Dynamo St Petersburg beat PFN Sochi 2:0 in the Cup quarter-finals of the Regions Path on Wednesday. Maksim Polkovnikov and Oleksandr Masalov scored in the first and second halves respectively, and the hosts held on despite a late flurry of yellow cards. The match ended 2:0 after ninety-plus minutes, and Sochi's run in the competition is over.
Polkovnikov broke the deadlock in the thirty-fifth minute, and it was a moment Dynamo would build on. The striker took advantage of space in the box, and the finish was clean. By then, Sochi had already seen Kuzmin booked, and the momentum was shifting. Dynamo's attack looked sharper than their recent form suggested, and this was the first sign of it.
Masalov doubled the lead just after the hour mark, and the game was effectively decided. He met a cross and directed it past the goalkeeper, and the visitors had no answer. Sochi pushed for a reply but their shots went astray. Eight on target for Dynamo against three for Sochi tells you who was creating the real chances.
Substitutions told the story of a match where one side controlled the tempo. Rybikov came on for Dynamo in the forty-fourth minute, and Orlov and Ziyaisov added fresh legs later. Sochi brought on Marcelo Alves, Nosatiy, and Kozhemyakin in an attempt to change things, but the result was already clear. The visitors played the second half a man up in spirit, if not in numbers.
Sochi dominated possession at 54 per cent but could not convert it. They had more corners and more shots off target, but Dynamo were more clinical with their eight on-target efforts. Four yellow cards for the hosts and three for the visitors marked a game that grew tense towards the end. The statistics show who had the ball, but not who created the danger.
The result means Dynamo advance to the next stage of the Cup, while Sochi's campaign ends here. They had won four of their last five games coming into this fixture, but the quarter-final proved too much. Dynamo, meanwhile, showed they could close out a match when it mattered. The goal difference doesn't change anything, but the progression does.
