Joker Sive and Baltika's saving goal: Rubin dropped points in Kaliningrad

Artiga gave Jukić a full chance to prove himself

The match between Rubin and Baltika concluded the fifth round of the RPL, which was rich in intense games and unexpected results.

Both Kazan and Kaliningrad had a difficult start to the season. Having lost several key leaders during the summer transfer window, both teams had to solve their on-field problems from the very start of the new RPL season.

The lineup Frank Artiga presented for the match against Baltika was interesting because Aleksandar Jukić appeared in the starting eleven. The Austrian had played little in previous rounds and was unhappy with his position in the team. Speaking to journalists, Jukić did not hesitate to say he expected much more playing time than the Spanish coach was giving him. Artiga, apparently hearing the midfielder's requests, decided to give him a chance by starting him against Baltika.

Jukić felt quite confident in the center of the field, playing slightly higher compared to Veldin Hodža and Ugochukwu Iwu. He tried to carry the ball forward and sharpen attacks. Interestingly, the Austrian was one of Artiga's main options for Rubin's defense during Mengian Beveev's throw-ins.

Baltika's defender is famous throughout the RPL for his ability to throw the ball into play with his hands over long distances. Jukić, standing a few meters from Beveev, tried with all his might to hinder him during throw-ins. However, it cannot be said that Artiga's move somehow bothered Baltika's defender. Jukić's marking did not really affect the quality of Beveev's throws.

Sive is Rubin's true joker in recent matches

Rubin took the lead against Baltika as early as the 8th minute. Forward Jacques-Julien Sive scored again. Yes, the French forward has been playing tremendously since Mirind Daku's departure. It seems nothing is weighing Sive down now. He enjoys being Rubin's prima in attack, being the one who decides the team's result. That was exactly what Mirind Daku used to be.

Sive scored a very confident goal after a pass from Ilya Rozhkov. With a precise shot from close range, he beat Baltika's goalkeeper. In Rubin's goal, defender Yegor Teslenko should also be noted for providing the assist.

He received a lot of criticism for his passing. Stones were thrown at the Rubin defender regarding his “woodenness” and clumsiness with the ball. However, recently Yegor Teslenko seems to have worked on his mistakes. The player now delivers long passes no worse than Igor Vujačić.

Baltika's controversial goal and Sergey Kozko's red card

Rubin played well in the first half. In the opening 30 minutes, they were an order of magnitude better than Baltika. However, they then retreated to the settings of “Rakhimov's” football. Rubin simplified the game greatly. They began to play on the field the way Baltika usually plays. Having given the initiative to Kaliningrad, Kazan focused on pragmatic defensive play. Baltika began to press, threatening Evgeny Staver's goal more and more.

Kaliningrad scored their first goal in the 64th minute. But in the scoring episode, Baltika forward Bryan Hill overdid it and fouled Evgeny Staver. The home team's head coach, Andrey Talalaev, was very indignant about the disallowed goal and received a yellow card for his emotions.

Baltika managed to equalize in the 94th minute. True, the Kaliningrad goal was somewhat controversial. During Sergey Varatynov's goal, Baltika forward Chiwonso Offor prevented Rubin goalkeeper Evgeny Staver from reaching the ball. According to the Kazan coaching staff, this was done in violation of the rules. Rubin goalkeeping coach Sergey Kozko was particularly outraged by Baltika's goal and received a red card from the referee after the argument.

— Honestly, from the position I was in, I believe we can talk about a foul. As for the rules, as far as I know, you cannot touch the goalkeeper in the penalty area. I didn't have time to look at the episode carefully and find out if there was contact or not. Besides that, I can note that in borderline decisions, fortune is not on our side. Unfortunately, such decisions have been going against us throughout the season. However, our task is to work and bring back luck, and to make sure such episodes go in our favor, — Frank Artiga noted after the match.

On one hand, Rubin certainly dropped points in Kaliningrad. On the other hand, perhaps such a result is logical based on the overall content of the game. Baltika was not so much worse than Kazan in terms of football quality to leave the field without any points.

Russian Championship. Round 5

Baltika (Kaliningrad) — Rubin (Kazan) — 1:1 (0:1)
August 24. “Rostech Arena”
0:1 — Sive, 8
1:1 — Varatynov, 90+4
Baltika: Latyshonok, Varatynov, Gassama, Murid (I. Petrov, 56), Mendel (Belikov, 75), Titkov, Anderson, Beveev, Muyokolo, M. Petrov (Offor, 56), Hill (Pospelov, 75).
Rubin: Staver, Teslenko, Vujačić, Iwu (Jočić, 84), Arroyo (Bezrukov, 67), Urozov, Hodža (Nacho, 67), Sive, Rozhkov (Ignatiev, 84), Jukić (Maldonado, 81), Lobov.