Dan's east european adventure

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Since taking the manager's job at FC Moscow Dan Lake has had mixed fortunes in the league, winning just four of the eight games he has presided over. The team are enjoying good fortune in the Europa League, however, and are currently 90 minutes away from qualifying for the group stage. FC Moscow beat Espanyol 2-0 in Spain and if they manage to beat their opponents over both legs then they can expect to pick up at least €1million in revenue from the group stage. First up, however, was a league match against high flying Saturn...

won 2-1 v Saturn
FC Moscow won a hard fought battle against Saturn Ramenskoye on a fine summer's afternoon. Vartan Mazalov gave his Moscow team the lead with a well placed shot under the body of the keeper in the 39th minute. The Moscow defence then appeared to stand still as striker Alexandr Bukharov broke through and equalised for Saturn in the 67th minute. Substitute Jan Blazek clinched a late winner for the home side on 83 minutes as they hit Saturn on the break. Masalov flicked a long pass on and Jan Blazek was too fast for Saturn’s defenders.

lost 1-2 v Espanyol (Europa League 4th Qualifying round, 2nd Leg)
Espanyol got off to an absolute flyer as Luis Garcia scored two goals in the opening nine minutes. The first was a powerful effort from the edge of the 18 yard box, the second was from the penalty spot after Alexandr Belorukov made a clumsy challenge on Ivan Alonso.
With their aggregate lead effectively wiped out so early the FC Moscow fans were jumping for joy when experienced striker Martin Jakubko's 42nd minute strike hit the back of the net.
The second half of the match was a scrappy affair with both teams having further penalty claims dismissed. In the end FC Moscow did enough to ensure that they, and not Espanyol, would be in the draw for the Europa League group stage.

Friday 26th August 2011 – the draw for the Europa Group stage...
Against all expectations, FC Moscow had made it through to the group stage of the Europa League. The Russian Premier League side will be drawn from the pot of fourth seeds and stand to face one of the big names such as Chelsea, Everton, PSV Eindhoven, Porto or Atletico Madrid.

Which group?
Teams from the fourth pot are drawn first and FC Moscow find themselves in Group D

And first up...
Next up were a team that manager Dan Lake is all too familiar with, CFR Cluj of Romania. Lake spent two years at the helm of CFR’s local rivals U Cluj and even managed to knock them out of the Romanian Cup in 2010.

Next from the pot...
Genoa of Italy are the third team drawn into group D. This once proud Italian team are the current holders of the Coppa Italia and will be viewed as one of the favourites to progress to the knock out rounds.

And finally...
Dan Lake was on the edge of his seat as former Roma legend Francesco Totti drew the final team for group D. It was to be Portuguese team, and 2004 Champions League winners, FC Porto. It is a very tough draw for FC Moscow and no-one expects them to progress beyond this stage in the competition.
 
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HARD group there matey ... but i'm sure that you can bring Moscow through it ... ;)
 
Fantastic results agaisnt Lokomtov Moscow and Espanyol, hopefully those teams in your group won't fancy a cold trip to Russia ;)
 
that is an ok group. porto should be interesting as well as Genoa who are decent. Cluj should be a great tie
 
It is a tough group for sure, I don't hold up too much hope of qualifying from it (the smart money is on Genoa and Porto).

Tbh, I am missing little ol' U Cluj, this Moscow team doesn't feel like my team yet... struggling to find the right combination of players and formation. :S
 
Since taking charge of FC Moscow Dan Lake has eased their relegation worries and seen them qualify for the group stage of the Europa League, still many fans remain unsure of his appointment and won’t be happy until they see real improvement in the league.

won 1-0 v Ural
FC Moscow produced a solid performance to beat Ural Yekaterinburg at Central. Romanian winger Mihai Roman gave Moscow scored the only goal of the game in the 23rd minute. Dusan Tadic’s goal beat the Ural keeper’s despairing dive but cannoned back off the post, Roman was on hand to scoop the ball into an empty net. Things then went from bad to worse for Ural as midfielder Artem Fidler earned himself an early bath for a vicious foul on 71 minutes.

won 1-0 v Tom Tomsk (7th round of the Russian Cup)
The last time these two teams met in the league Tom Tomsk were on the wrong end of a five-nil beating, but this time it wasn’t to be the one-sided affair many pundits had predicted. A single goal from Romanian Mihai Roman was enough to settle the tie and send FC Moscow through to the quarter-finals.

