Spartak squander chance to make top three

As the Russian Premier League’s second stage comes to a close, Spartak Moscow have missed a chance to climb to third place. In order to do so, the Red-and-Whites had to beat crosstown rivals Dynamo, but the derby finished in an uncompromising draw.

Valery Karpin's position as head coach of Spartak Moscow could be under threat after his side could only manage a 1-1 draw with local rivals Dynamo. Karpin had said his side would finish the regular season in third. However, following this result the Red-and-Whites can only finish fourth at best.

It could have been even worse for Spartak, as Kevin Kuranyi put Dynamo in front. However, Aiden McGeady restored parity on 57 minutes. Karpin’s team were soon reduced to ten men after Carioca was shown a second yellow card and sent off. Dynamo, however, couldn’t capitalize on that advantage.

Terek 2-0 FC Krasnodar

Terek managed to get a crucial 2-0 win at home to FC Krasnodar and made ground on their opponents at the top of the bottom half of the table. Two second-half shots by Aleksandr Pavlenko and Musawengosi Mguni made the difference in the Chechen capital.

Rostov 2-1 Tom

The home side took the lead on 18 minutes thanks to Hector Brakamonte's header. However, in the 65th minute there was a momentous occasion for Tom. Victor Stroev scored the Siberian side's first goal in over 19 hours of football – their first in 13 games!

Tom's chances of recording their first victory since July were given a boost as the hosts were reduced to ten men. But it was Rostov who would have the last laugh. Razvan Kocis broke Tom fans’ hearts in stoppage time with his header to give the home side all three points.

Anzhi 3-1 Krylya Sovetov

Big spending Anzhi Mahachkala got just their second win in seven games, after a comfortable 3-1 victory against Krylya Sovetov. The hosts had to come from behind, as Roman Vorobyov’s stunning strike gave the Samara outfit the lead 10 minutes after the half-time break.

Anzhi were level just a minute later. Yury Zhirkov got to the by-line and his pinpoint cross was met by Samuel Eto'o, who scored with the minimum of fuss to get his side back on level terms.

On 64 minutes the home side went in front. Zhirkov was once again the provider, and Shamil Lakhiyalov nipped in front of his marker to head home.

And Anzhi sealed the points two minutes later. Aleksandr Prudnikov was hauled down by Ivan Taranov, earning the Krylya Sovetov captain a straight red card. Eto'o made no mistake from the penalty spot to notch his seventh goal of the season.