A late goal from Bulgaria captain Ivelin Popov gave FC Kuban a 1-0 home win against FC Rostov in the Russian Premier League on Friday.
Kuban rise to fifth in the league with the win, leapfrogging Lokomotiv and Spartak Moscow, while Rostov stay 13th, two places and two points above the relegation zone.
On 77 minutes, summer signing Popov pounced on a through ball from Marcos Pizzelli and burst into the Rostov penalty area before stroking a shot over Rostov’s Croatian goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa to round off a swift passing move.
Kuban dominated the match against a Rostov side boasting former English Premier League players David Bentley and Florent Sinama Pongolle, but were prevented from scoring earlier by a commanding goalkeeping display from Pletikosa.
Bentley almost scored on 38 minutes with a long shot that Kuban goalkeeper Alexander Belenov struggled to hold.
Earlier Friday, Amkar Moscow achieved a surprise 2-1 win over Slaven Bilic’s Lokomotiv Moscow.