Players on the move?
Today several newspapers report that French side Bordeaux are looking at FC Moscow’s young left –back, Gia Grigalava. The player, who began his career at FC Rostov, has done nothing to deny the rumours and sources close to the 22 year old have hinted that it may be the right time for him to move. FC Moscow manager Dan Lake has responded to the reports by saying “I understand Gia’s concerns, but he is an important player to this club and he’d do well to remember that he has a contract to fulfil.”

won 3-2 v FC Rostov
This was a game of two halves, Moscow won the first half 3-0 whilst Rostov the second 2-0. Goals from Vartan Mazalov (2) and Mihai Roman meant FC Moscow went into the half time break in buoyant mood.
Whatever it was that manager Oleg Dolmatov said to his Rostov players at half time, it made a difference as they displayed plenty of attacking intent after the restart. Two goals from striker Alexandr Prudnikov, however, weren’t enough to save Rostov from defeat nor stop them sinking into the relegation places.

drew 1-1 v CFR Cluj (Europa League)
Dan Lake celebrated his 100th game in football management when his FC Moscow team played FC CFR 1907 Cluj in the Europa League today. But with so much at stake the landmark is likely to have been the last thing on Lake's mind.
This was a fascinating match as first Moscow took control, benefitting from Manuel Iturra’s headed goal on 39 minutes, before CFR Cluj dominated the later stages of the game and equalised when their captain Bogdan Mara buried a loose ball at the second attempt.


lost 1-2 v Amakar
FC Moscow’s first league defeat in four games came against struggling Amkar Perm. Winger Timofey Kalachev got Amkar off to a flyer after just two minutes when he cut inside and placed the ball across the body of the keeper. Moscow's equaliser came through Andrey Karyaka as he seized on Sebastián Dubarbier's mistake to score a powerful effort from the edge of the area in the 37th minute. Finally, with just six minutes to go, Kalachev sent the home fans into raptures as he clinched the winner for Amkar with a sublime strike from all of 25 yards.

lost 0-2 v CSKA Moscow
FC Moscow failed to cause an upset against a strong CSKA side chasing after their third successive title. CSKA coasted to an expected 2 - 0 victory with goals from Brazilian’s Adrien and Vagner Love, whilst much of the home fans fury was reserved for their Romanian winger Mihai Roman, who had an absolute stinker today.

lost 0-2 v Genoa (Europa League)
Losing seems to be becoming a bit of a habit for FC Moscow of late. The latest in three straight defeats came in the Europa League against a superior Genoa team. The first goal came after 17 minutes as centre-back Andrea Barzagli nodded home from a corner, then in the 53rd minute Italian international Sergio Floccari lost his marker and coolly finished past Yury Zhenov in the Moscow goal. Domenico Criscito of Genoa was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 90th minute, but this was too late to have any real effect on the game.

Serious questions are being raised about Dan Lake’s ability to improve this FC Moscow side; they currently lie 9th in the Russian Premier League and bottom of their Europa League group.
 
Form really fizzed out towards end of that update but I suppose there is a huge difference in the quality of sides, Genoa knocked me out of the EL in semi finals in my first season with Fulham, it was mighty frustrating but they do process a very good team and a very odd formation.
 
Well done Dan for getting to the group stages! You seem to have a knack of over-achieving with smaller clubs ;-) Hope your season continues its rich vein.

On a side note, I plan on using your P/T training schedule for my saved game (playing as FC Rouen in the French National), many thanks for creating it. If I ever get round to creating a story, I'll give you a honorable mention.
 
Form really fizzed out towards end of that update but I suppose there is a huge difference in the quality of sides, Genoa knocked me out of the EL in semi finals in my first season with Fulham, it was mighty frustrating but they do process a very good team and a very odd formation.

Cheers mate, I just can't seem to get any consistency out of this bunch of players... it's very frustrating! Genoa really taught my lads a lesson, and to think they've got to face Porto soon! :O

Well done Dan for getting to the group stages! You seem to have a knack of over-achieving with smaller clubs ;-) Hope your season continues its rich vein.

