Vitaly Grishin's first-half strike gave Amkar Perm a 1-0 win over bottom club Spartak Nalchik in the Russian Premier League on Saturday.
Midfielder Grishin lashed the ball into the roof of the net on 34 minutes after a Spartak captain Miodrag Dzudovic slipped, failing to clear a Georgi Peev free-kick.
Spartak never seriously threatened Sergei Narubin's goal.
With the win, Amkar remain 10th on 50 points.
The defeat is another step toward demotion for Spartak, who are eight points adrift of the relegation zone.
Fellow strugglers FC Tom Tomsk and FC Volga are to face each other later Saturday.
A win would almost certainly rule out automatic relegation for FC Volga, who are eight points clear of second-from-bottom FC Tom.
