Spartak Moscow v Dynamo Kyiv review

In a Champions League qualifying match that was to refuel an old rivalry, Dynamo Kyiv completely devastated Spartak Moscow 4-1 and can safely book passage to the next round.

The match started in an ominous fashion with one of the worst missed offside calls I’ve seen in a long time, allowing Spartak’s Nikita Bazhenov a clear break that he neatly converted for a 1-0 lead at the four-minute mark. Prior to and after that, Dynamo Kyiv controlled every aspect of the match and if they had wanted to press on the gas they could have scored far more. Ismaël Bangoura drew the match level at the twenty-eighth minute, with Artem Milevsky giving Dynamo the lead just before the half. Ismaël Bangoura added his second of the match just after the break on a dreadful miscue by the Spartak Moscow defense while Artem Milevsky would appear on score-sheet again only five minutes from full-time.

As much as this was a brilliant performance by Dynamo Kyiv, Spartak Moscow will be very disappointed by their lack of quality and intensity in-front of the home fans. Dynamo Kyiv was the far better squad tonight and are now on a clear course to the Champions League.

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Weekly Dose 13.08.08

• Jürgen Klinsmann could have stayed in Orange County and coach South Coast Bayern instead. (South Coast Bayern Futbol Club)
• For all Borussia Dortmund fans: a blog and forum about all things former Champions League winner. (Planet Dortmund News / Planet Dortmund Forum)
• Bundesliga Talk interviews famous Guardian sport-blogger Raphael Honigstein. (Bundesliga Talk)
• Winners don’t do drugs, got milk and wear red. (Spiegel Online)
• A football fan with a northern personality disorder. (Flickr)

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Terek Grozny v Zenit St Petersburg review

In a match that just concluded Zenit Saints Petersburg defeated Terek Grozny 3-1 in a very aggressive battle. With Dick Advocaat watching from the press-box due to his one match ban, Zenit came out with conviction and the midfield of Konstatin Zurianov, Igor Denisov, and Viktor Faitzulin fed Andrei Arshavin and Fatih Tekke with splendid scoring opportunites and controlled play. However much can be said of the Terek Grozny squad as it has radically improved offensively with Florentin Petre, Andrei Margaritescu and Daniel Pancu in the lineup.

In the early stages of the match, Zenit, in a text-book fashion pulled Terek wider, then drew their attack inside waiting for over-commitment to shoot through the seam. As the first half continued, Zenit began to tear apart Terek. Zenit took the lead off a corner at the seventeenth minute and while I couldn’t make out who made contact it appears on the score-sheet as an own-goal of Radoslav Zabavnik. The Zenit onslaught continued as Konstatin Zurianov scored from a ridiculous angle at the thirty-six minute mark, fed down the right side of the box from Andrei Arshavin. Florentin Petre drew one back for the visitors a few minutes into the second half but six minutes later Fatih Tekke headed home a beautiful goal to return the two-goal advantage to Zenit.

This victory moves the reigning champions Zenit back in the thick of the race however the biggest news and a bit of a surprise, is the return of Pavel Pogrebniak. Looking fit and healthy he entered the match for Andrei Arshavin with roughly five minutes left to the delight of the home fans. He moved very well, looked solid in a number of flurries and nearly scored within a minute of being on the pitch. Having Pavel Pogrebniak, arguably the best Russian striker, back for Zenit will make this already exciting race even more difficult to call.

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Terek Grozny v Zenit St Petersburg match preview

This mid-week makeup match will have a huge impact upon Zenit’s fading title aspirations. A victory today would see them locked in a tie with CSKA for sixth in the tight title race while a loss will like re-direct their focus towards the Champions League. However in the way of Zenit is Terek Grozny that knows the Zenit squad is weakened and victory in Saint Petersburg will catapult their European dreams forward.

