Yevseyev, Gorlukovich, Melyoshin, Kanischev,
Lipko, Titov, Datdeyev
Played on November 16
St.Petersburg, "Petrovsky" stadium, Att. 23000. +5 Celsius
Referee: Taras Bezubyak (St.Petersburg)
Tsymbalar 27' 1:0
Tikhonov 84' 2:0
Kanischev 88' 2:1
SPARTAK: Filimonov, Ananko, Gorlukovich, Tsymbalar, Mamedov, Yevseyev
(Lipko 63), Konovalov (Bezrodny 55), Alenichev, Titov,
Dzhubanov (Melyoshin 46), Tikhonov
Coach: Georgy Yartsev
ALANIYA: Kramarenko, Pagayev, Derkach, Sheliya, Dzhioyev, Tetradze,
Tedeyev, Yanovsky, Agayev (Datdeyev 46), Kanischev,
Suleymanov
Coach: Valery Gazzayev
Yevseyev, Gorlukovich, Melyoshin, Kanischev,
Lipko, Titov, Datdeyev
By Alastair Macdonald, ST PETERSBURG, Russia, Nov 16 (Reuter) (for Russian-readers - Mike Dremin's report)
Spartak Moscow won the Russian championship on Saturday with a dramatic 2-1 playoff victory over titleholders Alania Vladikavkaz. Brilliant strikes from captain Ilya Tsymbalar in the 27th minute and Russian Player of the Year Andrei Tikhonov eight minutes from time secured the fourth title in five years for the soccer aristocrats from Moscow.
Anatoly Kanishchev's 85th minute reply for the upstart provincials from the North Caucasus kept the excitement bubbling to the final whistle.
But Spartak, who finished the season level on points with Alania to force the first championship playoff in 26 years, always looked the more fluid and confident side.
The Russian league, like its Soviet predecessor, does not take account of goal difference, forcing Spartak and Alania into this end-of-season showdown in neutral St Petersburg.
The team from turbulent North Ossetia, which borders rebel Chechnya, were never far from repeating last year's exploit when they silenced Moscow's big battalions to take the four-year-old Russian league title away from the capital for the first time. They never quite found their rhythm, however, against a Spartak side urged on by a big contingent of travelling fans and fielding the Russian league's greatest collection of individual stars. Tsymbalar, still struggling to overcome a knee injury, settled Moscow nerves with 10 seconds of genius.
Picking the ball up inside his own half, he found Dmitry Alenichev lurking deep on the left. Ten seconds later Russian international Tsymbalar was on the spot to hammer the sweetest of returns past Dmitry Kramarenko in the Vladikavkaz goal.
The final quarter was pulsating cup final stuff.
Tikhonov thought he had wrapped it up with one of his trademark solo charges down the left. A shot from the tightest of angles bounced in off the far post and Russia's player of the year, was mobbed by team mates.
The Ossetians were not about to give up. But Kanishchev's strike five minutes from time was not enough.
"I knew it was all over only when I heard the final whistle," said relieved Spartak coach Georgy Yartsev.
His main task now may be to persuade the likes of Tsymbalar and Tikhonov not to heed the siren call of western Europe and to stick with the club for next season's Champions' League campaign. Spartak took maximum points in the pool stage of the 1995-96 European Cup but lost a handful of top players, including Viktor Onopko and Sergei Yuran, to western clubs in the Russian close season.
Without them, Spartak went out in the quarter-finals.
By Christopher Hamilton, St. Petersburg, Russia (special to the SPb Times)
Two shining moments of skill and fortune allowed Spartak Moscow to wrest back the Russian championship from defending champions Alaniya Vladikavkaz 2-1 in the "golden game" playoff held in the freezing gloom of St Petersburg's Petrovsky Stadium Saturday.
Returning Moscow captain Iliya Tsymbalar provided the first of these moments in the 27th minute with a goal that so stunned the opposing team that they were unable to regroup until the second half.
