Former Spartak forward and Russian football figure Alexander Mostovoy commented on the away defeat of Spartak from Orenburg in the 20th round of the Russian Premier League. He noted that playing on artificial turf unsettles the Muscovites and emphasized that the hosts prepared meticulously for the match.
Two days before kickoff, Mostovoy warned that the encounter would not be easy for Spartak and that victory might slip away. The first reason he cited was the artificial surface, a drastic change that tends to disrupt teams used to natural grass. The second reason, he added, was the heightened mood in Orenburg after their 4-0 away win over Sochi, which had clearly fired up the home side. According to Mostovoy, Spartak displayed moments of quality yet often looked uncomfortable on the field. He pointed to a turnover by Zinkovsky that allowed Orenburg to seize control and noted that once the second goal went in, Spartak found it hard to sustain their pace on the artificial surface, as reported by socialbites.ca.
Orenburg sealed the result with a 2-0 victory, both goals coming in the first half. The goals were struck by Yuri Kovalev and Dmitry Vorobyov, as Orenburg climbed to 31 points and settled into the upper half of the table. Spartak, with 40 points, remained in second place, eight points behind Zenit, which had yet to complete its 20th round fixture against CSKA. Additionally, Rostov’s upcoming match with Khimki loomed on the horizon, meaning that a win for Rostov could push the gap to a single point for Spartak.
In a separate development, there was attention on the club’s forward Keith Balde after his social media post featuring a clown emoji, a topic that drew discussion among supporters and media alike.