Quarantined Rostov fields all-teenage team
Not everyone returned as the
Russian league resumed on June 19 and Sochi made the most of Rostov’s coronavirus problems as they thrashed a team of teenagers 101. Rostov, fourth in the table, had tried to get the game postponed after six players tested positive for COVID19 and their rstteam squad was quarantined. But hosts Sochi pushed for the xture to go ahead as they seek vital points to boost their battle against relegation. None of the Rostov squad had played at the highest level, the oldest in the 1■man squad was just 19, there were two 16 yearolds, 12 were 17 and three 1■. “We were weaker than our opponents only in terms of our physical characteristics,” said 17yearold Roman Romanov, who gave Rostov a rstminute lead, told Match TV. Russian international striker Aleksandr Kokorin scored a hattrick for Sochi. The Russian Football Federation oered to postpone the match until July 19, but this required the agreement of both clubs, and struggling Sochi declined. Sochi issued a statement only hours before the 1700GMT kicko, declaring the match on.