Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 Rubin Kazan: Kerzhakov Double Downs Visitors

Zenit extend their RPL lead with victory over Tatars...

Jul 31, 2010 3:21:00 PM

By Andrew McLean

More On :  Rubin Kazan, Zenit
RPL: Alexander Kerzhakov - Zenit

A packed Petrovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg was the venue for this top of the table clash with new Russia manager Dick Advocaat in attendance.

And it was Zenit who grabbed all three points thanks to a goal in either half from striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov. The win is the ninth consecutive victory in the RPL for the leaders and there seems to be no stopping Luciano Spalletti's northern army.

Rubin suffered an early setback after an innocuous looking collision between Zenit left-back Tomas Hubocan and Lasha Salukvadze forced the latter to be stretchered off after no more than a minute of play. He was immediately replaced by Yevgeni Balyaikin.

Rubin had the lion's share of possession in the early going but a quick break from Zenit left them vulnerable. The first real chance of the game fell to Zenit after substitute Balyaikin brought down Kerzhakov 30 metres from goal. The initial shot was blocked and at the third attempt Vladimir Bystrov was caught on the foot by Cristian Ansaldi as the winger attempted to volley a dropping high ball and had to hobble off for treatment.

Alan Kasaev was the first to manage to get a shot on target for Rubin but in comparison to his wonderful second goal last week, the effort was very tame.

With 12 minutes gone, a deep corner by Zyryanov was completely missed by Ryzhikov in the Rubin goal and he was lucky to watch it roll out for another corner as Zenit tried to pounce.

Balyaikin was quick to settle into the game winning a corner for the visitors deep in the Zenit half, but Bystrov's delivery was poor.

Zenit almost made them pay straight away as Danny lobbed a ball off balance over the Rubin backline that found Kerzhakov on the left side of the box but his swerving volley was well palmed out by Ryzhikov to settle his nerves.

Bystov then brought a good save from Malafeev after great work down the right by Karadeniz; the Turkish striker pulled the ball back and the lay off from captain Semak was crisply struck but too close to the 'keeper.

Set pieces were creating the best openings for both teams as Noboa twice prevented Zenit in the Rubin box before Shirokov ended the spell of pressure driving wide from a rebound.

The best chance of the half then fell to Rubin's Karadeniz. After turning inside Meira brilliantly, the forward seemed to hit more air than ball as it rolled to Malafeev.

Bystrov's earlier knock then forced coach Spalletti to introduce Alessandro Rosina into the game as the winger was still struggling. The substitute almost had an immediate impact but he fluffed his cross out of play after a nice ball by Danny put him in space.

Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev was becoming frustrated with his side surrendering the ball with simple passes available as after half an hour Rubin had 56% possession but could not cut an opening to test Malafeev.

Berydev was right to be annoyed, as Rubin surrendered a solid first half display. Zenit broke the deadlock just as added time had appeared on the fourth official's board. Bystrov was easily dispossessed and Danny broke at pace, leaving Noboa behind with a sizzling turn of pace. The Portuugese playmaker dinked a pass perfectly with the outside of his foot in to the run of Zyryanov. The midfielder's volley was blocked but Aleksandr Kerzhakov was on hand to tap in his third league goal of the season, despite a last ditch effort from Ansaldi on the line.


Rosina should have doubled the home team's lead straight away. A poor clearance from Ryzhikov in goal fell straight to Zenit; Rosina found himself one on one with the 'keeper but Ryzhikov redeemed himself by making a very important block.

Zenit continued on the front foot after the break but were almost caught out when Karenidiz looked to have broke through for Rubin but went to ground without contact from Denisov in the box and was shown yellow card for diving.

Danny was at his tormenting best down the right side, showing some world class touches and winning his team free kicks in dangerous areas. It was the Portuguese international who again ripped open the defence but poor play by Rosina allowed Rubin to re-group and Denisov, under pressure, could only force his shot wide of the post.

The introduction of Obafemi Martins on the hour for his debut made little difference, as the former Newcastle United man looked out of touch and isolated in Rubin's stubborn formation.

It wasn't long before Kerzhakov doubled his tally on 65 minutes. Hubocan broke down the left and his cross caught the Rubin defence napping, as the striker stole in between the 'keeper and Ansaldi, who dithered for both goals, allowing Kerzhakov to head a simple finish into the corner.

Rubin were running out of ideas and looked timid upfront, even after the introduction of Martins. The visitors were forced into further changes but Zenit only looked like extending their lead when Danny almost got himself on the score sheet; for once his first touch let him down and Rubin cleared.

Kerzhakov was replaced to a standing ovation with ten minutes to go and Danny was replaced shortly after with Zenit looking to rest players in preparation for the Champions League second leg tie against Romanians Unirea Urziceni midweek.

Zenit deserved their victory, the difference being their cutting edge in the final third in opening up the opposition defence. Rubin relied too heavily on the small frame of Karadeniz upfront to bring play together. Karadeniz worked hard and created some mischief for Zenit in the first half but had little support coming from behind him today.

Team Line Ups:

Zenit: Malafeev; Anyukov, Meira, Lombaerts, Hubocan; Denisov, Zyryanov; Bystrov (Rosina), Shirokov, Danny(Fayzulin); Kerzhakov( Kanunnikov)

Rubin: Ryzhikov; Salukvadze (Balyaikin), Navas, Orekhov, Ansaldi; Kasaev (Gorbanets), Semak; Bystrov (Martins), Murawski, Noboa; Karadeniz

Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 Rubin Kazan
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