Russia round-up: Spartak leave it late

A late penalty from Vladimir Beschastnykh earned FC Spartak Moscow a 1-0 victory over city rivals FC Dinamo Moscow today.

Sychev out
With Premier-Liga top scorer Dmitri Sytchev and defender Yuri Kovtun missing the game through injury, and Cameroonian defender Jerry-Christian Tschuisse limping off after just four minutes, Spartak faced an uphill struggle in a match against strong opposition. Dinamo were on a five-match winning streak and were hoping to continue their fine form under new coach Viktor Prokopenko.

Kharlachev goes close
Dinamo were indeed the more dangerous side throughout the first half, with Evgeny Kharlachev threatening Maxym Levitsky's goal twice. Alexander Panov also saw his dangerous shot saved by the Ukrainian international.

Dinamo dominant
Dinamo continued to dominate after the interval and Ognien Koroman headed the ball straight at Levitsky on 59 minutes when he should have opened the scoring. Panov was then presented with a glorious chance six minutes later but shot wide of an empty goal.

Kebe's efforts
Spartak started to pour men forward as the game wore on and Senegalese midfield player Baye Kebe wasted a good chance, before the same player forced a fantastic save from Roman Berezovsky on 78 minutes. Kebe was then was brought down in the penalty area by Deividas Chesnauskis to earn Spartak the decisive penalty and Beschastnykh made no mistake from the spot.

Spartak close in
The victory leaves Spartak with 29 points, five points adrift of leaders FC Lokomotiv Moscow. However, PFC CSKA Moscow, also on 29 points, have two games in hand on Spartak.