retired_amyslack

Moskovskie Novosti
Thursday April 5th, 2007
Drama At The Luzhniki

A dramatic UEFA Cup tie ended 3-1 in favour of Spartak Moscow last night as they rode their luck against a fine Betis side. The victory came at a cost however, with two players suspended for the return leg and five more just a booking away from missing a potential Semi Final. Some harsh refereeing saw nine yellow cards on display, two of them going to Velice Sumulikoski who left the game ten minutes from time. The match itself was highly entertaining with both sides fully committed to attack and chances created at either end. The home side took the lead on 22 minutes when Yegor Titov finished off a trademark Spartak move – a fast break forward from midfield, several crisp passes and a neat finish from the edge of the area. Play swung from end to end for the remainder of the half, with Betis coming close to an equaliser on several occasions. The pattern continued after the break and Dmitry Khomich made some impressive stops, none more so than when he somehow kept out a point blank header from Fernando. But Spartak also looked dangerous and Pedro Contreras had to be at his best to deny Maxym Kalinichenko when he tried his luck from distance. Then in the 71st minute the home side doubled their advantage when unsettled striker Nikita Bazhenov finished neatly to crown a neat passing move. Betis made a quick response and scored a valuable away goal when substitute Fabian Estoyanoff got his head to a Denilson cross. Shortly after that Spartak suffered another blow when Sumulikoski received his second yellow card and they were reduced to ten men. With Bazhenov withdrawn in favour of another midfielder the home side were hanging on and the Spaniards came close to equalising several times in the closing stages, forcing a series of corners that were courageously repelled. Then with just seconds remaining in the four minutes of stoppage time signalled by the referee, substitute Vladimir Leshonok gave his team an invaluable two-goal cushion when he volleyed home an Andrejs Rubins corner.

retired_amyslack

Moskovsky Komsomolets
Thursday April 12th, 2007
Spartak Scrape Through

Spartak Moscow made it into the Semi Finals of the UEFA Cup courtesy of an own goal deep into stoppage time that gave them a win on away goals over a brave Betis side. Spartak travelled to Seville defending a 3-1 lead from the 1st leg but with Velice Sumulikoski and Andrejs Rubins both suspended. Unhappy striker Nikita Bazhenov travelled with the party but remained on the bench, his place taken by Tarmo Kink. The change up front looked like a master stroke when the young Finn put the visitors ahead after 17 minutes, beating two defenders to finish powerfully into the bottom corner. But Betis showed their attacking prowess thereafter and by the 51st minute they had obtained a 4-1 lead on the night to take a 5-4 advantage on aggregate. In between times, Spartak were still able to break forward on occasions and Kink was guilty of missing two or three good chances to change the complexion of the game. It just wasn’t happening for Spartak and with the notable exception of Denis Boyarintsev, replacing Rubins on the left wing, none of their players were performing too well. But they dug in and just after the hour mark they looked to have scrambled another away goal when Juanito inexplicably headed the ball past his own keeper. Their joy was short-lived however as an offside decision was awarded against Kink to rule out the goal. Needing to find a goal from somewhere they kept pushing forward and survived several scares in front of their own goal. Dmitry Khomich made some smart stops but was comprehensively beaten by an Edu freekick that thankfully came back off the bar. With Kink getting caught offside with alarming frequency, move after move broke down but as the game entered stoppage time they finally scored. Substitute Alexandr Pavlenko made a determined run through the middle of the Betis defence and just as he was about to pull the trigger, Juanito stuck out a leg, sending the ball into his own net. It was a mighty relieved Yuri Djerkinov that took to the pitch to celebrate with his players when the final whistle sounded, knowing that they had been just seconds away from going out of the competition. Spartak will now face Liverpool in the Semi Final after they completed a 3-1 aggregate victory over Newcastle whilst underdogs Club Brugge will take on Valencia.

retired_amyslack

Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Sunday April 15th, 2007
New Boys Run Spartak Close

Spartak Moscow have had a hectic schedule of Cup matches and European ties and yesterday they played just their 3rd league game of the season gaining a narrow win over newly promoted Terek. At times it was a stuttering performance by the home side and after establishing an early lead through Maxym Kalinichenko they should have gone on to get a comfortable victory. But the visitors survived unscathed until the 77th minute when Vitaly Korneev headed them level from a corner. With the game entering stoppage time it looked like the underdogs would hang on for a surprise point but Spartak scored twice in time added on, something they seem to make a habit of, Sergey Kovalchuk and Alexandr Pavlenko the men on target.

