How Spartak lost to Lokomotiv in the snow derby

In the central match of the 23rd round of the Russian championship, Lokomotiv beat Spartak with a score of 1:0. The meeting was held in difficult conditions and was postponed for an hour due to snowfalls in Moscow. match review,

On April 2, at the stadium in Cherkizovo, Lokomotiv beat Spartak with a score of 1:0. The match took place in extreme weather conditions. Due to snowfall, the organizers postponed the start of the match three times, it started only at 20.30, an hour later than planned. Before the match, Spartak's defender Samuel Gigot
felt unwell, and the goalkeeper of the "red-whites" Alexander Selikhov did not recover from his earlier injuries, so Alexander Maksimenko appeared at Spartak's goal.

The queue at the entrance before the match "Spartak" - "Lokomotiv" (Photo: Alexander Shchegolev / RBC)

Spartak from the first minutes began to put pressure on the Lokomotiv goal. Already in the 3rd minute, Zelimkhan Bakaev shot into the right corner, but the goalkeeper managed to pull the ball out. Then, in the 17th minute, Bakaev almost punished Daniil Khudyakov for going out of the gate. Loko's goalkeeper jumped out of the penalty area to secure the defenders. The ball ended up at Zelimkhan, who hit the target from a very long distance. Khudyakov managed to return and hit the ball.

In the 33rd minute, Bakaev again ran to the penalty area, but slipped due to snow and lost the ball. In the 40th minute, Quincy Promes beat goalkeeper Khudyakov and scored the ball into the empty net of Lokomotiv, but the goal was canceled due to offside.

Spartak players at the pre-game warm-up (Photo: Alexander Shchegolev / RBC)

In the 67th minute, Spartak created the main scoring chance of the meeting. The Red-Whites made a cutting pass into the penalty area, where striker Alexander Sobolev put his foot up and sent the ball into the goal, but the Lokomotiv defenders took the ball literally from the goal line.

After the 80th minute, Lokomotiv moved to the phase of active pressing. In the 84th minute, Lokomotiv striker Jan Kukhta beat several Spartak defenders, but shot close to the post. Three minutes later, Isidor Wilson beat the defenders again, and hit goalkeeper Maksimenko's goal with a sweeping blow. "Railroad" took the lead.

In stoppage time, Spartak tried to organize an attack, but nothing came of it.

Meeting stats:

Photo: Opta Sport

After the match, the general DIRECTOR of the Spartak football club, Evgeny Melezhikov, said that the club would file a protest with the expert refereeing commission of the RFU regarding the controversial moments in the match caused by the referee's decisions.

Spartak defender and team captain Georgiy Jikia was injured and after the match announced that he would go for an MRI.

Video: MATCH TV

The words of the trainers

Paolo Vanoli, Spartak HEAD coach

“It was hard to play football in the first half. We changed some moments at half-time, we wanted to play vertical football and use our chances better. We had a great moment with Sobolev, but in such games everything is decided by one moment. Did the match fail tactically? Disagree. In the second half it was necessary to play better with the ball. Lokomotiv obviously didn't play better than us. We are Spartak, our task is to fight for victory, ”Vanoli said at the post-match press conference.

Dmitry Loskov, acting Lokomotiv head coach

“I would like to congratulate the guys on their victory and thank them for their dedication. The weather conditions today were very bad. The game went to the goal, we scored, and that's why we won. Today we had no time for combinational football. [We feed Isidore] pasta. It's no wonder he scores. He is a striker. It is his direct duty to score goals, ”said Loskov at the post-match press conference.

What did they say after the match?

Alexander Zhukov, Honorary President of the Russian Olympic Committee

“The conditions, of course, were not the easiest, but the game was not bad. The game was equal. Lokomotiv was a little more lucky: one shot on target and a goal. If Spartak continues to play like this, then there are chances of relegation, ”a RBC correspondent reports Zhukov’s words.

Luca Cattani, sports director of Spartak

“It's not always possible to win. Today we played better in the first half. In the second, something went wrong. Maybe we should have taken it a little harder to win the game. What else should I say? I don't have to say anything about judging. They are not to blame for our defeat. They did their job. Yes, maybe there were inaccuracies somewhere, but we should not say that Spartak lost due to poor refereeing, ”said Cattani.

Sports director of FC Spartak Luca Cattani at the stadium before the match (Photo: TASS)

Thomas Zorn, technical director of Lokomotiv

“Good win. Was it worth it to play on such a field? I think it was worth it. For me, this match was fundamental. I didn't want to prove anything, I just wanted to win another derby," Zorn said.

Player reaction

Marinato Guilherme, Lokomotiv goalkeeper

“Khudyakov played excellently. As always. Terrible weather conditions? Removed the snow, everything is ok. In the 2017/2018 championship season, we played with Spartak in almost the same conditions, ”Guilherme told reporters.

Tino Jedvay, Lokomotiv defender

“Today there were such weather conditions and such a quality of the field that, in principle, luck is a normal word. Under such circumstances, the quality of the game is out of the question. Everything was decided on character. Whoever shows more character will win. This match was played until the first error. The team that does it will lose. I must say thanks to Isidor for seizing the moment and scoring,” Edvay told reporters.

Ruslan Litvinov, Spartak midfielder

“In some respects, we are unlucky, today we canceled a goal, this greatly affected the course of the match. We really wanted to score first. Thinking that Spartak will fly out is unacceptable. We don't even think about it. We will do everything to finish as high as possible in the standings,” Litvinov told reporters.

Girano Kerk (Lokomotiv) and Ruslan Litvinov (Spartak) (from left to right) during the match (Photo: TASS)

Maciej Rybus, Lokomotiv defender

“Honestly, I thought that the match would be postponed. But the guys continued to warm up even in the locker room, and as you can see, the delay of the match did not affect our game. Isidore scored the winning goal. He is great and most importantly, to continue in the same way. Are there any chances to enter the top three at the end of the championship? Of course. We have a young team and a good team,” Rybus told reporters.

Wilson Isidor, Lokomotiv midfielder

“In the last club I had so much playing practice. They trust me here. I feel the coach's support and that's why I play well. The conditions in the first half were very difficult, so we could not play our own game with everyone. In the second half the lawn was better and we got our game back. We had a plan for the second half to force Spartak to defend. We scored a goal and are happy with everything. We knew that we would play in all weather conditions. Mentally, we were ready to play and win. Yes, I could have scored the second, but the most important thing is the victory of the team, and not my personal achievements,” said Isidor.