Local form was on the line when Lokomotiv Moscow Women hosted Chertanovo in the 17th round of the Higher League, and by then the visitors had already made their statement elsewhere with a 1-0 win over Zvezda Perm. The hosts took all three points after a match decided in the final moments, with V. Butkevich finding the net in 90+2 minutes to secure a 2-1 victory.
And here's the thing about this game — Lokomotiv controlled the tempo but could only take the lead through E. Gruzdeva in the 72nd minute. The striker had been around long enough to know how to position herself, and she did just that to put the home side ahead. Not that it mattered much in the end, given what followed.
N. Korovkina pulled Chertanovo level in the 80th minute, a moment that should have settled nerves if anything could. The visitors came out after the break looking sharper, and by the time the equalizer landed, Lokomotiv were on the back foot. Two yellow cards — one apiece — told you the tension was building.
Butkovеch's goal came when you'd expect late drama, and it was the kind of moment that separates a draw from a win. By then Lokomotiv had already made their changes, bringing on fresh legs in search of something. The old head in the dressing room would have warned about complacency, and rightly so.
Four substitutions at the start of the second half for Lokomotiv showed they were willing to change shape, and Koptsova, Solovyeva, Dolgova, Kryukova, and Kozyupa all saw action. To be fair, Chertanovo also shuffled their deck, but the hosts seemed to have more urgency as the clock ran down. There is no value left at that number when you're chasing a result.
Lokomotiv sit fourth with 30 points from 15 games, three wins clear of the chasing pack. Chertanovo remain seventh with 20 points after 16 matches, still seven adrift of the top four. Both sides had drawn or won their previous meetings when they played each other on 20 June, but this time the home side made it count.