The final match of the Saturday program of the 16th round of the Russian Premier -league (RPL), in which Baltika in Kaliningrad hosted Moscow Spartak, turned out to be memorable. And the organizers’ choice of this game as the central match of the tour has nothing to do with it.
Even the day before, there was no hint of winter in Kaliningrad, but a few hours before the starting whistle, the city was covered by a powerful snowfall. If at first this was perceived as an element of the surroundings, adding to the pre-New Year mood, then the closer the match began, the more clearly the problem emerged. The snow was falling intensely — just seven minutes after the starting whistle, the chief referee of the match, Rafael Shafeev, decided to suspend the game so that the staff of the Kaliningrad stadium could clear the markings on the field using shovels and special equipment.
Matches in the snow are nothing new for this Spartak squad. In April last year, the game of the “red-whites” against “Lokomotiv” started an hour later than planned due to snowfall and ended with a victory for the railway workers — 0:1. But the most memorable match of this kind in the history of Russian football took place at the beginning of the century — in November 2002, Spartak lost to CSKA (1:2) in a game that went down in history as the “snow derby”. Based on this, one could conclude that snow, unlike rain, certainly should not be called Spartak weather.
A tactical move from the Spartak coaching staff was the choice of the away uniform for the game in Kaliningrad. Because of the snowfall, the guests in white were not so easy to distinguish, unlike the Baltika players who came out in blue T-shirts. Directly on the field this probably wasn’t a big problem, but the spectators in the stands and at the screens had to strain their eyes once again.
For football players, the game has turned into an ongoing struggle. On such a surface, even simple passes to others became a real challenge. Nevertheless, both teams tried to show spectacular football. Although the boots are not designed for playing on snow, they are still better than the shoes that the Cubans took with them to the recent match against the Russian team. In boots with short spikes, it would not be possible without a wave of injuries out of the blue.
The Alexander Sobolev factor At some point in the first half, it seemed that Baltika were close to scoring, but the heroic play of Alexander Maksimenko saved the red-whites. Having allowed several dangerous moments near their goal, Spartak punished the Kaliningraders with a devastating counterattack. It was crowned with a subtle through-ball from Alexander Sobolev, who had come out of disgrace, and an accurate shot from Daniil Khlusevich — 1:0.
Perhaps this game will finally strengthen the head coach of the “red-whites” Guillermo Abascal in what is for the current squad this forward has no alternative and should always enter the field from the first minutes.
The second half of the battle with the elements became special for at least one Baltika player. 36-year-old goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev came on as a substitute in the 64th minute to replace the injured Maxim Borisko. For the ex-goalkeeper of the Russian national team, this game was his debut in the Kaliningrad team and another against Spartak, for which he managed to play from 2008 to 2010.
In general, after the break, the number of dangerous moments at the goal of both teams decreased to a minimum — fuss prevailed on the field. “Baltika” and “Spartak” had to compete more in willpower rather than in football skills.
In the end, Gideon Guzina could have snatched a draw for “Baltika”. The Bosnian finished off Kristijan Bistrovich's cross with a header, after which, in a fit of joy, he dived into a fresh snowdrift. It all turned out to be in vain — at the moment of the pass, the striker was in an offside position.
Baltika could not recover from such a shock and conceded the second goal at the very end. All questions about the winner were answered by the same Sobolev. He rolled the ball to Quincy Promes — 2:0. For the Dutchman, this goal became the 113th during his performances for the red and white.
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