FC Krasnodar – HJK Helsinki (Finland) – 5:1 (2:1)
Goals: Ojala, 8 (own goal, 1:0), Pavel Mamayev, 10, penalty kick (2:0), Jallow, 18 (Zeneli, 2:1), Smolov, 57, penalty kick, Wánderson, 60 (Mamayev, 4:1), Gazinskiy, 64 (5:1).
Missed penalty kick: Zeneli, 15 (goalpost).
FC Krasnodar (Russia): Dykan, Petrov, Granqvist, Sigurðsson, Kaleshin, Strandberg, Gazinskiy, Ahmedov (Ari, 58), Mamayev, Bystrov (Wánderson, 57), Smolov (Torbinski, 74).
HJK Helsinki (Finland): Örlund, Baah (Heikkilä, 60), Heikkinen, Ojala, Peiponen, Moussi, Zeneli, Tanaka (Kolehmainen, 22), Mendy (Malolo, 85), Schüller, Jallow.
Yellow cards: Bystrov, 42 (foul play) – Peiponen, 56 (unsporting behaviour), Ojala, 56 (unsporting behaviour), Jallow, 56 (unsporting behaviour), Schüller, 68 (foul play).
Referees: Strahonja, Modrić, Vrabec (all Croatia).
20 August. Krasnodar. Kuban Stadium. Clear. 25 degrees. 15 425 spectators.
FC Krasnodar boss Oleg Kononov made only one change in the starting lineup if compared to the won match against FC Zenit, hence Ahmedov replaced Laborde who has sustained a minor injury in Saint Petersburg. At the same time Odil took Mamayev’s position in the central zone with Pavel himself moving to the flank of the attack.
FC Krasnodar started the game like a boss taking possession of the ball and moving the play to the opposite half of the pitch. As a result, the Bulls launched a few ranging attacks and scored an opener as early as on the 8th minute. Kaleshin joined the attack along the right channel producing an aimed drill cross to the 6-yard line where defender Juhani Ojala of the away team placed his leg awkwardly in a duel with Mamayev and sent the ball into his own goal.
None the less, no more than 2 minutes passed when No. 7 of the Bulls marked himself with a scored goal of his own. Once again it was Kaleshin who created the chance after making the opponent commit a foul in the corner of the penalty area. Strahonja the Croatian referee pointed to the penalty spot with never a doubt, and Pavel Mamayev executed the sentence in cold blood.
Having obtained this comfortable lead so easily the Krasnodar team somehow weakened their pressure after that and it did not take long for the visitors to exploit it. HJK went forward en masse, so on the 15th minute they earned their own right for a penalty kick after a low cross by Mendy hit Granqvist’s arm. The shot by Erfan Zeneli sent the ball flying into the goalpost, and then the same halfback touched the bounced ball again which led to a reasonable decision by the ref to order an indirect free kick favoring the home team.
Unfortunately the Bulls did not play much heed to this alarm bell, so 3 minutes later they actually allowed the visitors to shorten the gap in the score. The same Zeneli served a corner kick with a mighty Ousman Jallow pushing through the defenders in an aerial duel and plunging the ball into the net with a header.
After that FC Krasnodar took the game under control again, so the chances began to occur anew next to the goal guarded by Örlund, the HJK Swedish keeper. Petrov made a solid shot from 20 meters that went above the target; Sigurðsson won an aerial dual after the corner kick sending the ball next to the goalpost; Smolov was stopped a few times one step away from a finishing shot. The Helsinki team executed a few set pieces in the end of the first half, but those were unsuccessful, so the teams left the pitch for a half-time interval with the same 2:1 on the scoreboard.
The beginning the second half came out as rich for events as the beginning of the first one did. A blurred shot by Bystrov barely missed turning into a second own goal in the game thanks to a rebound; Örlund was only able to observe the ball rolling centimeters away from his goalpost. 6 minutes later the Finnish team snapped back with another dangerous corner kick, but Dykan made a bold dive taking the ball away from the forward of the away team. Soon the third PK in the game took place. Bystrov, about to be substituted by Wánderson, replied to a long ball by Granqvist breaking into the away team box where Peiponen grabbed him with his hand. Fyodor Smolov was the one to approach the penalty mark this time, and he outplayed the keeper confidently.
With an hour of the game almost done the encouraged Krasnodar players created a masterpiece goal. The combination played out like clockwork: Mamayev gave an effective heel pass while running Francisco Wánderson put the ball into the net brushing the goalpost with a pool-style shot 25 meters away from the goal. Merely 4 minutes passed after the scored goal, and another massive attack by the home team ended with a precise shot by Yuri Gazinskiy. 5:1!
FC Krasnodar kept on attacking, so on the 72nd minute they missed a Finnish counterattack. Jallow attempted a point-blank header, but the goalpost saved Dykan for the second time. In the end of the match Wánderson performed an endurance test for the crossbar of the HJK goal, then Örlund saved his team after a shot by Torbinski who had come out as a sub, and finally there was an effective performance in the stands by means of hundreds of cell phone flashlights. It was the way the black-green supporters welcomed the runaway victory of their team which now allows the Bulls to travel to Finland next week with peace of mind.