The key facts
- Rostov beat Akron 6:1 and secured an early spot in the Russian Cup playoffs
- Rostov lead Group D with 12 points; Akron are second with 7 points
- Earlier, Rostov beat Lokomotiv 2:0 in the 12th round of the RPL
A rout in the home match and an early berth in the playoffs
Rostov crushed Togliatti's Akron 6:1 in the home match of the fifth round of the RPL Path group stage of the Russian Cup and secured an early place in the tournament's playoffs, reports Life.ru. Ronaldo opened the scoring as early as the sixth minute, then Daniil Shantaliy (16th minute) and David Semenchuk got on the scoresheet. After the break, Ivan Komarov and Danila Prokhin scored on the 46th and 48th minutes, Arseniy Dmitriev pulled one goal back for Akron on the 53rd minute, and Olakunle Olusegun set the final score in stoppage time.
Standings and schedule
The victory gave Rostov 12 points and first place in Group D. Akron remains second with seven points, followed by CSKA (5 points) and Lokomotiv (3 points). In the next round on November 25, Rostov will play away against Lokomotiv, while a day earlier Akron will host CSKA.
Context: tournament format and RPL results
The Russian Cup is held in two brackets — the RPL Path and the Regions Path. In the group stage of the RPL Path, each club plays six matches; the top two teams of the group advance to the playoffs of this bracket, while the third team continues its campaign in the Regions Path, where it must go through six rounds to reach the playoffs. The current holder of the trophy is Moscow's Spartak. Earlier, Krasnodar became the first team to reach the playoffs, defeating Dynamo. In addition to the cup match, Rostov recently at home beat Moscow's Lokomotiv 2:0 in the 12th round of the Russian Premier League, scoring both goals within the first 24 minutes; on November 1, Rostov will play away against Makhachkala's Dynamo, while Lokomotiv will host Spartak.
