The yesterday's match between “Sheriff” Tiraspol and Estonian “Levadia” ended with the same result as a year ago. In winter, 2007, Tarkhnishvili and his team scored 3 goals in the match against Estonians. The only difference was that our opponents could twice unseal the goal of “Sheriff” last year. But yesterday they had no chance to do it.
Our team began right off the bat. The confusion of the last day gave still more confidence to our players. Others would be broken. Really, it was not easy to recognize that your team, playing better during the whole game, gained no points. In other words, to be beaten. Well, it would be another matter if it were as in 2006 when “Sheriff” was unexpectedly defeated by Turkmenian “MTTU” 0-1. But the match against “Zenit” finished in the score 1-3 taking into account that the opponents were passing into our half of the field no more than 10 times during the game.
Well, let’s finish with the history and come to the point. To start right off the bat meant to break down the opponent's resistance by the 10th minute, conducting rapid attacks on the whole front. As a result, by that 10th minute the score became 2-0 to our team. On the 3rd minute Wallace executed the corner kick and the goalkeeper caught the ball already behind the goal line. In the protocol the goal scored was registered for Gnanou because that was he who tried to play the ball on the second floor. In fact, it was the real “dry leaf”.
The announcement about the author of the goal made Wallace angry. And already in seven minutes he carried out the individual masterpiece. At full speed he approached the penalty area, rounded the opponent and shot the ball into the far top corner of the net. As they say – “get and receipt”.
Then the play fell into the pattern. Balima was breaking the ranks of the opponents on the right flank, Thiago – on the left one, Picisciac was attacking in the centre. The tension near the penalty box of “Levadia” was high enough. Our team had, at least, three goal-scoring opportunities to extend its lead. Nevertheless, the score on the indicator board caused joy.
At the beginning of the second half Wallace and Gnanou played together again. The Brazilian carried out the corner kick from the left flank, then high jump of Gnanou who scored the goal with the excellent header. The score became 3-0.
About 40 minutes remained to the end of the match. Leonid Kuchuk gradually began to field substitutes. “Levadia” got its hands on the territory of the field, but that territory ended in 30 meters away from our goal. Stanislav Namasco only once entered into the game seriously, but it was in the first half of the time. And the young goalkeeper coped with the shot effortlessly. The substitutes easily carried the match to its logical completion. As they say – “finished what their teammates had begun”.
After that win and unexpected result 1-2 of the match “Zenit” – “Ashkhabad”, “Sheriff” won back the status of the favorite in spite of the fact that everything would be solved in the last round.