retired_amyslack

Novaya Gazeta
Wednesday April 18th, 2007
Spartak Put One Foot In Final

A superb 3-0 win at Zenith Peterburg in the 1st leg of their Russian Cup Semi Final has almost guaranteed Spartak Moscow a showdown with bitter rivals CSKA in the Final next month. Zenith did little to help themselves with a lacklustre display that saw two players dismissed, one in each half. The visitors scored all of their goals in the first 45 minutes, two coming from the very impressive Maxym Kalinichenko with Man of the Match Freddy GuarÃ*n scoring his first of the season.

retired_puly1364

Liverpool will be tough match. Can't wait for the results!

retired_amyslack

No easy games in Europe Tanel

Ogonyok
Saturday April 21st, 2007
Saturn Nearly Pull It Off

A determined display of attacking football from Saturn almost saw them overturn the three-goal deficit in their Premier League Cup tie against Spartak Moscow. The visitors had fielded a second string eleven in anticipation of the forthcoming UEFA Cup match with Liverpool but they still took the lead after ten minutes through Pavel Pogrebnyak and looked to be home and dry. But then they suffered much the same experience as their colleagues had at Betis recently, conceding four goals without reply. Saturn scored all four in an extraordinary ten-minute spell either side of half time. Daniel Montenegro got the ball rolling on 38 when a Spartak attack broke down and he ran on to a long clearance to finish into the bottom corner. The same player scored the second on the stroke of half time, once more latching on to a ball over the top of a static defence. After the restart Saturn captain Freddy Jose Barreiro took over, scoring twice in a minute, each time finding himself unmarked in the area and given a free header. But Spartak managed to re-group and with Yuri Djerkinov making several substitutions to shore up his leaky defence, they managed to hang on for an aggregate win on away goals.

retired_amyslack

Pravda
Thursday April 26th, 2007
Kink The Spartak Hero

Estonian striker Tarmo Kink came off the bench at New Anfield last night to score the only goal of the game for Spartak Moscow in the 1st leg of their UEFA Cup Semi Final against Liverpool. A clearly out of sorts Nikita Bazhenov was left in the changing room at half time as the visitors looked to turn their dominance into goals and Kink duly obliged quarter of an hour after coming on. Man of the match Maxym Kalinichenko and Colombian youngster Freddy GuarÃ*n combined neatly to free the 21-year-old who finished clinically past the advancing keeper. The home side were poor throughout and failed to register a shot on target all evening, much to the frustration of their supporters. Spartak will feel somewhat frustrated not to have put the tie out of reach but much of that was due to the excellence of Chris Kirkland in the Liverpool goal.

retired_amyslack

Russky Telegraf
Sunday April 29th, 2007
No Joy For Zenith

Zenith Peterburg had an afternoon of mixed fortune as they faced Spartak Moscow in the home leg of their League Cup Quarter Final tie. Looking to avenge their 1st leg defeat in the Russian Cup they took the lead twice but were pegged back on each occasion and the final score of 2-2 favours their opponents for the return. Spartak boss Yuri Djerkinov stuck to his usual pattern of fielding a second-string side to preserve his first eleven for the rigours of European football. After a goalless first half the home side took advantage by scoring the opening goal minutes after the restart when Olexandr Spivak rose highest to head home a corner. Ten minutes later Pavel Pogrebnyak squared the game with a powerful shot from the edge of the area. Zenith had to wait less than five minutes to retake the lead, Valery Petrov’s shot taking a deflection before nestling in the back of the net. Over the next 20 minutes Djerkinov threw on all of his substitutes in an effort to restore parity and he urged his players on. But ten minutes from time there was a lengthy stoppage because of a bad injury to Zenith’s leading scorer Lukas Hartig, the Czech striker later diagnosed with a broken leg and he will miss the remainder of the season. Spartak finally got the goal they were looking for deep in stoppage time when two of their substitutes sliced through the home defence, Maxym Kalinichenko having an easy finish after superb work by Yegor Titov.

retired_amyslack

From the Diary of Yuri Djerkinov
Tuesday May 1st, 2007

It has been a much better month on the pitch and we now find ourselves just 90 minutes away from a European final. I am hoping and praying that we can go on to lift the trophy and if we do I will dedicate the victory to the memory of my young friend Misha whose life was struck short so tragically. I can never undo my own part in his death but I will make sure that I will honour his memory by the way I live my life from now on. Please God that I can achieve that before Smirnoff creeps out of his hole and takes the life from my body!

retired_puly1364

For Misha!

Kink's goal should take Spartak to final!