First Home Victory
Lokomotiv rushed for an opener and soon succeeded. In the fifth minute Vitaliy Denisov crossed to Alan Kasayev on the wing who immediately broke into the area and took an effective shot at the far corner.
Ten minutes later Leonid Kuchuk had to make his first substitution when Renat Yanbayev got injured. Roman Shishkin climbed off the bench to replace the teammate.
Seconds later, Lokomotiv made the fans cheer again. Denisov steamed past Abazov on the left flank and crossed to the far post where the lost and forgotten Samedov took his time to work the ball and drove it into the back of the net.
By the time the half-time whistle blew, Lokomotiv were still two goals ahead and Rostov were one man down. Kalachyov and Tarasov met in a harsh fight for the ball and the referee saw a grave foul from the Combiner, and immediately sent him off.
As the second half began, Lokomotiv wanted to control the ball and save the batteries. On the other side, the impaired Rostov couldn’t do what Lokomotiv’s U-21s did the day before when they scored three times being one man short.
Soon Denisov had a chance to notch a third assist had Fernandes been luckier. Vitaliy received the ball from Samedov and saw the Portuguese in the box. The winger curled it but Manuel failed to produce a header.
But 20 minutes before the final whistle Rostov were suddenly back in the game. Vedran Corluka and Dmitriy Poloz ran shoulder to shoulder into the area where the forward fell down. The referee thought it proper to level the squads and sent the Croatian off, granting Rostov a penalty. Poloz took the spot-kick himself, making the score 2:1.
This sudden turn gave Rostov extra power to run forward for an equalizer. The Yellow-Blues stormed the goal while the freshman Pavlyuchenko tried to respond. In one episode, Roman saw Pletikosa leaving the goal and tried to make a chip shot but missed the target. Soon Shishkin crossed to Roman from the right flank. Pav headed but Pletikosa saved.
Milic had the biggest chance to equalize. The Croatian passed Pejcinovic, Shishkin and Samedov and took a close-range shot at the goal but Guilherme stopped the ball and grabbed it.
Just before the final whistle, the Railwaymen had their chance: in a rapid counterattack where three players in the red-green shirts opposed two defenders, Kasayev hurled the ball towards the goal but wasn’t accurate this time.
Lokomotiv have secured their first home victory in the season and with seven points in their pocket are in the leading trio.
Lokomotiv - Rostov 2:1 (2:0)
Goals: Kasayev, 5. Samedov, 21. Poloz, 72.
Lokomotiv: Guilherme, Yanbayev (Denisov, 18), Corluka, Durica, Denisov, Tigorev, Tarasov, Samedov, Fernandes (Pejcinovic, 73), Kasayev, Ndoye (Pavlyuchenko, 65).
Rostov: Pletikosa, Abazov (Goreux, 34), Dyakov, Bastos, Milic, Fatullayev, Hackan, Kalachyov, Torbinskiy, Poloz, Bukharov (Doumbia, 46).
Yellow cards: Tarasov, 45. Pavlyuchenko, 88. Goreux, 90.
Red cards: Kalachyov, 45 (unsporting behaviour). Corluka, 70 (professional foul).
August 14. Lokomotiv Stadium. 7 014 spectators.
