Two goals from Ivory Coast striker Seydou Doumbia won Sunday’s Russian Cup Final for CSKA Moscow on a sun-bathed evening in Yaroslavl.
Alania Vladikavkaz were down after just 13 minutes when Doumbia ran onto Brazilian Vagner Love’s perfectly weighted pass and slotted home past Dmitry Khomich in goal.
But the underdogs were back level 10 minutes later when their own Brazilian, Danilo Neco, was rewarded for his persistence as his shot deflected off a CSKA defender and dribbled past the wrong-footed Igor Akinfeev.
The game turned decisively in the Muscovites’ favor with 69 minutes gone. Japanese star Keisuke Honda, who had replaced Russian playmaker Alan Dzagoev a couple of minutes earlier, surged down the right and chipped up a floated cross that Doumbia was only too happy to head in.
The win takes CSKA clear of Lokomotiv Moscow with six Russian Cup wins to the Railwaymen’s five. The army side’s previous five wins had come under Valery Gazzayev, now the president of Alania.
YAROSLAVL, May 22 (RIA Novosti)