On a side note, I plan on using your P/T training schedule for my saved game (playing as FC Rouen in the French National), many thanks for creating it. If I ever get round to creating a story, I'll give you a honorable mention.

Nice one Tomrok, I'd love the chance to over achieve with a big club though! ;)
Hope you're finding the P/T schedule of use, thanks for the kudos! (Btw, think a story about Rouen would make a good read!)
 
Ace thread man! keep it up! how is it managing a less known team? Ive always wanted to manage a team in Korea (im going to move there) but could never be bothered lol
 
Ace thread man! keep it up! how is it managing a less known team? Ive always wanted to manage a team in Korea (im going to move there) but could never be bothered lol

Mate, try it out... personally I find it really interesting, you get to learn how other leagues differ from the EPL... for instance, in the Romanian leagues if you fail to score 25 points in a season then you get docked points the following season (in fact the number of points you get docked is however many short of 25 you were the previoust season!)

It does take a little while to get to know your players and to recognise the big names in the division, but once you do it pays off. (H)
 
lost 0-1 v Rubin Kazan
The FC Moscow players turned in a soulless performance as they slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat against an improving Rubin team. The game was settled by a solitary goal from Alan Kasaev, but in truth FC Moscow never really threatened Rubin’s superiority.

Give me time!
In an emotional outburst to fan’s gathered outside the Eduard Streltsov Stadium, FC Moscow manager Dan Lake asked the fan’s to be patient and to judge him on next season’s results. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we too are building for the future. When I arrived here my task was simple, avoid relegation, next season we will be able to make our mark in this division.”

won 4-1 v Shinnik
After Lake’s stirring words yesterday, his players responded in a very positive manner and put four past Shinnik Yaroslavl at Eduard Streltsov. Midfielder Pavel Komolov kicked off the scoring after 3 minutes with a 20 yard screamer that gave the Shinnik ‘keeper no chance. Then on 8 minutes Mihai Roman skinned his marker on the right wing to cross for Vartan Mazalov to score with a diving header. Mazalov added his 2nd goal of the game with a placed shot from Gia Grigalava’s 40 yard passs. Shinnik’s Chakib Benzoukane slipped which allowed Nemanja Nikolic to steal the ball and score goal number four from the edge of the area.
Although Shinnik went down to ten men as Adrian Cristea got himself sent off for serious foul play, they did manage to grab a consolation goal from Erick Scott’s 64th minute strike.

Belarusian FA approach Lake
Belarus today approached FC Moscow manager Dan Lake to be their next manager after Bernd Stange retired last Thursday, however, Lake has rejected their approach. In a press statement Lake said “I am extremely flattered to have been asked to lead Belarus’ attempt to qualify for the World Cup but I have a contract and job to complete here at FC Moscow. I wish the Belarus team every success in the future.”

Lost 3-4 v FC Porto
Fans at the Eduard Streltov Stadium were treated to a seven goal thriller in teh Europa League tonight. With neither side concentrating on defence, the goals flowed freely at both ends and most of the crowd will have gone home happy at the entertainment provided.
Rather predictably, things did not get off to a good start for Moscow as midfielder Jaja seized on an error by Ilja Kukharchuk to score with a beautiful curling shot from the edge of the area. Porto looked comfortable until full-back Gonzalo Pineda saw red for a two footed challenge on Kukharchuk on 31 minutes.
Dmitry Belorukov equalised for Moscow just before half time with a close range header from a corner. Then Porto found themselves behind when Stepanov gave away a penalty, and Vartan Mazalov confidently stepped up to score from the spot. With winger Kukharchuk carrying an injury Lake brought on the Czech striker Jan Blazek to play wide. The substitution paid off when Blazek scored a real poacher's effort in the 52nd minute to give Moscow a two goal cushion.
3-1 became 3-2 shortly after though, as Porto captain Bruno Alves pulled one back for his team from a corner. On 67 minutes Dmitry Belorukov was harshly judged to have pushed Porto’s Hulk in the box, Hulk kept his cool to slot home the penalty and bring the scores level.
With just two minutes left on the clock, Raul Meireies sent over a corner and Bruno Alves’ shot looked liek it was going wide until it struck Moscow’s Bilel Ifa. Ifa was helpless as he watched the deflected ball roll over the line and into his own net. With a slice of good luck, Porto had won this entertaining match.

