Mhc Spartak Mah — Almaz: 7:5, MHL

By then, the visitors had already established themselves at the top of the table with seven wins from nine games. Spartak came into this fixture having lost four of their last five matches, and they needed something to change. What they got was a game where neither side kept a clean sheet, and the visitors found themselves chasing for much of the evening.

The visitors had looked sharp in their last outing, winning 3:1 against Spartak just twenty-four hours earlier. They had also picked up victories over Krylya Sovetov Moscow twice and Dynamo Moscow. But cup football has its own rules, and yesterday's result meant nothing when the visitors came out on the wrong end of a 7:5 scoreline today.

Almaz remain first in the standings, but the gap between them and the chasing pack has not shifted. Spartak, meanwhile, have hit a wall of sorts this season, but this result gives them something to build on. They were running out of games to turn their form around, and this one mattered.

The visitors' position at the summit stands unchanged, but the margin they held over the competition remains tight. Spartak's recent struggles continue, yet this victory shows they can still compete with the league's best when they let the game flow.