Spartak failed at Orenburg. The first half is just a nightmare.
Dmitry Zimin November 29, 2023, 18:22 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Ten of us tried to change something, but nothing worked.
Spartak was unlucky. Going to cold Orenburg for the first match of the Russian Cup quarterfinals is not what Guillermo Abascal dreamed of. It is one thing to hold a match at least in Moscow, although with the same weather, and quite another to have artificial grass and an absolutely local rival. No, this is not an excuse for Spartak. Just a statement of the objective image.
Although conditional elimination matches began in the Cup (the losing team at the end of the confrontation will not leave the tournament, but will only enter the Path of the Regions), for most coaches nothing has changed. This is clear from the initial lineups. In Orenburg, everyone who had previously played mainly in the Cup came out. With rare inclusions of RPL players. “Spartak” has a more mixed team: Sobolev, Bongonda, Babich are in the starting eleven. But there was also Laikin, who played the first game as a starter. In any case, the guests were clearly superior to their opponents in terms of surname class. But we barely saw Spartak on the field.
“Orenburg” – “Spartak” – 1:0
Photo: vk.com/fcorenburg
Orenburg, as usual, took control of the ball from the first minutes and began to press. But he does it with all his opponents. So the only question is whether the second team will join. As a rule, in the 20-30th minute the guests get used to it and begin to show something in attack. But Spartak’s players seemed to have forgotten that they can do more than defend themselves. 0 shots on goal after 45 minutes is the best description of what the fans saw on the pitch. In general, it is even difficult to immediately remember when the Muscovites played worse. Nothing worked at all. Bongonda sent a free kick to his neighbor, Martins hit Sukhoi instead of an accurate pass, Babich absurdly passed the ball to Selikhov and created danger.
No wonder Orenburg scored. In the 10th minute they had already pinned down the Spartak players in their half of the field. First, Oganesyan hit the crossbar, and a few seconds later Chernov’s leg flew towards Kovalev. The defender missed the ball, Sukhoi awarded a penalty. Then Titkov opened the account.
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Nothing changed anymore. Spartak made many mistakes that the locals did not want to take advantage of. But in the 39th minute the second important episode occurred: Kovalev accelerated towards the area after a long pass and Ryabchuk prevented him by hitting his leg. Sukhoi initially ignored the episode, but was later advised to go to the monitor. Everything is obvious there: red card and penalty. So Spartak still had ten players left. In general it is surprising: when things are going better for the team, the victories come and the conversation about Abascal’s departure ends, they are going through such a terrible half. But there was a second ahead. And the opportunity to change everything.
The Spartak coach took Laikin off the field and released Klassen. But nothing has fundamentally changed. Yes, Orenburg attacked a little less sharply, there were fewer chances, but Spartak was also difficult in the minority. They had one of the few chances to recover in the 76th minute. Ignatov beat two, but shot straight at the goalkeeper. In the end, Sobolev also tried to come up with an ideal simulation in his head, but only received a yellow card. And Chernov, after hitting with his head, missed the goal from a couple of meters.
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Spartak lost. But definitely with a satisfactory score. Already in spring a completely different game will be played in Moscow. So the chances of continuing the fight are definitely not lost.
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