Defeat In Kazan

Lokomotiv lost to Rubin in Gameweek 8 match of the Russian championship, suffering their first defeat this season.

An impressive group of Lokomotiv fans traveled to Kazan for the fixture against Rubin. They warmly greeted our coach Oleg Pashinin, who had recently celebrated his birthday. Prior to the kick-off, the supporters unfolded a banner with the coach's portrait they had drawn the night before. Large part of the visiting fans' block of the stands was occupied by the Lokomotiv fans from Tatarstan and the nearby regions.

The Railwaymen made two changes to the starting line-up. Alexey Miranchuk filled the position in the hole, while Alexander Kolomeytsev shifted to an unusual position on the left wing, normally taken by Kasaev. Alan’s minor injury left him with bench-warming duties.

A few days before the fixture against Lokomotiv, Rubin’s head coach Rinat Bilyaletdinov was replaced by caretaker Valeriy Chaly. Judging by the opening minutes, the manager’s dismissal made a great impact on the team. After just 50 seconds Rubin fired at Guilherme's goal. In the 8th minute another shot from the hosts hit the woodwork and in the 10th Carlos Eduardo scored an opener. The player finished a counter by chipping the ball over Guilherme. In the middle of the first half Rubin doubled. Kanunnikov sneaked the ball into the net, capitalizing on a mistake made by Denisov.

After in half-time, our coaches decided to reshuffle the squad. Ndinga was replaced by Maicon, who came in to fill the flank, while Kolomeytsev reassumed the duties of a deep-lying striker. Lokomotiv scored an equalizer already on 59 minutes in a set piece played by Shishkin and Samedov, Alexander netting the ball into the corner.

In the course of the second half, Lokomotiv and Rubin both created chances. Kazan was more successful, when Bilyaletdinov Jr put it away inside the far post. The last twenty minutes saw six yellow cards flashed here and there, however they did not affect the score. The Railwaymen lost first time this season.

Russian Championship. Gameweek 8

Rubin-Lokomotiv – 3:1 (2:1)
Goals scored: Carlos Eduardo, 10 (1:0), Kanunnikov 25 (2:0), Samedov, 59 (2:1), Bilyaletdinov, 70 (3:1)

Lokomotiv: Guilherme, Denisov (Logashov, 70), Corluka, Pejcinovic, Shishkin, Tarasov, Ndinga (Maicon, 46), Al.Miranchuk (Skuletic, 70), Samedov, Kolomeytsev, Niasse
Rubin: Ryzhikov, Kuzmin, Kverkvelia, Kambolov, Nabiullin, Georgiev, Bilyaletdinov (Dyadyun, 90), Carlos Eduardo (Kislyak, 62), Kanunnikov, Karadeniz (Cotugno, 93), Portnyagin.
Bookings: Niasse, 13, Denisov, 36. Maicon, 63. Logashov, 72. Pejcinovic, 78. Bilyaletdinov, 78. Nabiullin, 88. Kuzmin, 89. Tarasov, 94.
Referee: Sergey Kulikov (Saransk)
September 12, Kazan, Central stadium.