FC Krasnodar – Gabala FK (Azerbaijan) – 2:1 (1:0)
Goals: Wánderson, 8 (Mamayev, 1:0), Dodô, 50 (1:1), Smolov, 84 (2:1).
FC Krasnodar (Russia): Sinitsyn, Kaleshin, Granqvist, Strandberg, Jędrzejczyk, Gazinskiy (Joãozinho, 76), Kaboré, Ahmedov, Mamayev (Laborde, 66), Wánderson, Ari (Smolov, 60).
Gabala FK (Azerbaijan): Bezotosnyi, Ricardinho, Stanković, Vernydub, Dashdemirov, Gai, Meza (Sadiqov, 46, Zargarov, 90+1), Zenjov, Antonov (Zec, 74), Dodô, F. Pereyra.
Yellow cards: Jędrzejczyk, 72 (foul play), Granqvist, 82 (foul play), Ahmedov, 87 (attack breakdown) – F. Pereyra (unsporting behaviour), Stanković, 80 (attack breakdown), Bezotosnyi, 81 (unsporting behaviour), Sadiqov, 88 (attack breakdown).
Referees: Borski, Rostkowski, Boniek, Stefanski, Waijda (all Poland).
1 October. Krasnodar. Kuban Stadium. Rain. 19 degrees. 8 901 spectators.
It was decided by UEFA that the beginning of the Europa League match between FC Krasnodar and Gabala FK was to be set to 22.05 (MSK). Never in the history of the Bulls have they commenced their matches that late, but still, notwithstanding the night time and the rain that had unexpectedly started an hour and a half before the kick-off, an impressive audience of supporters actually gathered at the Kuban Stadium.
Despite the active support of their fans the home team made a rather timid start in the game. On the contrary, the visitors were not that shy of a team, so as early as on the 2nd minute Dashdemirov tested Sinitsyn with an aimed shot from afar, but the Krasnodar keeper made no blunder. Interestingly enough, Dashdemirov was the only player in the Azeri team lineup who had an Azerbaijani citizenship while being actually born in Makhachkala, Russia.
Anyhow, it did not take the Bulls long to take the bull by the horns (pardon if it sounds weird) and set to producing intricate combinations on the opposite half paying little regard to the rain and the slippery pitch. The first two attempts to score found little success as the Gabala defenders were successful in the timely blocking of the home players coming to make a shot on goal. But then, three is a magic number (or as they say in Russia, God loves Trinity), so the third scoring chance actually provided the Bulls with an opener. After a good sequence of passes followed with Mamayev rolling the ball to the 18-yard line, and then Francisco Wánderson took a fall shooting the ball into the bottom corner of the net guarded by Bezotosnyi.
No more than 2 minutes passed, and the home team created another splendid combination with the same Wánderson finding himself at its spearhead. The goalie was not able to save his team again, but the goalpost did it for him this time. With 15 minutes of the game done Ahmedov lacked just a few centimeters to score after his shot from 17 meters. In another 10 minutes the away team was saved by their goalkeeper who managed to reach to the ball that was insidiously sent by Ari into the second corner. Moreover, the way the ball missed its target on the 30th minute is very hard to comprehend. Ari answered to a classy serve by Gazinskiy and made a shot with a header for a certain goal, but Bezotosnyi succeeded in parrying both his shot and an attempt for a second one after a rebound while Mamayev and Ahmedov were not allowed to push the ball into the net by defenders who finally arrived to help their keeper.
Gabala FK would not sit totally in defense altogether, so they did launch attacks actively, but those were not as sharp as the Krasnodar ones. On the 38th minute the Azerbaijani team even managed to score a goal, but Dodô did it only after the referees had observed Antonov in an offside position. The most spectacular first half ended with the shots taken by the two Brazilian players, Ari of FC Krasnodar and Ricardinho of Gabala FK, and those were not coped with easily by the both keepers.
The away team started the second half with the Italian player Meza substituted for Sadiqov the Azeri and the three most dangerous shots that were taken within just a minute and a half after the end of the half-time interval. Sinitsyn reacted well to the shots from afar by Pereyra the Argentine while Stanković missed with his header after a serve from the corner of the pitch. Nevertheless, on the 50th minute Gabala FK finally gained their own way scoring an equalizer when Antonov, two meters away from the goal-line, shot the ball into the keeper after a low cross from the flank by Zenjov; the ball bounced to Dodô though, and he was the one to finish it.
Having conceded the goal the Krasnodar players finally realized that the second half had already begun, so they pushed forward. At the same time the visitors felt confident enough as to never give up their active play. The two-edged football followed with mutual chances, shots on goal, misses and saves by the keepers, and there was one time when Gabala FK halfback Sadiqov tested the firmness of the Sinitsyn’s goal crossbar with a mighty volley of his.
The home team fielded fresh Smolov, Laborde and Joãozinho by turns, and all of them added more speed and sharpness to the game of the Bulls, so in the end the black-greens finally managed to crack the tough nut from Gabala. On the 84th minute Ahmedov found Fyodor Smolov in the front line with a vertical pass; the No. 90 of FC Krasnodar left Vernydub behind with a feint bending the ball exactly into the away goal by its second goalpost. 2:1!
In the time that remained Gabala FK rushed forward at breakneck speed leaving their rear bare at the same time, so the Bulls could have exploited it more than once. But as it tuned out, the goal limit for the match had been already exhausted. The team led by Oleg Kononov achieved a hard-earned victory getting 3 points and raising to the true second position of the Group C.