Lokomotiv Moscow captain Dmitry Barinov said that the team did not have enough striker Artem Dzyuba to beat the Akron First Division team (Tolyatti) in the second stage of the Russian Cup Regions Road quarterfinals.
During the regular time of the match played in Zhigulevsk on 14 March, the opponents could not determine the winner (1:1), while Akron players won the penalty shoot-out (7:6), railroaders from the cup draw by knockout.
“It was not possible to press in the first half. As soon as they came out, the coach made a substitution. It started working a little. I think the second half played well. Dziuba deficiency? If we lost, then it wasn’t enough,” says Barinov “Sport Express”.
The media reported that Lokomotiv violated the rules of the tournament and declared team captain Dmitry Barinov, who had previously received two yellow cards in the matches against Spartak, for his match with Akron. He had to miss the second quarterfinal match due to a warning blast. In the event of a win for the red-greens, Akron or the Russian Football Union (RFU) could contest the result of the last match, which would then forfeit a defeat to Lokomotiv.
Former sports director of Moscow “Locomotive” Dmitry Ulyanov saidwhy didn’t striker Artem Dzyuba go with the team to the quarter-finals of the Russian Cup Regions Road with the First Division club Akron from Tolyatti.