Dynamo beat Ufa to keep Zenit in their sights

MOSCOW: Dynamo Moscow kept Russian Premier League leaders Zenit St Petersburg in their sights on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Ufa.

Dynamo, who have a game in hand, remain third, nine points behind Zenit, who thrashed 3-0 Ural Yekaterinburg on Saturday. Defending champions CSKA Moscow are second, two points ahead of Dynamo.

“We started really well,” Dynamo manager Stanislav Cherchesov said.

“Unfortunately in the middle of the first half we lost control and allowed Ufa to score.

“Luckily, we managed to regain the initiative after the interval and scored the third goal to avoid a nervous ending.”

Dynamo started in lively fashion and midfielder Alexei Ionov put them ahead after 10 minutes, smashing home the rebound after Ufa goalkeeper David Yurchenko failed to hold a cross by Balazs Dzsudzsak.

French international Mathieu Valbuena made it 2- 0 nine minutes later when he let f ly from 10 metres in a crowded penalty area after a defensive mix-up.

But in the 28th minute, Ufa’s Brazilian midfielder Marcinho reduced the arrears from the penalty spot after Emmanuel Frimpong was fouled in the area.

Substitute striker Kevin Kuranyi restored Dynamo’s two-goal advantage with a close-range header from Artur Yusupov’s cross i n the 71st minute.

In Sunday’s early match, FC Krasnodar won 3-1 away at Spartak Moscow.

Krasnodar squandered a string of clearcut chances in the first half before Uruguayan midfielder Mauricio Pereyra put them ahead on the hour with a powerful 22-metre shot.

In the 67th minute, Brazilian forward Ari doubled the advantage when he netted with a 20-metre shot and Uzbekistan international midfielder Odil Akhmedov added the third, heading home a Vitaly Kaleshin cross i n the 72nd minute.

Spartak’s Dutch winger Quincy Promes scored a consolation goal with three minutes left.

“We boosted our play after the interval and it paid off,” FC Krasnodar head coach Oleg Kononov said.

“Scoring goals is the most important thing in football. We did that better than Spartak and won deservedly today.” - AFP