SVK 0-1 RUS: Russian Revenge

October 9th, 2011 | by: nick | Comments Off

All Russian fans now know that their team almost have one foot in the finals. After defeating Slovakia 1-0 through Alan Dzagoev’s long range goal, Russia are now in first place with 20 points and a draw at home to Andorra will confirm a ticket to Poland and Ukraine. In what was a nervous buildup, Russia started very strongly and dominated most of the match. Slovakia found it difficult to find a footing but did have a few sporadic attacks forcing critical saves from Malafeev.

Russia
The prematch feeling was very nerve wrecking because a loss in this game could have completely derailed the entire campaign and left Russia without even a playoff spot. But Russia did come in knowing that at least a draw coupled with a win against Andorra would be enough to top the group. However the first 10-15 minutes showed that Russia dominated the game from the beginning. Arshavin, who has been criticized this past year for his club form at Arsenal, provided a solid link between the midfield and Pavlyuchenko up front. The rest of the formation performed almost flawlessly and showed very fluid football with menacing attacks. Lets hope Russia take this type of game back home to face Andorra and hopefully to the final tournament.

The second half continued in much of the same fashion. Russia dominated and kept the pressure on Slovakia in their own half. Yuri Zhirkov had several impressive run-ins and opportunities to provide left wing crosses. Dzagoev was the star of the evening when he drifted into the center, picked up a pass from Yuri Zhirkov and volleyed the ball over Slovakian goalkeeper Ján Mucha. The shot clearly took a deflection off a Slovakian defender and after video replays may have seemed like a lucky goal. But it can be argued that Slovakia scored their winner in Moscow under similar circumstances. Other players of note who performed well on Friday were Aleksandr Anyukov, Konstantin Zyryanov, and Vyacheslav Malafeev.

Slovakia
When these two teams met in Moscow just over a year ago, Slovakia were a bit sharper and quicker. However after a 4-0 home loss to Armenia, Slovakia were clearly losing their edge. Friday evening clearly was not their best game. Russia pressed them into their own half and kept them on the defensive. Miroslav Stoch, the goal scorer in Moscow, did have one very clear opportunity but his shot was covered by Malafeev.

Russia finished the match deserved winners after an undisputed superior performance. They now march home to face Andorra while Slovakia travel to Macedonia in a meaningless game to wrap up their campaign.

Slovakia 0-1 Russia
Goals: Dzagoev 71