Russia round-up: Thrilling win for Spartak

Dmitri Sytchev scored yet another decisive goal as FC Spartak Moscow fought their way to a rollercoaster 4-3 victory over rivals FC Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier-Liga.

Kerzhakov dominate
Spartak dominated early on but fell behind when Aleksandr Kerzhakov took advantage of some poor Spartak defending to break away after just six minutes and give Zenit the lead with what proved to be their only chance of the first half.

No killer touch
Spartak responded with efforts from Yegor Titov and Sytchev, both saved brilliantly by Viacheslav Malafeev in the Zenit goal. It set the tone for the rest of the opening period in which Malafeev kept out 15 shots on goal.

Another shock
The second half started with another shock for Spartak, as Andrei Arshavin beat three Spartak defenders and then blasted the ball past Maxym Levitsky. However, Spartak soon narrowed the deficit. Titov forced a foul from young Zenit defender Valentin Filatov and Vladimir Beschastykh slotted home the resulting penalty to make it 2-1 on 52 minutes.

Beschastnykh on target
Beschastnykh was on target again with a long-range shot seven minutes later to level the scores, but Kerzhakov capitalised on more poor defending by Spartak to put Zenit ahead again. Titov responded by breaking into the visitors' area and finding Baye Kebe, who drew Spartak level at 3-3.

Sytchev winner
Striking prodigy Sytchev completed the scoring on 69 minutes to earn a fantastic victory for Spartak, who are now eight points behind leaders FC Lokomotiv Moscow with game in hand. The youngster's withdrawal with an injury in the dying minutes of the game allowed coach Oleg Romantsev the chance to send on 17-year-old Alexander Rebko, who became the youngest player to ever play for Spartak in the Russian or Soviet championship.