Vidi had chances against the Russian side but the closest they came to was hitting the post.
The final friendly match in Spain was played in strong winds and overcast conditions at the Marbella Football Centre. The opponents were Russian side CSKA Moscow, who currently lie in second place. The Russian outfit took the lead after 2 minutes: A crossball from the left saw Efremov get in behind the defence to steer the ball home from close range (0-1).
Vidi regained the initiative after that goal, with CSKA relying more on the counter attacks. Alvarez and Nikolics worked hard to create openings, but the final ball was long. A Gyurcso free kick on 11 minutes found it's way to Vinicius, whose effort came back off the post. Nikolics then saw his shot blocked on 20 minutes, before Trebotics tried his luck on the edge of the box, which the Russian keeper saved. Szolnoki then got his foot in to block a shot on goal, while Efremov headed over.
Gyurcso then got hold of the ball after 35 minutes and blasted a shot from 27 meters that required a good save from Pomazulin. Gyurcso then sent a high ball in from a free kick before the half time break, which was headed over by Mareval from close range. A very good stop from Calatayud then kept Panchenko out.
Joan Carrillo made three changes at half time with Heffler, Chakla and Fecszesin replacing Nikolics, Vinicius and Alvarez. The rain began to pour by the time Aliev blasted his shot over from 17 meters out. There were a further 5 changes on the hour mark with Ivanovski, Brachi, Stopira, Simon and Pajac coming on in place of Gyurcso, Kovacs, Sandor, Mareval and Szolnoki. Ivanovski then hit a powerful shot on 69 minutes, which saw the keeper stretch to keep out. A Feczesin ball in found Heffler in front of the Russian goal, but the match official saw a foul and the danger was cleared. Ivanovski then laid the ball back for Brachi to shoot wide from 25 meters out. The 76th minute saw a very good save by Calatayud, when Panchenko hit his effort at the keeper from 7 meters out. Pajac sent a free kick in a minute later, which was almost headed in to his own net by a Russian player.
There were a couple of chances close to the final whistle. The first came when Wernbloom headed over the bar while a Pajac free kick curled over the bar, in what was the final chance of this friendly game. It was a goal in the 2nd minute by CSKA that ended up settling the game. Vidi will next be in pre-season action when they travel to play FC DAC.
Author: David Rechnitzer