A close-range strike from Serbian forward Danko Lazovic rescued a 1-1 draw for Russian Premier League leaders Zenit St. Petersburg against FC Kuban on Sunday.
The result sees Zenit moved six points clear of second-placed CSKA Moscow, who drew with third-placed Dynamo Moscow on Friday.
Lazovic struck on 75 minutes to equalize after Kuban, coached by former Chelsea defender Dan Petrescu, took the lead with a penalty five minutes before half-time, in a game where both sides hit the woodwork twice.
Both Zenit and Kuban attacked from the start, registering seven shots between them in the first ten minutes.
Roman Shirokov missed the target for Zenit in the first minute before Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev saved Igor Armas’ effort from David Tsoraev’s corner.
Czech defender Tomas Hubocan came close scoring on three minutes when his long-range lob hit the post with Kuban goalkeeper Alexander Belenov beaten.
Six minutes later, Kuban midfielder Alexey Ionov cut inside from the left flank and beat Hubocan before firing in a shot from the edge of the box that Malafeev tipped over the bar.
Belechov made an acrobatic one-handed save on 22 minutes to deny Alexander Kerzhakov after the Zenit striker sent in a curling long-range effort.
Zenit hit the woodwork for the second time five minutes later when Viktor Fayzulin played in Shirokov, who side-footed a shot into the post from around seven yards out.
Kuban seized their opportunity on 40 minutes when the referee ruled that Danilo Marcos was tripped by Zenit center-back Daniel Alves in the box while attempting to connect with Vladislav Kulik’s low cross.
Ionov converted the resulting penalty to give Petrescu’s team the lead, as Malafeev dived the wrong way.
Kuban started the second half strongly, with efforts on goal from Tsoraev and Traore, who hit the post from 20 yards out.
Zenit midfielder Andrey Arshavin appealed for a penalty on 65 minutes, claiming he had been held by Kulik as he bore down on goal, but the referee ruled that he had slipped on the muddy pitch.
This proved to be Arshavin’s last act in a largely anonymous second competitive appearance since he rejoined his old club on loan from Arsenal last month, as he was substituted by coach Luciano Spalletti in favor of midfielder Alessandro Rosina.
On 74 minutes, Danko Lazovic scored the equalizer for Zenit from five yards out, as the ball rolled across the face of goal, following a period of sustained Zenit pressure.
Kuban responded strongly, as Traore hit the woodwork after Rosina lost possession in the Zenit half, but neither side proved able to break the deadlock.
Earlier in the day, Lokomotiv Moscow and Rubin Kazan missed the opportunity to challenge for Champions League qualification when they drew 0-0 in Kazan.
Lokomotiv remain fifth, with Rubin sixth after a game notable for Lokomotiv goalkeeper Guilherme’s acrobatic save from Bibras Natkho’s fierce free-kick.
In the day’s second game, a first-half strike from Timofei Kalachev was enough for FC Rostov to beat Krylya Sovetov Samara 1-0.
Rostov held on with ten men for 25 minutes after Alexandru Gatcan received his second yellow card for an unfair challenge on Anton Bober, and have overtaken Terek Grozny for tenth place in the table, while Krylya Sovetov remain 14th.
Sunday’s other games pit 11th-placed FC Rostov against 14th-placed Krylya Sovetov Samara, before leaders Zenit St. Petersburg host Dan Petrescu’s FC Kuban.
