Russian Football Played In Silence To Remember Fire Victims

Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Apr, 2018 ) :Russia football fans stayed silent for the first halves of matches on Saturday as a tribute to the 64 people who died in a fire at a Siberian shopping mall last Sunday.

The league clubs supporters' association made the decision before Russia's friendly match with France at Saint Petersburg on Tuesday. "It was difficult to play the first half," Spartak Moscow captain Denis Glushakov said after his team's 2-1 win over Tosno.

"The stands were completely quiet and it was very unusual for our home turf." On the pitch, reigning champions Spartak boosted their hopes of retaining the Russian Premier League title as they closed the gap on league leaders Lokomotiv, who suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Amkar Perm.

Brazilians Fernando and Luiz Adriano scored as Spartak moved two points adrift of Lokomotiv, who have a game in hand. CSKA Moscow, who face Rostov on Sunday, sit third, six points further back. "The result is the only pleasant thing that should be mentioned when we speak about today's match," Spartak coach Massimo Carrera said.

"My men performed as if they had already won this game.

I was really angry with that and made them understand it at the break. Luckily, it worked well." Fernando forced the 30,000 home crowd to break their silence in first-half injury-time, firing the ball into the top corner with a stunning 30-yard free-kick.

His fellow Brazilian Luiz Adriano doubled the lead in the 75th minute when he hammered the ball in from Quincy Promes' cross. Veteran striker Pavel Pogrebnyak reduced the arrears with an 80th-minute penalty but it was too little, too late for the visitors.

Lokomotiv saw their nine-match unbeaten run ended by Amkar Perm as they slipped closer to the chasing pack. Portuguese midfielder Manuel Fernandes put Lokomotiv, who hosted the match because of a poor pitch at Amkar's stadium, in front from the penalty spot.

Three minutes after the interval, Nigerian forward Aaron Olanare equalised with another penalty after Fernandes brought down Alexander Ryazantsev. And in the 59th minute Olanare scored the winner, beating Lokomotiv 'keeper Marinato Guilherme after Petar Zanev's back-heeled pass.