Moscow Lokomotiv believed that they could beat Baltika in the Fonbet Russian Cup with little loss of life. The forces are too unequal, judging by the MIR RPL table.

But the two-game confrontation ended in failure for the railway workers, and Galaktionov’s team was let down by Artyom Dzyuba, who got lost on the field and failed to take the post-match penalty.

Everything was decided in the return match

Few believed in Baltika’s chances of winning. Kaliningraders are fighting for a place in the Premier League, being in the relegation zone. Head coach Sergei Ignashevich is actively being dismissed, but for now he is holding on to his place, albeit with difficulty.

Lokomotiv is doing better in the championship. The Muscovites round out the top five and still have a chance for medals. Of course, it will be difficult to catch up with Zenit, Krasnodar and Dynamo, but it is possible.

In the Russian Cup, both Loko and Baltika passed the group stage of the RPL Path without any visible problems. The Red-Greens took first place in Quartet B, losing only once in six matches. Baltika took second place in Group C, sensationally beating Zenit in one of the matches.

In the first playoff meeting, the Muscovites and Kaliningraders split amicably – 2:2. Everything was decided in Cherkizovo at the Lokomotiv stadium.

Thanks to Kozlov and Latyshonok

The home team started the game without any buildup. Already in the third minute, Nair Tiknizyan received a pass on the move, famously peeled himself away from the defenders and sent the ball into the goal with his first touch.

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This goal slightly calmed the railway workers, but Baltika started up. Her attacks were dangerous at times, although they never came to fruition. But it was felt that the Kaliningraders would break through.

And so it happened – albeit in the second half. At the end of the 52nd minute, young forward Danila Kozlov, who had shown himself brilliantly before, overtook the defender on the post and finished off the corner.

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Then a double-edged game began, and in it Baltika goalkeeper Evgeniy Latyshonok came to the fore, taking several difficult shots. Thanks to his efforts, the game ended in a draw – 1:1.

The score could have been larger if Artem Dzyuba had fully entered the game, but he was a pale shadow of himself. Yes, the Loko forward took part in the effective attack, making a pre-goal pass, but nothing else was memorable. Surprisingly, head coach Mikhail Galaktionov did not change it during the meeting, and this decision turned out to be fatal.

Artyom loaded into the crossbar

In the penalty shootout, Lokomotiv was as close as possible to victory. The hosts hit without a miss – Anton Miranchuk, Timur Suleymanov, Dmitry Barinov and Maxim Nenakhov scored. Baltika misfired – Kirill Kaplenko hit the crossbar.

Dzyuba could answer all questions about the winner. But at the most crucial moment, he decided to play for the audience and hit the crossbar with all his might. A sigh of disappointment was heard, it seems, throughout football Moscow.

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Baltika saved itself and brought back the intrigue. In the series until the first mistake, the Kaliningraders made no mistakes, but Loko made another mistake – Sergei Pinyaev, who came on in the second half, was unable to beat Latyshonok. Diego Luna put the finishing touches – 7:6 in favor of Baltika.

Kaliningraders will play in the semi-finals of the RPL Path. Lokomotiv will try their luck on the Path of Regions. So the railway workers were not eliminated from the Russian Cup, but they made their path to the trophy much more difficult.

“I’ve always remained a woodsy person”

Fans and experts were unanimous and pointed to Dzyuba as the main culprit of the defeat. And it’s not just the fatal crossbar. Artem played the entire match at a low level.

Lokomotiv fans immediately after the match launched several offensive chants towards Artyom. They can be understood: Dzyuba has not scored in seven matches in a row. Even in the penalty shootout, where the chance of hitting the goal is very high, the forward misfired.

Photo: © Dmitry Chelyapin / Match TV

But even outside the stadium, Artyom was mercilessly criticized. The famous football coach Vlastimil Petrzhela called the player old and slow. Social networks agreed with him.

– Galaktionov made a mistake with Dziuba! It had to be changed after the first half. The whole match is almost zero, pedestrian efficiency plus that same penalty kick on the crossbar,” noted a VKontakte user with the nickname “Football Farce.”

“It’s time for Dzyuba to hang up his boots,” added Evgeniy Gavrilyuk.

– Dziuba was still a piece of wood! Until they put him on the leg, nothing will happen,” said Tanya Lipukhina.

But there were also Artyom’s defenders. The famous Soviet football player Evgeniy Lovchev took his side, calling on him not to scold the striker for a missed penalty.

Watch the Russian Cup draw on Friday, March 15, at 13:00 (Moscow time) on the Match TV channel, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

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