Fomin brings Dynamo victory at Krasnodar

In comparison with the previous round Sandro Schwarz made two changes in the starting line-up: Fedor Smolov appeared on the attacking end, while Guillermo Varela took the right-back position. So, the Latin-American trio was restored again. Krasnodar coaching staff put Nigerian winger Olakunle Olusegun into the starting eleven taking his bright performance for the second team into consideration.

Dynamo players started pushing the hosts from the first minutes. Smolov, Fomin and Szymanski were effective in pressure but these actions didn't lead to an early goal. In their turn, the Bulls could remain ten-man within ten minutes because of Nikita Krivtsov who fouled on Diego Laxalt twice.

Matvey Safonov made a stunning save denying Arsen Zakharyan from taking the lead midway through the first half as the Krasnodar keeper did just enough at full stretch to divert the low shot onto the post.

In added time, the White-Blues earned a crucial penalty. Two former Krasnodar players combined to create the breakthrough and Daniil Fomin converted an eleven-meter attempt immediately before the half-time whistle.

After the interval the home side created several dangerous chances. Eduard Spertsyan hit over the crossbar from inside the penalty area and then Fabián Balbuena kicked the ball out the goal line after Alyaksandr Martynovich's header.

Schwarz' second-half substitution could bring Dynamo a comfortable lead, when Denis Makarov who replaced Grulev raced one-on-one with the keeper but didn't find the net. If not for Safonov's saves, the score could have been much bigger in favor of Dynamo.

During the last minutes the hosts' striker Jonathan Okoronkwo was involved in a moment of drama. The Nigerian centre-forward assisted on Aleks Matsukatov who sent the ball into the path of Aleksey Ionov. The latter went to ground in the box and was booked for simulation.

Dynamo stay second on 46 points. In the next round, our team will play at Nizhny Novgorod on April 9.