As the Russian proverb goes, it is better to have bread with water than cake with trouble.
The opening match of the Fifa Confederations Cup, between the two lowest-ranked nations at this month’s tournament, was no glamour tie, yet the hosts will have few complaints after comfortably beating lowly New Zealand 2-0 yesterday at St Petersburg Arena.
Russia had managed just three wins in their past 15 games and scored only twice during a disappointing European Championships last summer. Yet if they had wanted an uncomplicated opener in which to introduce their country to the wider world ahead of next year’s World Cup on home soil, the Kiwis offered the perfect opponents.
There were concerns that this Iron Curtain-raiser would be met with apathy from an disenchanted public that had long abandoned any hopes of achieving something substantial either this summer or next.
Yet while a charming opening ceremony was witnessed by less than 5,000 spectators, when kick off arrived two hours later, the 68,000-capacity St Petersburg Arena had filled to a more respectable 50,000.
Spurred on by a pre-match pep-talk from president Vladimir Putin, the hosts started strongly, coming close to opening the scoring twice in the space of the first 10 minutes.
Viktor Vasin’s diving header struck the post, then Dmitry Poloz controlled in the box and poked past Stefan Marinovic, only to see his effort cleared off the line by Tommy Smith.
Poloz, a pacey attacker with Rostov, proved a constant thorn in the side of the Kiwi defence with the 26-year-old deserving a penalty after being fouled trying to round Marinovic.
The referee failed to give it and the video assistant referee did not disagree.
The arguments for and against technology will not fade with such calls, but those inside the stadium at least did not let it spoil their moment.
The pessimism surrounding this Russia side had been evident all week, but against the only team at the tournament positioned lower in the world rankings, the fans seemed primed to use it as an opportunity for rare positivity.
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On the half-hour mark, Russian spectators celebrated ecstatically long after Fedor Smolov’s controlled finish was judged offside.
A minute later, the vocal supporters had better cause as Poloz beautifully redirected a pass into the path of Denis Glushakov. The Spartak Moscow midfielder clipped the ball over the goalkeeper and bundled it into the net, although replays showed the final touch came off defender Michael Boxall’s sliding body.
“I thought I scored the opening goal, but it doesn’t really matter who was credited for it,” Glushakov said. “The main thing is that we took the lead. We can play much better and perform much more skilled football than we showed today. We made too many mistakes, but that means we still have plenty of homework to do.”
New Zealand’s rare forays forward faded as Russia looked to cement the win. A free header from Poloz prompted an acrobatic double save from Marinovic early in the second half and when, a few moments later, the striker’s curled effort was saved once more, Ryan Thomas was forced to clear with Smolov prowling close behind.
Poloz was replaced on the hour, but Russia’s waves of attack were not quelled and it was Smolov who finally doubled the hosts’ lead when Boxall failed to clear Alexander Samedov’s low cross. Top scorer in the Russian Premier League last season, the Krasnodar striker cooly tapped in from close range.
Manager Stanislav Cherchesov described himself this week as a diplomat that speaks a lot without saying much. Rather than celebrate his side edging closer to a crucial three points in front of Putin and Pele, he barked at his players to get the game back underway. However, he should know, if there is no cake, there can be no cherry on top. With tiredness creeping into both sets of players, a third goal did not appear likely.
“I liked New Zealand’s team, but luckily we managed to cancel out their strengths and displayed ours,” Cherchesov said. “That was the key to our win.”
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