Spartak enjoy success at last

Success needed
Spartak have endured a miserable start to the 2003 league season and had singled out the cup final as the most important fixture of their campaign so far. Although the club had already made sure of a UEFA Cup spot for the 2003/04 European campaign by finishing third last year, Spartak captain Yegor Titov said victory at the Lokomotiv stadium in Moscow was vital for confidence.

Titov the hero
"I was not sure we would win before the match, and I think that Rostov were favorites," said Titov, the scorer of the game's only goal. "But I am happy we won and proved that we still can play football."

Headed winner
Russia captain Titov found the net with a header in the 28th minute from Roman Pavlyuchenko's cross. Pavlyuchenko could have stolen the spotlight from Titov but three times failed to beat Rostov goalkeeper Ilya Bliznyuk when left on one on one.

Chairman thrilled
Rostov also had their chances but Spartak's Alexei Zuyev denied both Esso Kanyenda and Yuri Maximov. "I think our victory made sense," said Spartak chairman Andrei Chervichenko. "We were a better side and we had more occasions to score. The determination of the players has shown that our side will be among the best in Russia no matter what."

Joy for Torpedo
Spartak will now enter the UEFA Cup as Russia's cup winners, meaning the berth they had secured by finishing third will go to the fourth-placed team in 2002, FC Torpedo Moskva. After 12 rounds of the 2003 season, Spartak have won just three games and are placed 13th out of 16 sides.