It is unlikely that Konstantin Maradishvili imagined that he would become the hero of the day. When he came on as a substitute in the match against Rostov, his team was already playing in the minority and more and more pressed against their goal under pressure from the opponent. 5 minutes after the midfielder came out, the railway workers conceded a ridiculous goal due to a goalkeeper’s mistake. It seemed like it was all over.

But in RPL everything is possible. So in Cherkizovo this evening there was a completely unexpected denouement with Maradishvili’s crazy goal.

Ibrahimovic smokes on the sidelines!

desperate situation

Maradishvili was released onto the field in the 83rd minute. It was not just anyone who came out with him, but Ivan Ignatiev himself! The double substitution was intended to freshen up Loko’s game in attack, as the team was obviously hooked, playing with ten men from the middle of the second half.

However, at first, things did not go according to plan. “Rostov” continued to crush – and still did it. The weak link in Loko’s defense turned out to be young goalkeeper Daniil Khudyakov, who made a mistake at the exit and allowed his namesake Utkin to roll the ball into an empty net. The score 2:1 in favor of the guests was to be the verdict.

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But he didn’t. Josef Zinnbauer and Marvin Compper can be pleased with the fighting spirit of their team. After the conceded goal, Loko did not stop playing, but on the contrary made a heap. Stanislav Magkeev made a throw to someone else’s penalty area, the struggle began there. As a result, the ball bounced to the right flank to Dmitry Zhivoglyadov. He raised his head and made a targeted pass into the penalty area.

Maradishvili was waiting for this pass. He peeled off his guards and took the ball to his chest. The midfielder was with his back to the goal, so he had only one option left – to shoot through himself. And Maradishvili did it so easily, as if he had been laying with “scissors” all his life – and this was in stoppage time! The usual thing, just spit.

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Dry, how come?

The stadium rejoiced, but soon the game resumed. There was a feeling that the referee had to throw in a few more minutes from above, because there were enough stops. However, Judge Aleksey Sukhoi had a different opinion. He blew the final whistle in the midst of Lokomotiv’s high-speed counterattack, which could well have ended in a goal. In this case, the referee clearly showed verbalism …

Dry generally behaved rather strangely. In the first half, he watched a replay of the foul on Isidore for a very long time, which even from the general camera seemed obvious. For some reason, the referee was afraid to personally put a penalty. In general, refereeing cannot be called ideal.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich

However, it is unlikely that Loko players are worried about this now. They pulled out an almost dead match. And Maradishvili, who saved his team so effectively, made a serious bid to return to the starting lineup. A pleasant puzzle for the coaching staff on the eve of the most important trip to St. Petersburg.