Spartak beat Rostov on penalties in RPL Winter Cup opener

Winline RPL Winter Cup
Matchday 1
FC Rostov 0-0 (1-2 pen) Spartak Moscow
Thursday 2 February, Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Penalty shootout: Rostov – Golenkov (0-0, saved shot), Poloz (0-1, saved shot), Sukhomlinov (1-1), Melnikov (1-2, saved shot), Melekhin (1-2, missed shot); Spartak – Sobolev (0-1), Chernov (0-1, missed shot), Balde (1-2), Zorin (1-2, saved shot).

Third placed and second placed teams from RPL standings kicked off the Winter Cup in Abu Dhabi, which also includes Krasnodar and Sochi. Rostov and Spartak remained goalless after 90 minutes, but gave significant moment in the end, when for the first time coach’s challenge was used on possible penalty for Spartak. Referee Kirill Levnikov reviewed the episode on video making live commentary and proving his decision not to award Spartak with penalty.

As teams were drawn after 90 minutes, penalty shootout was called, and Aleksandr Selikhov was main hero of it saving three of five shots from Rostov players. Spartak got two points for this win, while Rostov earned one.

Next Winter Cup matches: Monday 6 February – Sochi vs Rostov, Krasnodar vs Spartak