lost 1-2 v Kuban
FC Moscow's players and fans came away highly disappointed from their 2 - 1 defeat at the hands of Kuban Krasnodar. Moscow were nearly handed the lead in the 26th minute through Ruslan Kambolov's lapse in concentration but failed to capitalise, instead the first goal was scored in the minute when Kuban goalkeeper Ilja Abaev fumbled the ball into his own net. Sergiy Pshenychnykh then equalised for Kuban in the 60th minute with a real poacher's effort and Nigerian Haruna Babangida scored what proved to be the winner for the home side on 74 minutes with a screamer from the edge of the area.

FC Moscow faced FC Porto today in a game they must win if they wish to remain in the Europa League beyond the group stage.

15mins
Porto’s Hulk loses out to Roman Shirokov’s robust challenge, unfortunately for Shirokov though the loose ball is picked up by winger Silvestre Varela and he has a shot. Yury Zhevnov in the Moscow goal makes a save but can’t keep hold of the ball and Falcao is on hand to stroke the ball into the empty net. It’s 0-1 to Porto.

20mins
Alvaro Pereira has two shots blocked by a determined Alexandr Belozerov, however, the ball ricochets off Belozerov and lands at the feet of Cristian Rodriguez. Rodriguez wastes no time in burying the ball and it’s 2-0, looks like FC Moscow are going out of Europe early.

33mins
Moscow’s keeper Yury Zhenov comes out to collect the ball from a corner but misses it completely. Just as it looks like Porto captain Bruno Alves is about to make it 3-0 Dmitry Belorukov comes out of nowhere to clear it off the line, the score-line remains 2-0.

Half time losing 0-2 v FC Porto (Europa League)

48 mins
An intense spell of pressure from Porto as they look to start the second half as they ended the first. Despite three successive corners they fail to extend their lead.

60mins
Moscow counter attack and Dusan Tadic plays in Vartan Mazalov with a sublime through ball, but Helton saves Mazalov’s shot. Pavel Komolov reacts quickest to the loose ball and Helton is helpless to prevent him scoring. It’s 2-1, but can Moscow really come back in this game?

63mins
Dusan Tadic lines up a freekick for Moscow, 35 yards out on the right wing. As the dipping cross comes in it’s Belorukov who jumps the highest to score with a thumping header. 2-2 and FC Moscow are level!

71mins
It’s another dangerous Moscow freekick, but this time Belorukov sends his header soaring toward row Z.

74mins
Christian Rodriguez’s whipped in corner causes mayhem in the Moscow penalty area and Bruno Alves capitalises, unfortunately his header is straight at keeper Zhevnov.

86mins
Lake makes a double substitution as Komolov and Mazalov make way for Pole Mateusz Cetnarski and Czech striker Jan Blazek.

88mins
Cetnarski nods the ball to Tadic on the half way line, his through ball sets Jan Balzek on a run. Milan Stepanov can’t keep up and Blazek is soon one-on-one with the keeper, he places his shot to the left and... it’s a goal! Moscow come from behind to take a 3-2 lead!

Full time: won 3-2 v FC Porto (Europa League)

There’s still a slim chance that FC Moscow could still qualify for the Europa League’s knockout stages thanks to the memorable win over Porto.
 
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With three games remaining the 2011 season of the Russian League draws to a close with FC Moscow already safe from relegation. Meanwhile, manager Dan Lake has also led the team to the quarter finals of the Russian cup (which resumes in March 2012) and to within touching distance of qualifying from the Europa League group stages.

lost 1-3 v Spartak Moscow
A tight and tactical affair, this match looked set to end in a draw until Spartak snatched all three points at the death. Terrible defending helped Spartak score the opening goal after 9 minutes, neither of Moscow’s two central defenders picked up Welliton as he latched onto Yegor Titov’s through ball. One on one with the keeper, Welliton made no mistake as he buried the ball in the back of the net from 10 yards. Moscow started the second half brightly and on 57 minutes Andrey Karyaka met Roman Shirokov’s cross at the far post to nod home an equaliser.
The ball rarely left the middle of the park until the 86th minute, when Nikita Bazhenov finished his run from deep with a shot from 25 yards and Spartak took the lead. Italian Davide Di Gennaro then hit Moscow on the counter as he ran unchecked from the halfway line to score Spartak’s third on 90 minutes.

