The memorable matches with “Rostov” and “Zenith” created an advantage for CSKA, which, with the next victory of the army and the misfire of “Spartak”, could turn into gold. And most of all I didn’t want the final efforts of the army team to take the form of another suspicious match, the outcome of which would be decided by non-football factors.
It turns out somehow awkward, but you have to thank fate, which turned the match at Metallurg into a coaching rebus for Valery Gazzayev. The army coach lost a number of players and was forced to redraw his almost unchanged composition in a rather funny way. Having fortified the rear midfielder with Rakhimich out of habit, Gazzayev sent his faithful companion Aldonin to the right flank. In place of Krasic, who got the opposite edge. A reservist Ivan Taranov stepped in to Dudu, whose functions on the field remained - and remain - a mystery.
A pretty shaky CSKA showed, however, a well-known defense game with counting on counterattacks and standards.
This bet has been played more than once. However, in Samara, the rivals of the army took advantage of the freedom of action promptly. Already in the first 10 minutes Gadzhiev and Topich were dangerously beaten from the penalty area, without resorting, however, to the services of Akinfeev. The goalkeeper of the army remained unclaimed for another four minutes, after which he reset the dangerous exit of Vinogradov one on one. In response, CSKA organized an attack that ended with the simulated combination of “Aldonin's long-range strike past the gate”.
The ratio of the moments is not in favor of the guests forced Gazzayev to withdraw the captain of the Russian team from the right side and send ... left-hander Daniela Carvalho. The unexpectedness of the flank decisions of the coach returned as a boomerang: Carvalho and Krasic more than once - at the expense of technology and speed respectively - beat Samara defenders, but lost the time to put the ball under their “own” foot. As a result, “Wings” were the first to surprise: Gadzhiev dared to execute a “dry sheet” from the corner flag - Akinfeev repulsed the blow. However, the second corner ended with a goal by Karen Dokhoyan.
After each dangerous injection of the Samara's, CSKA strove to patch the canvas of the game that was torn here and there. The ridiculous flank castling and the phantom of Ivan Taranov, who had never found a place on the field and was replaced immediately after the break, interfered.
“Wings” did not spend time on organizational issues, preferring to follow the shortest route from defense to attack. Toward the close of the first half, Topić and Nemov went to deal with Scheberas two by one - it all ended with an inaccurate blow.
The second half did not change anything except the score. The increasing pressure of the army did not translate into dangerous moments, and the attacks of the home team were spontaneous: unexpected and dangerous. At the end of the hour of the game, Marco Topić, throwing the ball into the penalty box on his own move, laid an impressive curve to overtake Šemberas. However, the Lithuanian, despising the traffic rules, jerked across the Bosnian and shot him down, earning a penalty. Matthew Booth “in Kalacheva” did not play, breaking accurately and hard. Soon Topić, obviously glad about the absence of Ignashevich from the army, broke through to the goal in the center, but failed to execute a “parachute” through Akinfeev.
The remainder of the match was a demonstration of CSKA's positional advantage - control of the ball without dangerous moments. CSKA were angry: Akinfeev launched the extra ball towards the side referee, and aimlessly plowing the right edge and replaced Carvalho left the field outside the Wings. Having descended, however, to the boys who had begged gloves from the Brazilian.
It’s worthy to lose, without losing the desire to fight to the end, the Gazzaev team knows how. It remains to adequately win the remaining two matches - and the question of the deservedness of the CSKA championship will be removed. Or, perhaps, will move to another, non-football plane.