The key facts

  • Makhachkala Dynamo beat Baltika 1:0 in the 14th round of the RPL, ending a six-match winless streak
  • The only goal came in the 4th minute from Kirill Zinovich after a corner; Brian Gil missed a penalty (45+5), hitting the crossbar
  • Dynamo, with 16 points, climbed to 11th place; Baltika, with 17 points, remained ninth

An early goal and a missed penalty

On November 8, Makhachkala Dynamo beat local side Baltika 1:0 at the Rostech Arena in Kaliningrad in the 14th round of the Russian championship. The report came from Gazeta.Ru. The only goal was scored by the visitors' midfielder Kirill Zinovich as early as the 4th minute — after a corner kick, he headed the ball into the hosts' net. The match referee was Sergei Ivanov from Rostov-on-Don, and the live text commentary of the match was provided by Gazeta.

Baltika's missed chance

The Kaliningrad side could have equalized before the break: in first-half stoppage time, the referee awarded a penalty against Makhachkala after a video review. However, the hosts' forward Brian Gil hit the crossbar — the spot kick was missed. According to Life.ru, before this episode Baltika had ended their own winless streak by beating Tolyatti's Akron 2:1 — Gil scored one of the goals then, and the winning goal in the 68th minute came from Ivan Belikov.

What changed in the table

The win was Dynamo's first in seven RPL matches: before that, the team had gone six games without a victory — five defeats and one draw. With 16 points, the Makhachkala side climbed to 11th place in the standings. Baltika, with 17 points, remained ninth. Thus, the gap between the teams narrowed to one point.

Talalaev's reaction

Baltika head coach Andrei Talalaev lamented his side's finishing after the match: 'We did not plan to concede from the very first set piece. We failed to convert a huge number of chances. Once again, the opposition goalkeeper was the best player,' Match TV quoted him as saying. He also noted that the players brought in to strengthen the team are not yet up to such a level of competition and promised to work on finishing. Upcoming matches: Dynamo will host Moscow Spartak at home on November 22, while Baltika will play away against Orenburg a day earlier.