Recent Form
Terek Grozny - combined (1 W, 3 D, 1 L) ( 2 GS, 3 GA)
Jul 13 FC Moscow 0 - 0 Terek Grozny
Jul 20 Terek Grozny 0 - 0 Rubin Kazan
Jul 27 YFK Shinnik Yaroslav 1 - 1 Terek Grozny
Aug 3 Terek Grozny 1 - 0 Saturn Moscow
Aug 10 Spartak Nalchik 2 - 0 Terek Grozny

Terek Grozny - away (1 W, 2 D, 2 L) ( 3 GS, 5 GA)
May 7 FC Khimki 0 - 1 Terek Grozny
May 16 Dinamo Moscow 2 - 1 Terek Grozny
Jul 13 FC Moscow 0 - 0 Terek Grozny
Jul 27 YFK Shinnik Yaroslav 1 - 1 Terek Grozny
Aug 10 Spartak Nalchik 2 - 0 Terek Grozny

Zenit St Petersburg - combined ( 1 W, 2 D, 2 L) ( 4 GS, 7 GA)
Jul 23 Zenit St Petersburg 1 - 1 Lokomotiv Moscow
Jul 26 Dinamo Moscow 1 - 0 Zenit St Petersburg
Jul 30 CSKA Moscow 0 - 0 Zenit St Petersburg
Aug 2 Zenit St Petersburg 2 - 1 FC Moscow
Aug 10 Rubin Kazan 4 - 1 Zenit St Petersburg

Zenit St Petersburg - home ( 3 W, 1 D, 1 L) ( 13 GS, 7 GA)
Sun. 6 Zenit St Petersburg 5 - 1 Tom’ Tomsk
Wed. 9 Zenit St Petersburg 3 - 4 Spartak Nalchik
Sat. 19 Zenit St Petersburg 2 - 0 Amkar Perm’
Wed. 23 Zenit St Petersburg 1 - 1 Lokomotiv Moscow
Sat. 2 Zenit St Petersburg 2 - 1 FC Moscow

Zenit will be without both Sébastien Puygrenier and Anatoliy Tymoschuk for the match as they were both red-carded in the Rubin Kazan meltdown. Fatigue is certainly an issue as that was their tenth match in four weeks and today is a test of mental toughness in front of their fans. To rebound from this they will need Viktor Faitzulin, Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov to step-up for this match in the midfield and Andrei Arshavin and Fatih Tekke to regain their finishing touch. Alejandro Domínguez if healthy and in the line-up could make the difference in this match. The twelfth-man will be big element for Zenit as they have shown in the past to rebound in front of their fans.

Terek Grozny knows the champions are bloodied and on the ropes. They will sit tight in a 3-5-2 and be ready to pounce on their errors, learning from Rubin Kazen’s victory. They will slow Zenit down, keep the ball in the tightly packed midfield and follow a disciplined approach with few errors. Match time decisions on the play of the Romanian trio of Florentin Petre, Andrei Margaritescu and Daniel Pancu will have a dramatic impact on the match.

I will review this exciting match, which is set to begin in one hour, after it concludes. The match is broadcast live online so don’t miss out.

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Spartak Moscow v Dynamo Kyiv preview

In what is surely one of the most exciting of Champions League qualifying matches tomorrow, Dynamo Kyiv return to Moscow to face Spartak Moscow. Prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union, Spartak and Dynamo Kyiv were the two most successful clubs in the country and while they haven’t met in thirteen years, the rivalry is far from dead. FC Dynamo Kyiv President Ihor Surkis put it best: “We have to beat Spartak. The players have to understand that and give all they have to win.”

The last week has been a turbulent period for Spartak with Valeri Karpin assuming the duties of general director and long-time cornerstones of the club Yegor Titov and Maxym Kalynychenko moved out. However while it has been a bit of a stumbling period, they will be looking to go on the attack against their old nemesis. Both squads come in from weekend draws, Spartak’s 1-1 against Khimki and Dynamo Kyiv 2-2 against Vorskla Poltava and unquestionably had an eye towards this historic match-up.

While the lineups have not been announced I am expecting Dynamo Kyiv to come out with a very attacking 4-3-3 with Miloš Ninkovi?, Tiberiu Ghioane and Ognjen Vukojevi? in the mid-field and a striking trio of Oleksandr Aliyev, Maksim Shatskikh, and Artem Milevskyy up-front. Spartak will throw forward a very aggressive attack with Mozart and Vladimir Bystrov pushing forward from the midfield to sharpshooter Roman Pavluchenko and a rising star in the game, Nikita Bazhenov, at Striker. Interesting to note Dyiv will start Olexandr Shovkovskiy at ‘keeper who played the last time the clubs met.

There are a host of great matches tomorrow but one of the most exciting rivalries is Spartak Moscow versus Dynamo Kyiv. I will provide a full report after the match.

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