Russian 1.Division - WEDNESDAY 6th June

[lunatism]

Sport	Football (Russian 1. Division)
Event	Shinnik Yaroslavl v Alaniya Vladikavkaz
Selection	Shinnik Yaroslavl
Strength	10/10
Date	06/06/2007
Bookmaker/Price	BetandWin @ 1.25 (Back)
Reasoning	What would have been a straightforward tie has had a little spice added to it by the unexpected (but not impossible) 5-1 home victory that Alaniya Vladikavkaz enjoyed over Sodovik Sterlitamak last Wednesday. Sterlitamak simply did not turn up against a Vladikavkaz hungry for their first home win after a very poor start to the season. It is worth noting however, that Sodovik Sterlitamak had not won in their previous 12 matches, a draw was the most Vladikavkaz were expected to get from the game, but they managed to convert their desire into goals and came out on top. Today will be a completely different affair, we have two teams with several gulfs of quality between them, the home side, have recently been relegated from the top flight of Russian football with a terrible return of 11 points - only 1 win the entire season! But they are keen to return and have started their season in a determined fashion with only promotion in their sites. Dropping points only twice out of 13 matches ( an away draw and loss), and starting off their home campaign in blistering fashion, scoring 18, conceding only 2 (in 7 games), the Yaroslavl side look a truly impressive side. In stark contast, the away side have recently been promoted into this league from one of the 2nd divisions, and have subsequentially been struggling to come to terms with the higher levels of quality that they are facing. Vladikavkaz HAVE won two games this season, but these have come against fellow strugglers, teams that were (and still are) both placed below them in the table prior to kickoff. Unfortunately for Vladikavkaz, they have not been able to replicate this form against the top clubs, an example of this occured just three weeks ago when they were thrashed 5-0 by 4th placed KamAZ Nab Chelny. It looks a strong win for the home side, and for a team who averages 1 goal every 35 minutes against one who averages a goal every ninety minutes, coupled with the fact that the homeside have kept a clean sheet in their last four games points to at least a couple of goals and a clean sheet for Yaroslavl. Prediction: 2-0

[lunatism]

Re: Russian 1.Division - WEDNESDAY 6th June

Shinnik Yaroslavl 3 - 2 Alaniya :nana :nana :nana

The scoreline suggests a close match, and perhaps the second half of this game was, where Alaniya battled away bravely to try and get a goal to give them an equaliser, but this game was all about the first half. 5 goals in the first 32 minutes spelled great things for this entertaining match, but this failed to extend into the second half. In the first half, the home side dominated proceedings throughout, but due to silly lapses of concentration two goals were conceeded - not exactly the clean sheet many had predicted!! In the end, a win is a win, and although this should have been more like 3-0 or at worse 3-1, Shinnik Yaroslavl have procured a pricesless victory which will see them extend their lead at the top of the table by 3 points. There are now 10 points between themselves and their nearest rivals Terek Groznyi.