won 2-0 v Tom Tomsk
Lake’s FC Moscow beat Tom for the third time this season as today’s match ended 2-0 at the Trud Stadium, Tomsk. Moscow’s two goals came courtesy of Alexandr Belorukov’s penalty kick in the 61st minute and a Dmitry Beloruzov’s header after 74 minutes.

lost 1-2 v Zenit St.Petersburg
Zenit finished second in the League with this comfortable win against FC Moscow. Zenit’s Senegalese international Mame Biram Diouf scored twice today, Moscow’s Ilaj Kukharchuk made the score line more respectable with his 24th minute strike. Moscow finished the League campaign in 10th place, winning just eight of the last eighteen league matches with Dan Lake in charge.

2011 season ends...
With the Russian League season over, Lake’s FC Moscow team would turn their attention to the Europa League. There was still a very slim chance that the Russian side could progress to the knockout stages, first up were CFR Cluj of Romania...

drew 1-1 v CFR Cluj (Europa League)
Both teams could keep their hopes of qualifying alive with a result and this resulted in a fascinating duel being played out at the Constantin Radulescu Stadium in Cluj-Napoca. CFR Cluj drew first blood in the 19th minute as Bogdan Mara caught everyone by surprise with a 30 yard strike into the top corner of the goal. Cluj played with abandon but left themselves susceptible to the counter attack throughout the game, Moscow’s patience finally paid off in the 79th minute when Mateusz Cetnarski’s clever pull back left Hector Bracamonte to side foot the ball into an empty net. The game finished with FC Moscow on top but the score remained 1-1, which was of little use to either team!

They think it’s all over...
FC Moscow could still qualify for the next round of the Europa League if Italian side Genoa beat Porto at home the next night. With Genoa already guaranteed a place in the next round they made several changes to their starting line up and Porto took advantage. Porto won the game three nil thus ensuring that they, and not FC Moscow, would be in the draw for the knockout stages.

lost 0-1 v Genoa (Europa League)
In some ways this match was a dead rubber with Genoa already assured of qualification and FC Moscow’s part in the competition drawing to a close. Genoa won the game and claimed top spot in Group D with a 1-0 win courtesy of a Yury Zhenov own goal. Giuseppe Sculli’s shot cannoned back off the post and Dmitry Belozerov attempted to clear the ball, instead it ricocheted off the back of goalkeeper Zhevnov and into the net!


It has been a season of mixed fortunes for FC Moscow and, after six months in charge, manager Dan Lake is still answering questions over his ability to take the team forward. Many expect a pre-season of change and upheaval at the Eduard Streltsov Stadium.

Captain Vartan Mazalov was the fans player of the season, he finished as the club's top scorer with 21 goals and was considered their most consistent performer (7.07)

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FC Moscow's Vartan Mazalov

Breaking News: FC Moscow manager Dan Lake today rejected the offer of a one year extension to his contract. Whilst this news ends speculation that Lake was facing the sack after mixed results, it does raise questions about Lake’s own intentions.
 
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In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine in England, Lake expressed his views on Russian Football in an article about "ex-pat" managers abroad. On why he had turned down an extension to his existing contract at FC Moscow Lake said “I didn’t feel that I had achieved enough at the club to deserve a new contract. My existing deal runs out at the end of the 2012 and we’ll see how things are going, but in the meantime I’m staying here and I intend to make this club a success.”

Lake previously claimed that the fans hadn’t seen ‘his team’ yet, and in the run up to the 2012 season he set about changing this situation. Promising a season of consolidation in higher-mid table Lake was given a transfer budget of €9.5m, he made another €10m from the sale of fourteen players. Five new faces were brought in at the Eduard Streltsov Stadium, these included young winger Maxim Federov (€5.5m) and 21 year old attacking midfielder Oleg Shatov (€1.9m). Lake also brought in the inexperienced but highly rated 18year old goalkeeper Vladimir Perfiljev. It’s thought that Perfiljev will start life at Moscow as back up to Yury Zhevnov, but many are wondering just how long it will be before he is pushing him for a place in the starting line-up. In total Lake spent €11.25m on new acquisitions to the squad.

