Elite selection: how Akron and Dynamo (Makhachkala) retained their places in the RPL
Akron lost at home to Rotor in the return match for the right to play in the RPL (0:1), but still retained its place in the elite (the first game ended with a score of 2:0). The match turned out to be dramatic: in the first half, chief referee Andrei Prokopov, after prompting the VAR and watching the video replay, canceled a penalty against Rotor, in the second half — a goal against Akron. In the second duel, Dynamo Makhachkala defeated Ural again, this time at the Anzhi Arena stadium in Kaspiysk (2:0, 3:0 in the sum of two matches), the team from the capital of Dagestan did not doubt its superiority.
Zero hits
The phantom goal, which proved decisive in Yekaterinburg, became the most discussed topic of the first play-off matches. This is the case when it is impossible to correct the final result. However, there were at least 90 minutes left in Kaspiysk, during which Ural could turn the situation in its favor. Accordingly, Vasily Berezutsky's team had to seek their fortune at someone else's gate, but Saturday's meeting started as if Dynamo needed to win back.
Mubarik attacked from a long range, Azzi habitually sharpened the game on the right, tried to close Miro's flank feed, and Agalarov had a one hundred percent chance, but an attempt to hook the ball over the goalkeeper was unsuccessful. In turn, Ural had at least leveled the game by the middle of the first half. The Bumblebees controlled the ball well, tried to combine, and also tried to open up the strong defense of Makhachkala due to the activity of Zheleznov and Ishkov on the flanks. Perhaps, in the first half hour, the most promising moment for the guests was the pitch to Malkevich, who was not allowed to break through two defenders at once.
But Agalarov, being under pressure from two opponents after Glushkov's throw into the penalty area, squeezed the maximum out of the situation. He turned out to be a little faster than Begich, then he put the body down and forced him to break the rules, and in the end he himself converted a penalty kick with a panenka. Hamid demonstrated enviable confidence and composure in a responsible game, and also showed how high the price of a moment is in such meetings. After all, the Uralians could have won back by the break. Zheleznov did everything for this, cutting out a perfect pass from the flank. Neither the goalkeeper nor the defender could interrupt her, but Sekulic did not feel the moment and could not reach the ball in the fall.
In the second half, the guests came out with an additional attacking player, Bogomolsky. And in the decisive segment, the old guard was thrown into battle in the person of Ayupov, Filipenko (counting on top serves) and Margasov, who almost immediately got the opportunity to shoot from outside the penalty area. Who knows how the game would have gone if their own player hadn't been in the way of the ball. However, thoughts on this topic lost their relevance just a few minutes after Dynamo's second goal. Mubarik won the fight in the center of the field, and Mrezig, picking up the ball, approached the penalty area and struck from close to 30 meters away, which Selikhov was not ready for. The ball went past the goalkeeper, hitting the lawn in front of him.
In fact, that was the end of it. Ural, having left the RPL two years ago following the results of the clashes with Akron, was unable to return to the elite for the second time in a row through transitional matches and faced the fact that in one of the games the team from Yekaterinburg had questions about refereeing. As for Dynamo, they, as befits their status, appeared to be a better team. Vadim Evseev's team, who did a high-quality job in Dagestan, allowed their opponent practically nothing in 180 minutes of a two-round confrontation, naturally outplaying the bumblebees (zero shots on target). It would have been strange if it had happened otherwise, after the Makhachkala team had disarmed the attack of Spartak, which remained without medals, a week earlier.
Controversial judicial decision
In two years, Akron has been on an emotional roller coaster. The season before last, Tolyatti players broke into the RPL following the results of the matches, and now — after a high—quality debut tournament in high society - they themselves are forced to defend their place in the elite in transitional matches. After a disastrous spring stretch with a single victory, I even had to arrange an emotional shake-up by changing the head coach. And judging by the game in Volgograd, the measure turned out to be effective: the red-blacks did half of the work under the leadership of Murat Iskakov, who was previously a member of Zaur Tedeev's headquarters.
It is symbolic, by the way, that before the game in Samara, two personal prizes were awarded to the hero of the first match, Benshimol. As if for each of the goals against the "Rotor". However, these were awards for the best Akron player in the last two months. And just included in the Cape Verdean national team's bid for the 2026 World Cup, the forward could open the scoring by closing Pestryakov's serve (he had previously shot dangerously at Dzyuba), but the ball went near the post. But these episodes did not mean that the game was under the control of the hosts. On the contrary, the Rotor, which had nothing to lose, looked bold and active in attack. And Dmitry Parfenov returned to the usual formation with four defenders, while changing the quartet of players in the starting lineup.
The first thing that caught my eye was the willingness of the Volgograd residents to fire at the gates from a long range at the first opportunity. So Terekhovsky was constantly kept on his toes. Yes, some attempts turned out to be warm-ups, but the quantity turned into quality. After the goalkeeper had to convert Troshechkin's corner shot, the visitors sent the ball into the net at the corner, but they did it from an offside position. Eldarushev also attacked very dangerously, trying to surprise his former team with a "scorpion strike." With a little precision, there would have been an application for one of the best goals of the year in Russian football. Akron's sharpness continued to come from Pestryakov, who created the moment for Dzyuba to miss and, due to his persistence, almost earned a penalty (it was canceled after watching the replay).
According to the results of the first half, it could be stated that strategically everything was in favor of Tolyatti, but in terms of quality, the first 45 minutes remained with Rotor. So the Volgograd goal at the beginning of the second half turned out to be well deserved. Troshechkin, having the opportunity to shoot from the penalty area, turned the ball to the right, from where Aliev led Shilnikov to an empty corner. The intrigue, which few people remembered after the Volgograd 0-2, returned in full. The guests were one stroke away from regaining the balance in the sum of the two matches. And they scored again! With a flank serve, two riding single combats were won at once, after which Aliyev shot the gate.
But the VAR and the referee invited to the monitor had a different opinion. They felt that Eldarushev had pushed Djurasovich in the back, and this, in a far from obvious situation, was enough to cancel the goal. A judicial decision that will be discussed for a long time. Moreover, everything could have ended after a few minutes — when Maradishvili's shot from an acute angle was stopped by a barbell. But we must pay tribute to the "Rotor", which did not give up and continued to move forward. Aznaurov's impressive pass continued with a pass under Aliev's run, and Rocha missed the inclusion in the fall of Eldarushev, who reached for the ball. Akron was saved by Terekhovsky, who "read" the episode and jumped out to meet it.
Unlike the pair of Ural and Makhachkala Dynamo, where one team turned out to be noticeably stronger than its opponent, the confrontation between the two Volga clubs turned out to be truly vivid. And it's not a fact that everything would have ended in favor of Akron if Rotor had shown at least some of what they had demonstrated in Samara three days earlier in Volgograd.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
