The encounter of the Fonbet Russian Cup group stage 2nd round that was held at VTB Arena, ended in a 4:3 win for the hosts.
After an emotional and energy-consuming match at St. Petersburg, Dynamo coaching staff made a big rotation of the squad. Only left-back Dmitry Skopintsev and central midfielder Daniil Fomin came out on the pitch in comparison with the RPL 3rd round game. Fortunately, Arsen Zakharyan and Denis Makarov escaped serious injuries and both were included into the team list.
Dynamo took full advantage from the first minutes, showing fast football with a lot of approaches. Roberto Fernandez hit powerfully from 30 meters just above the crossbar, Grulev opened up well inside the penalty area, but slightly delayed with a shot. In the next episode, the Bulls' goalkeeper Stanislav Agkatsev reacted to the ricochet strike by Skopintsev, and Grulev sent the ball as high as he could.
Dynamo's pressure brought positive results soon. Makarov, who played as a secondary striker, made a diagonal pass towards the penalty area. Grulev was ahead of Agkatsev, who had no choice but to foul. Daniil Fomin clearly converted a penalty. Less than 5 minutes later, Yaroslav Gladyshev perfectly crossed into the penalty area, where Grulev jumped high and headed the ball into the corner – 2:0.
Krasnodar suddenly came to life and almost came back in the last five minutes of the first half. In two episodes, Igor Leshchuk superbly denied Ilzat Akhmetov's and Mikhailo Banjac's efforts. But he was helpless when Nikita Krivtsov was cutting the hosts' lead, benefiting from a cool pass by Akhmetov. The Russian international of Kyrgyz decent could have become the hero of the first half. At the last minute, the referee gave a penalty in favor of the Krasnodar side after Fernandez' handball. However, Ilzat missed the target.
The second half started with an early goal scored by the visitors. Kevin Lenini sent Kobnan David one-on-one with Leshchuk, and the Nigerian striker realized his chance. Dynamo players rushed to restore the lead, but Krasnodar defenders blocked all the attempts of the White-Blues. Finally, Makarov saw Grulev accelerating and assisted on him. Slava got close to the goalkeeper and shot into the net from the outside of the goal.
Dynamo continued to increase the pressure. Stanislav Bessmertnyi got a clever pass from Fomin on the line and rolled the ball out exactly to Skopintsev, but left-back's shot from a few meters was palmed away by Agkatsev. Immediately after that episode, Marcel Licka made a triple substitution – Zakharyan, Konstantin Tyukavin and Nicholas Marichal came to the pitch.
Soon the hosts scored again. Grulev dragged the ball himself and struck into the far right corner – 3:2. The game exploded, and Krasnodar came back from another penalty. Bessmertnyi rolled under Jhon Cordoba, and the referee pointed to the spot for the third time in the match. The Colombian left no chance for Leshchuk.
By the end of the match, Dynamo unleashed a flurry of attacks on the opponent', not wanting to wait for the penalty shootout. First, Zakharyan dangerously crossed from a free kick, and Fernandez hit the near post. Then after a corner Saba Sazonov missed the target with his header. The denouement came in added time once again. Arsen earned a free kick 20 meters from the goal and executed it himself – the ball touched Lenini's head and flew neatly into the left corner past the disoriented Agkatsev. There is a second crazy win in three days!
After two Cup rounds, the White-Blues picked up 4 points and stay second in their group. In the next RPL match Dynamo will host Baltika Kaliningrad on Sunday, August 13.