In preparation for the new season FC Moscow played four friendly matches, winning all but one of them. With Lake’s tactics somewhat inconsistent throughout 2011 (he played 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-5-1 and 4-2-3-1), FC Moscow seemed to have settled on a fluid 4-2-4.

Won 4-2 v Gloria Bistrita (of Romania)
Won 3-1 v Dinamo St.Petersburg
Lost 2-3 v Chornomorets (of Ukraine)
Won 3-1 v SIbir

The 2012 season begins...
 
Good luck in your new season. A very good read as usual and I look forward to your next update. :)
 
great result v porto away. some good signings there as well. good luck
 
Happy New Year to you Dan, and everybody on these boards! Best of luck with the 2012 season :-)
 
Thanks everyone, I'm hoping for good things this season... but time will tell! ;)

Happy new year to you too Tomrok, and all followers of this thread!
 
As the 2012 Russian season kicks off, Dan Lake has much to prove to the FC Moscow fans but can he deliver? The team’s first four games of the season include a tough fixture away to Dinamo Moscow before they must square up against another local rival, Locomotiv, in the Russian Cup quarter finals.

won 4-2 v Kuban
FC Moscow kicked off the season proper with four goals and a win against Kuban Krasnodar, but it was Kuban who faired best in the early exchanges. Their Ivorian striker Amadou Ouattara opened the scoring in the first minute as he blasted the ball into the top corner from 25 yards. Ouattara then made it 2-0 to Kuban as he nodded home Tobias Hysen’s cross on 18 minutes.
FC Moscow’s captain Vartan Mazalov kicked off their comeback with a penalty in the 24th minute and four minutes later Manuel Iturra’s shot from the edge of the area levelled the scores at 2-2. Mazalov made it 3-2 when he beat the Kuban ‘keeper at his near post on 35 minutes and completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute. Costa Da Goore played him in with an incisive pass from left-back and Mazalov bent the ball around the keeper from 18 yards out.

drew 1-1 v Saturn
FC Moscow were held to a draw by Saturn Ramenskoye in a close-fought Premier Division match played at Saturn. Midfielder Rene Mihelic gave Saturn the lead with a fierce strike in the 23rd minute. On 44 minutes Maxim Federov thought he’d won his side a penalty but the referee signalled a corner instead, and Dmitry Belorukov nodded home to equalise for Moscow.

won 2-1 v Terek Grozny
The score line tells little of FC Moscow’s superiority over Terek Grozny at Eduard Streltsov this afternoon. The experienced striker Hector Bracamonte silenced his crtics by giving Moscow the lead in the 30th minute. In the first half Terek barely ventured beyond the halfway line, early in the second half not only did they manage to get forward but striker Sergiy Kuznetsov scored an unlikely equaliser.
Try as they might FC Moscow could not turn their dominance into goals and just as it looked like the game would end in a draw, Mihai Roman took a quick free-kick and Vartan Mazalov received the ball 18 yards out. His shot found the net through a crowd of players and, with three minutes of added time on the clock, FC Moscow clinched the win their football had deserved.

won 2-0 v Dinamo Moscow
A display of attacking football saw Hector Bracamonte pick up the man of the match award during Moscow's 2 - 0 Russian Premier Division victory over Dinamo Moscow this afternoon. Bracamonte belied his increasing years with some delightful touches and capped his performance with a goal. Vartan Masalov capped the win by scoring a penalty just before full time.

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Man of the match Hector Bracamonte in action versus Dinamo


After starting the League season unbeaten, FC Moscow were to be tested in the quarter final of the Russian Cup...

won 1-0 v Locomotiv Moscow (QF of Russian Cup)
In what was a typically hard fought and unglamorous local derby, FC Moscow came out on top. With the game nearing an end, and extra time looking increasing likely, it was substitute Dusan Tadic who scored. The Serb’s goal from close range ensured FC Moscow a semi-final fixture against Spartak Moscow on 3rd May 2012.
 
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