The match of the second stage of the semi-final of the Way of the Regions of the Cup of Russia, held at Lukoil Arena, ended with a score of 2:1 in favor of the hosts.
Marcel Licka fielded the same team that successfully played with Zenit three days ago. Dmitry Skopintsev, who missed that meeting due to illness, was on the bench.
The match started with the territorial advantage of the hosts, but the ball practically did not reach Andrei Lunev's penalty area. A lot of minor fouls resulted in two mirrored yellow cards of Roberto Fernandez and Christopher Martins for the face slapping, and they violated the rules on each other.
At the 13th minute, the first dangerous moment arose at the goal of Alexander Maksimenko - Bitello passed to Yaroslav Gladyshev, and the Dynamo forward struck from the penalty line centimeters from the right post. Spartak responded with a similar attack, which turned out to be a goal – Ezequiel Barco gave the ball to Marquinhos, and he irresistibly struck the near nine.
The blue and whites ran to recoup, and once again Gladyshev was in the spotlight: he shifted from the right flank to the center and charged to the far corner from the left – Maksimenko reached the ball with his fingertips and transferred it to the post. And then Spartak scored again, but this time in their own goal – Bitello made a cross from a free kick, and Daniil Denisov cut the ball into the far corner with his head.
After the exchange of goals, the teams fired up, and the game went practically without the center of the field. Danil Glebov was shooting from behind the penalty area - it turned out to be much higher than needed. Then, after a free kick, the ball bounced to Nicolas Marichal, and his shot forced Maksimenko to jump to save his team. The nervous ending did not bring goals, but after the whistle for the break, the entire coaching staff of Spartak went to make claims to Pavel Kukuyan, and one of Dejan Stankovic's assistants saw a red card in front of him.
The second half began with the tenth shot of Dynamo in the match – Fernandez's long-range shot went over the crossbar. The hosts again took the lead in the 50th minute. Marquinhos crossed into the penalty area from the left flank, and Levi Garcia headed the ball into the far corner. Soon the same pair almost organized another goal - this time after a low pass Lunev had to repel Garcia's shot into the near corner.
Spartak immediately gave up the initiative, focusing on quick counterattacks. Licka also made the first substitution, strengthening the offensive line with the help of Nicolas Ngamaleu, who came out instead of Daniil Fomin. And almost with the first touch Moumi tried to shoot from behind the penalty area, hitting the defender.
Dynamo for some time pressed the opponent in their half of the field and could recoup after taking a corner - Fabian Balbuena won the aerial duel, dropped the ball on Fernandez, and Roberto struck next to the bar. Later, Ngamaleu dragged the ball through the half-field and gave a cutting pass to Gladyshev, who shot low from the right, but Maksimenko made a save.
For the last five minutes, Denis Makarov appeared on the field, and he could immediately become the hero of the ending. After a high cross, Ruslan Litvinov threw the ball with his head right on the Dynamo midfielder's foot, and Denis from five meters struck slightly above the crossbar. It was the last dangerous moment in the match.
Dynamo have completed their performance in the current draw of the Cup of Russia and now in the next match on May 5 they will play away with Krylia Sovetov as part of the RPL campaign.
