Translated material
The right to experiment
The first round of the 15th Russian Championship took place
They say the first impression is the most important. And the beginning of the next football championship of our country is no exception. The winter months of waiting and speculation are behind us - whether this or that newcomer will strengthen the team or, conversely, the money paid for the rookie has been wasted by the club's management. The controversy about the rapid development of domestic club football is behind us.At the beginning of the national championship, coaches and players are not yet afraid to experiment - there is still time to correct the situation if something happens. And the credit of trust still allows me to try something new, gained through suffering in the off-season. For example, a new tactic designed to use the strengths of far from the strongest football players, like Torpedo head coach Sergei Petrenko, who fielded three strikers in the match against Tom. Or the miraculous feints with which the much-touted Spartak player Quincy Owusu-Abeye persistently tried to beat two or three opponents from Lucha-Energia in each game episode. Aggressive and high-speed football of the transformed “Saturn” Vladimir Weiss in an away match in St. Petersburg. Or the simultaneous presence on the field in a match with Shinnik of four central midfielders (Smertin, Khokhlov, Semshov, Danny), now assembled in Dynamo under the leadership of Yuri Semin.
But in any case, any experiments are considered successful if they bring victories. But Torpedo, Spartak, Dynamo and Saturn cannot boast of this after the first round. The “Black and Whites” completely lost to the Tomsk team on their field, allowing them to even lead the standings for some time. Well, Spartak, Dynamo and Saturn were content with draws.
The “blue and white” have the right to complain about bad luck - they created enough chances at the Shinnik goal, forcing goalkeeper Safonov to work hard, as well as the crossbar “charmed” by him. “The first matches are always difficult, in a nervous environment. We either controlled the ball well, created chances, or failed in defense,” Yuri Semin said after the game. — In principle, all the newcomers fit into the team and feel fine. And some played better, some worse, against Shinnik.”
Spartacists, on the contrary, should thank fate. Alexander Starkov's team played its third match with Luch in the last two weeks. And the Vladivostok team thoroughly studied the “red-white” team during two games in the 1/8 finals of the Russian Cup. “Spartak”, relying on their class, acted too academically, and the guests patiently waited for the hosts’ defensive mistake, and when they did, they took advantage of it. And only in the 94th minute of the meeting Vladimir Bystrov saved his team from defeat. The Spartacists rejoiced at this as if they had achieved some outstanding success.
The Czech-Slovak derby in the city on the Neva was marked by the selfless play of the updated Saturn. The Moscow Region club forced Zenit to work on the defensive, and at Petrovsky, St. Petersburg’s opponents rarely manage to do this. Throughout the first half, Saturn dominated the field, and the goal of the Slovakian Obzhera, who appeared in the “base” of Saturn along with three compatriots of the head coach Yakubko and Petrash, became a worthy confirmation of the advantage of the guests. However, in the second half the game broke up into separate battles. Referee Kolobaev constantly stopped the match to record a violation of the rules and take a poisonous yellow rectangle out of his chest pocket. As a result, the flawed game played into the hands of the hosts, and Poshkus punished the Saturn goalkeeper for a mistake on the way out.
So, the national championship has started. The first strong-willed victory has already been won, the first penalty has been awarded, the first removal has taken place (Rostovian Bochkov was awarded a red card) and the first own goal... Russian football once again gives fans new hopes and disappointments.
Premier League. Results of the 1st round. "Torpedo" - "Tom" - 1:2 (Panov 75 - Kulchiy 19, Jokic 88 - own goal). "Moscow" - "Amkar" - 1:0 (Kirichenko 56 - from the penalty spot). "Spartak" NC - CSKA - 0:1 (V. Berezutsky 90). Dynamo - Shinnik - 1:1 (Danny 27 - Shirko 60). "Spartak" - "Luch-Energia" - 1:1 (Bystrov 90 - Astafiev 53). “Zenit” – “Saturn” – 1:1 (Poshkus 75 – Obzhera 28). "Rubin" - "Rostov" - 2:1 (Dominguez 80 - from the penalty spot, Yalland 80 - Osinov 30 - from the penalty spot). "Lokomotiv" - "Wings of the Soviets" - 0:1 (Longevka 4).