With the clock running down and Alaniya pressing ever harder for an equalizer, it was Russian Footballer of the Year Andrey Tikhonov who put his team two ahead with a shatteringly audacious strike eight minutes from time.
The defending titleholders refused to surrender their crown without a fight, getting a goal back in the 85th minute and coming perilously close to taking the game into overtime with wave after wave of attack in the final moments.
In front of a capacity crowd of 25,000 - mostly Spartak fans - the 1992-94 champions were more composed than their opponents, who never looked at ease in the Petrovsky cauldron.
"This is a very emotional moment for us now," said Spartak Head Coach Georgy Yartsev, whose team rose in the standings from fourth at the end of the first round to tied for first at the end of the second. "We were playing against champions and it was a difficult match."
Both teams began the first playoff game in 26 years nervously, perhaps overawed by the occasion. Passes went over the sideline, or through to the opposition and the game lacked any sense of flow in the first 10 minutes.
Alaniya were the first team to settle and they began to look more and more threatening, especially down the right flank. The game was still delicately poised at the 27th minute mark, when Tsymbalar altered the whole complexion of the game, orchestrating the goal of the season.
Seizing on a loose ball bouncing toward him just on the Alaniya side of the halfway line, the Spartak captain first timed the ball back over his right shoulder in a looping pass for unmarked left half Dmitry Alenichev to run onto.
Tsymbalar immediately turned and sprinted for the Alaniya goal as Alenichev closed on the ball out on the left flank, hitting a curving first touch cross that dropped into the racing Tsyamblar's path and he deftly tucked the ball behind advancing goalkeeper Dmitry Kramarenko into the left-hand corner of the net.
Tsymbalar's goal visibly unnerved Alaniya, who struggled to mount any sort of coordinated attack for the rest of the first half. Spartak continued to dominate early in the second half, but a determined Alaniya fought hard to get themselves back in the match.
Two thirds of the way into the second half, Spartak's Sergei Gorlukovich was booked after bringing down Bakhva Tedeyev just centimeters outside the penalty area when Tedeyev had a clear run on goal.
Alaniya players, infuriated at referee Taras Bezubyak's decision not to send Gorlukovich off for what was obviously a red card offense, protested. Anatoly Kanischev received a yellow card for dissent. The resulting free kick came to nothing and Alaniya lost composure.
Tikhonov gave Spartak a 2-0 cushion while his opponents were still fuming, breaking down the left flank and hammering the ball through Kramarenko, who was caught out of position expecting Tikhonov to cross the ball to two Spartak forwards closing on goal.
The ball skidded on the wet turf, hit the right post and bounced in. The ever modest Tikhonov put the goal down to luck, saying: "I got a lucky strike on the ball and I was fortunate that the goalie made a mistake."
With five minutes left on the clock, Alaniya's Anatoly Kanischev brought his team back to one down with a shot from just inside the penalty area that ricocheted off a Spartak defender and past goalie Alexander Filimonov.
Alaniya applied a ton of pressure in the closing minutes, but were unable to grab a last minute equalizer despite several good chances. Nazim Suleymanov had the best of these when the ball came to him 10 meters out with plenty of time but he completely missed a nervous looking attempted volley.
As Alaniya lined up for yet another in a series of corner kicks for the defending champions in the final seconds, referee Bezubyak blew time and tucked the ball under his arm, sending Spartak supporters into ecstatic celebrations.
"This was a crystal dream for us," said Spartak coach Yartsev.
"I can't believe the team made the huge leap to get to this final match. We kept the tradition and faith in the Spartak team and this challenged the younger players to give it their all."
Alaniya head coach Valery Gazzaev was downcast, but took consolation from his team's fighting performance.
"All in all I am pleased," he said. "We just needed a little bit more. Today the teams were equal, and we unfortunately made a few mistakes which cost us the game."
In contrast to the Spartak-Zenit game two weeks ago that saw bottles thrown and fires started, the crowd Saturday was impeccably behaved, perhaps apprehensive of provoking the 1,600 police and OMON present at the game.
Standings
