Lokomotiv & Zenit share the spoils

In a very entertaining match, Lokomotiv failed to make them 4 on the trot and had to content with a one-all draw with Zenit. In an unusual manner, Lokomotiv played better than the home side, especially in the second half were Lokomotiv administrated the game and thus restricting the home side to their area. Unusually because few are those teams who take the game in the Zenit area at the Petrovskiy. For sure I couldn't not mention the intimidating atmosphere present at the stadium which seemed to intimidate more the men in blue rather than those in red and green. Despite it is a positive result for the Loko, I feel a little bit agrieved that we weren't able to take the whole 3 points; we deserved them. Apart of a clear penalty call called down by the ref Sukhina, Lokomotiv had other two-three clear chances to bury the match, in contrast to the one-two clear chances for the former-capital outfit. With regards to the starting line-up, Semin made only one change from last match. Wagner took the place of Glushakov and started the match behind Sychev. Bilyaletdinov and Odemwingie played on the flanks. Dujmovic and Charles shielded the back four while the four back line was the one we become accustomed to, that is YARK (Yanbaev, Asatiani, Rodolfo & Kuzmin). In goalie started Guilherme who seem to have cemented himself as the first keeper. Good for him and Lokomotiv!!

From the first minutes of the encounter, Lokomotiv took the initiative into their hands; and actually it doesn't took us much to break the deadlock. A short corner by Sychev was followed by a very long shot (nearly from the corner flag) by Odemwingie. Despite looking an routine safe for Malafeev, the Russian international keeper made a mess of the situation. Malafeev didn't only failed to catch the ball, but unfortunately for him the ball fell into the feet of Wagner who in open goal made no mistake. One up for Lokomotiv and unhappy times for the Zenit keeper. Jeering started to be heared from the stands and for sure this compouded misery for the Zenit custodian. Not a nice way to treat a man who made over 200 appearances for the club. Even though he is at fault for the goal, it was an outrageous response by the home crowd. Something to condemn!! Back to the chronicle, after the goal Lokomotiv continued to attack rather than calming down a bit. A good one-two between Charles and Sychev nearly earned the second goal for Lokomotiv, however this time round Malafeev dealt with the situation well. From this point Zenit upped their game and started to enter into the match. On 20 minutes Zenit came close to bring the score level as Kornilenko broke through only to be reached by Asatiani who in a goal-saving tackle put the ball out for a corner. From the corner Zenit threatened the goal yet again. A well taken corner found Semshov, whom all alone struck a good shot at the corner. However Rodolfo, from ground put his body infront of the ball and thus stopped Zenit from scoring. Good one by the Brazilian, who today showed why he is thoughted to be one the best defenders in Russia! Zenit protested for a possible hands ball but replays showed that Rodolfo used his body rather than his hands and thus a good decision by the Sukhina. As the minutes passed by and Zenit seemed to take the game to Lokomotiv, they drew level. Yanbaev lost he ball on the right to Huszti, whose cross was met a diving header of Tekke who gave Guilherme no chance. One-all was the score and that was the score at the end of the half time.

The second half started the way as the first half; that is with Lokomotiv on the offense. The first chance fell to Wagner whose well struck freekick was catched by Malafeev. After some ten minutes of action-less football, the visitors took again the command of the match. First Sychev had a penalty-call called down. Replays showed that Kim made no contact with the ball and thus the penalty might have stood. Soon after, Sychev bursted again into the area with a great run which was a followed by a good cross whose Wagner failed to connect with from 5 meters out. Pity! Within minutes Loko came close again. This time Sychev let Gatagov free, whom in front on the keeper, albeit a little bit angled, failed to hit the back of net. Soon after another promosing move paid no dividends as Gatagov failed to hit the ball after Bilyaletdinov skipped past 3 men. On the other end, Rosina won the ball from the feet of Kuzmin and with only Rodolfo separating him from the keeper I was resigned that this time we won't be lucky. However Rodolfo, again showed his defensive skilled and took the ball from Rosina's feet without even touching him. Amazing stuff! However I must say that Rosina can be a great man for Zenit if he is utilised well. His superior technique is evident. As the match reached its conclusion, Zenit scared the visitors. A good cross from the right was met by the head of Huszti, who from just 2 metres out put the ball above the crossbar. 1-1 was the score at the final whistle. Fair enough.

Player Ratings:

Guilherme - 7 - Some good stops from the keeper. No fault for the goal. Undoubtly the best keeper of the pack.

Yanbaev - 5.5 - Did well, however lost the ball which led to the equalising goal. Could have cleared the ball rather than trying to get out with it.

Asatiani - 7 - Strong presence at the back. Made some good blocks and tackles. Confident display by the Georgian

Rodolfo - 8 - An amazing outing by the Brazilian. Let nothing getting past him and saved his team in two clear chances. Will I be too much pretentious if I say that he may deserve a call up to the national set-up? Personally he is much way better than Luisao!

Kuzmin - 7 - Full of composure and combined well with Bilyaletdinov. Didn't gave an inch of space to Semshov.

Dujmovic - 7.5 - Ran the midfield for Lokomotiv. Full of action. I wonder if he does tire out someday. Just what Lokomotiv lacked for the past two years.

Charles - 6.5 - Combined well with Dujmovic and won some good balls. However his overall good game was marred by simple misplaced passes. However a champion in first touch!

Odemwingie - 6.5 - Quiet game from the Nigerian. Shot about 3-4 times from distance with little results. Could have dealt with the situation better. However his stining shot let to the Loko opener.

Bilyaletdinov - 7 - Seemed frustated in the first half and was booked for kicking the ball away. Grew immensly in the second half and made a lot of dirty work. Ran a lot.

Wagner - 7.5 - Scored the goal on his first start with Lokomotiv. Apart of being at the right time and place for the goal, Wagner combined well with the rest of the team. His set-pieces were all well taken and he seems to be in a higher level in terms of skill. A good signing!!

Sychev - 7.5 - Sychev is just in good form. Despite not hitting the back of the net he was a constant threat throughout all match. Played some good balls and should have been awarded a penalty.

Substitutions

Gatagov - 6.5 - Had two chances to score, one of them clear. Played well.

Torbinsky - 6.5 - The man is back, and he seems to be more aggresive than ever. Booked in less than 5 times on field. Odemwingie is the one risking his place. Linked up well with Sychooov.