Comments to : Oxana Smirnova, oxana@quark.lu.se
31 January 1997, 1/2 finals ===========================
General remark:
Two of four quarter-finalists represented Group D which had only three
competent participants and was called the weakest. Despite that fact,
it took the CIS powerhouses SM & DK so much to make it to the final!
My prediction for final game:
Very sad to admit, but now DK have more chances to win.
Nevertheless, this will be A GAME !
SPARTAK Moscow (RUS) - Kopet-Dag Ashkhabad (TRM) 1:1 (0:1), pen. 3:2 0:1 - Gogoladze(4); 1:1 - Romashchenko(72,Tsymbalar').
Well, VERY uneasy game for Spartak. And very disappointing. :(
Turkmen played better then they can, we played worse then we can.
All the first time Kopet-Dag were stabbing our defense with their
counter-attacks, with Georgian Kakha Gogoladze on the edge. And they
were lucky to score by just first lunge. BTW, Gogoladze is a very
picturesque person. He's quite stooping, and swings his arms pretty
funny when he walks, and when he runs breaking through defenders, he
bends his head way down (very funny to watch:), but certainly he's a
perfect heavy forward, what he's doing in Ashkhabad so far I wonder?
Well, as soon as he scored, Turkmen moved back to shape a solid
defense. And Spartak's excruciation started. The less time remained,
the more we attacked, but 90% of attempts were organized through the
center and short passes, that delivered no effect. The second half of
second time was better, we was trying to stretch Turkmen's defense and
to play faster, but the general impression was the same - S A D.
Romashchenko scored by closing Tsymbalar's free kick. And we recall that
the second Kopet-Dag's goal (41st minute) was disallowed for unfair off-side...
I'm just beginning to think there was more in Spartak's losses in Israel
than met my eyes...
Penalties:
Skonto Riga (LAT) - DINAMO Kiev (UKR) 0:0, pen. 1:4
Well, Ukrainians had to sweat, too. When Loban was asked after the game,
"Do you consider this as a surprise?", he answered, "Nothing to wonder
about. They [Skonto] are a VERY weak team, and they knew it, and they
just stood as a wall, and they happened to succeed". Hmm, indeed, when
"defensive-playing" Dinamo have to score something, they are a little
success...;) But still I liked DK a little bit more than Spartak. DK had
more difficult task, being faced the way less opened rival. Though this
semi was of less interest for a watcher. The main point of this game was
Skonto's goalie Kolin'ko, who just MUST be named as the best keeper of
tournament. He had saved ALL the possible and ALL the impossible! And this
nil draw is 90% his merit. But Riga have a bad tradition: to field another
goalie Laizans when the shoot-out is approaching. In fact Laizans rescued
Skonto in quarter-final shoot-out, but he was way worse now.
While Shovkovsky parried twice.
Penalties: