Rostov edge ten-man Rubin as Russia heads into winter break
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Rostov defeated ten-man Rubin Kazan 1-0 on Friday to cut the gap on leaders CSKA Moscow to just three points in their last match before the Russian Premier League breaks for the winter. Dmitry Poloz scored the winner in the 37th minute when his close-range header hit the woodwork before the ball bounced into the net courtesy of a deflection off Rubin goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov.
"Rubin have very skilled and well-organised attackers and it wasn't easy to hold them even after they were reduced to ten men," Rostov manager Kurban Berdyev said. "But we played disciplined football and won deservedly. I'm happy both with the result and my team's performance."
Rubin's hopes of salvaging anything from the game were hit just before half-time when Bulgarian midfielder Blagoy Georgiev received a straight red card. CSKA's hold on top spot had been loosened on Thursday when a 2-0 loss at Amkar Perm stretched their winless streak to six matches.
Lokomotiv Moscow are two points behind Rostov after being held to a 2-2 draw by Ural Yekaterinburg. Ural were in front after just two minutes when midfielder Alexander Sapeta scored from a cross by Vyacheslav Podberyozkin.
Lokomotiv levelled 15 minutes later when Senegal forward Baye Oumar Niasse found unmarked midfielder Alexei Miranchuk in the area who kept his cool to hammer the ball into the corner of the net with a low shot. Armenian international forward Edgar Manucharyan restored Ural's lead in the 37th minute, firing in from the edge of the area.
In the 58th minute, Ural thought they had extended their lead but the effort was ruled out for offside. Niasse rescued a point for Lokomotiv with ten minutes to go, sweeping home after Ural 'keeper Yury Zhevnov had only parried an initial shot by Brazilian Maicon.
Spartak Moscow beat Samara 1-0 to leapfrog reigning champions Zenit St. Petersburg to go up to fourth. Spartak's Dutch midfielder Quincy Promes scored the only goal in the first minute with a header to maintain his status as the league's top scorer with ten goals.
Elsewhere, Anzhi Makhachkala defeated Dinamo Moscow 2-1 with two goals in two second-half minutes. Krasnodar edge rivals Kuban Krasnodar 3-2 in a thriller with four goals coming in the final 23 minutes of the match.