10-men Lokomotiv snatch late winner

In a weekend where our main rivals for the last European slot, that is Spartak Nalchik dropped precious points it was imperative for Lokomotiv to win their encounter against Anzhi. Unfortunately playing at Anzhi is never an easy ride and eventually Lokomotiv were made to sweat to bring home the three points. The mission was made even difficult by the referee's blatant decision to send-off Basha for a non-existent second offence at the death of the first half. The match, which was determined by Dmitry Sychev's powerful shot at the 89th minutes, was a match of two tales. In the first half Lokomotiv Moscow were practically dominant while in the second period Anzhi had more of the play and had several occasions where they may had put Lokomotiv to the sword. Fortunately for us, Anzhi weren't composed enough and thus Lokomotiv rode their luck and eventually snatched the unlikely late winner. Apart of Sychev, who throughout all match was inspiring, Guilherme continued to instill confidence in the Loko backline by producing a reassured performance. Durica was another one who performed while Yanbaev made a huge improvement. Aliev & Loskov exchanged their roles very well whil Torbinsky, who started well on the left faded soon as he was switched on the right flank. A pity. Moreover, the red-card earned by Marko Basha ensured that Lokomotiv reach the negative record achieved by Shinnik Yaroslavl in 2008 of having 8 players sent-off in a single season. Sadly, with four matches remaining, there is every possibility that Lokomotiv break Shinnik's record coming the end of the season.

Lokomotiv, whose initial line-up was the same of last weekend, started brightly and within just two minutes the red-green could have been already one-nil up. Shishkin cross from the right found the Sychev who on the run headed to the bottom corner of the net. The ball looked destined for the net but Ilja Abaev had other plans as he dived well to his right and managed to reach the ball. Anzhi replied moments later through Tsoraev and within 15 minutes it was clear that the match was going to be an entertaining one as it was clear that both teams went out looking for the goal. Guilherme was called onto action with 15 minutes on the clock while moments later Aliev exhanged the favour twice. Both counterparts failed to slow down the tempo and although composure and accuracy were clearly lacking, for sure it was a great match for the much-maligned Anzhi supporters. On the half-on-hour mark Abaev was called onto action once again to pick up the ball from the onrushing Sychev. Tarasov and Aliev were the next to two to try their luck from range, but had no success. With 5 minutes remaining, it was all Lokomotiv and the hosts had to withstand a lot of pressure from the visitors. Nontheless Lokomotiv had no luck and things went from bad to worse as in a counter attack, Basha was adjudged to had illegally stopped the Anzhi striker and the referee was not only wrong to award the fall for the hosts but even made the mistake to show Marko the second yellow card followed by the red one. Basha couldn't believe what he was witnessing. His teammates were furious as it was clear that Basha first touch was that of the ball. There was no final drama in the first period as amidst protests the ref sent both set of players to the dressing rooms.

With a man missing at the back, Semin was forced to change something and thus withdrew Torbinsky in order to make way to Malkhaz Asatiani. Despite being in a numerical disadvantage Lokomotiv started very well and twice threatened Abaev. Nevertheless, with every minute passing by, the Loko players began to tire out and Anzhi started to play the ball in a more confident manner, thus winning metres in the process. On the 55th minute Jan Holenda was presented a golden opportunity to open the score but from just 7 metres he failed to trouble Guilherme. Minutes later Ivanov was the next to threaten while on the 65th minute Josan's shot brought out the best from Guilherme. On the 72th minute, Tsoraev should have hit the back of the net as after whizzing past Tarasov, from 3 metres out and with only the keeper to beat he could only hit the crossbar. At the other end, luck spared Abaev a blunder as he failed to connect with a back pass but fortunately for him the ball rolled out just inches away from the left post. The home crowd breath a sigh of relief. With no further action for the next 10 minutes, both were resigned for a draw. However the hosts had other plans on mind as in a last gasp effort the red-green managed to break the dreadlock. Aliev did well down the right and after driving down very well on the right his heavy touch of the ball allowed it to fell onto the path of Sychev who without thinking twice smashed the ball towards the roof of the net. The players and the management looked ecstatic while the crowd, disgusted towards the proceedings started to leave the stadium early. Nevertheless, once again and with the aid of the referee who failed to punish the Anzhi strikers for a clear foul, were presented a clear chance but from 10 metres out the man in white blasted over and high. The hosts were clearly disgusted by the ref and soon rushed towards the man in black to give a him a piece of their mind - and righlty so! The red card to Basha was harsh but this one was even worse! Nevertheless there was no final drama and Lokomotiv were left to celebrate another important step towards an Europa League slot. On the other hand the situation looks to be doom and gloom for Anzhi as should they fail to start winning soon they can start waving goodbye to the Premier League after just one season. Highlights of the match can be viewed by clicking here.

Player Ratings:
Guilherme - 7.5
Solid and confident. King in the air.

Shishkin - 7

Defended very well and was a nuisance for Anzhi whenver Lokomotiv attacked.

Basha - 5
First yellow card was quite dubious but the second one was a complete rip-off. Unlucky.

Durica - 6.5
Did well but visibly missed his Montenegrin partner

Yanbaev - 6.5

Started very well and held on his own on the night.

Tarasov - 6

Won some balls but his passing was quite poor on the day

Glushakov - 6

Did well to close down the opponents in the first but was quite inexistent in the second as he was employed on the left flank.

Aliev - 6.5

Threatened several times and provided the assist too.

Loskov - 6.5

It's unthinkable that this lad is 36 years old. Ran and ran and at times his passing was eyecatching.

Sychev - 8

Man of the match. Stole the show with a last minute winner, a goal which for sure was a beautiful reward for his effort tonight and his birthday he celebrated at the middle of last week.

Substitutes
Asatiani - 5.5

Quite shaky but overall did well.

Wagner - 5.5

Failed to do anything better than the man he replaced, that is Glushakov

Gatagov - N/A
Introduced to waste time.