Defeat In Perm

Half-empty stands and silence at the stadiums are the features of the recent games played by Lokomotiv. Just another proof that playing football on neutral fields is not a particularly bright idea. As if to make things worse, the damp weather helped keep football fans away from the stadium this time. Nevertheless, the Lokomotiv fans were pumping up for a hot game.

The Railwaymen’s lineup was a bit of a surprise: Miodrag Bozovic trusted Niasse to be the target man for his mates, believing he would try hard on his birthday. Another intrigue was the vacant position of a central defender. The coach decided that Sheshukov would be a proper match to Corluka.

The nominal guests started actively. In one episode, Kasaev fooled three opponents on the left flank and entered the box for a shot but sent the ball wide. Five minutes later Boussoufa played a good long ball to Niasse who had gained speed to outrun a defender. Yurchenko made a positioning mistake and it could seem the Senegalese had a chance but the angle was really acute and the offensive dissolved.

Only in the 20th minute did Ufa manage to create a chance to threaten Guilherme’s goal. First it was Galiulin, and after his failure Stotskiy could have played a dangerous cross, being left unattended on the right side of the box.

Lokomotiv continued having initiative until the end of the first half, trying combinational play to threaten Yurchenko’s goal. Ufa’s well-organized defence kept the Railwaymen at bay, occasionally breaking away to counter-attacks.

Early in the second half came an opener. Shishkin and Tarasov demonstrated misunderstanding, that allowed Paurevic demonstrate his terrific long-range shot skill. The Croatian received a pass, moved to the centre and shelled Guilherme’s goal from about 23 metres, leaving the Brazilian no chance. The statistics show that Ufa’s goalless run ended in the 428th minute.

Lokomotiv rushed for a leveler. In the 55th minute Boussoufa crossed to the back post where Samedov tried to finish it off but hit the crossbar. Minutes later Tarasov sent the ball just a whisker over the bar. Soon Samedov had another chance to score but Yurchenko saved the ball from under the crossbar.

On 78 minutes Lokomotiv were awarded a free kick and Alexander Samedov fooled Yurchenko into thinking he was going to cross. Instead the midfielder took a shot and could have scored but the ball bounced off the crossbar again! In the end of the game both teams tried to make use of long crosses. Ufa were defending as one and did not allow the Railwaymen a single opportunity of getting back into the game. In the last minutes Dmitriy Tarasov was sent off for receiving the second yellow card. Seconds before the final whistle the hosts could have doubled the lead: Guilherme made a bad pass to a teammate and exposed his goal to three consequent attempts. Only the crossbar, Kasaev, and luck helped to keep the ball outside the net.

It’s the first home game Ufa have managed to win this season, while Lokomotiv lost their second game in a row.

Russian Premier League. Gameweek 24

Ufa - Lokomotiv - 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Paurevic, 50 (1:0)
Ufa: Yurchenko, Safronidi, Tumasyan, Alikin, Stotskiy, Zaseyev, Semakin, Paurevic, Frimpong (Shevchenko, 78), Marcinho (Handzic, 46), Galiulin (Verkhovtsov, 81).
Lokomotiv: Guilherme, Corluka, Sheshukov, Denisov, Shishkin, Tarasov, Fernandes (Miranchuk, 70), Kasaev, Samedov (Skuletic, 82), Boussoufa (Pavlyuchenko, 62), Niasse.
Yellow cards: Tarasov, 28. Stotskiy, 35. Alikin, 79. Safronidi, 93.
Red cards: Tarasov, 92.
Referee: Igor Nizovtsev (Nizhniy Novgorod)
April 18th. Perm. Zvezda Stadium.