, 63)

Spartak: Kowalewski - Jiranek, Strantzl, Kovacs, Rodriguez, Bystrov, Mozart, Kovalchuk (Torbinsky, 60), Titov, Pavlyuchenko (Ovusu-Obeye, 52), Pyanovich (Bazhenov, 75)

Warnings: Gnani, 4; Arbenah, 48; Epuryanu, 67

Judge: Malek (Poland)
Tiraspol. "Sheriff"

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