Saturday, March 11, 2023 at 5:19 PM• Jonathan van Haaster

Quincy Promes can call himself the joint top scorer of the Russian Premier League after Saturday. Spartak Moscow’s attacker was responsible for the first two hits against low-flyer Fakel Voronezh, which fought back to 2-2 before the break. In the final phase, Christopher Martins still ensured that the points were retained for the Muscovites: 3-2. Promes’ opening goal was his hundredth in the service of Spartak, which is now second. League-leader Zenit St. Petersburg has five points more and also played one game less.

Promes is suspected of a stabbing and was told last week that the OM is demanding two years in prison against him. Nevertheless, the attacker was in the starting line-up and he did not disappoint trainer Guillermo Abascal. Promes opened the score in the eighteenth minute by tapping in a rebound after an error by goalkeeper Aleksey Gorodovoy. It meant his hundredth goal in the service of Spartak. Five minutes before the break, the Dutchman scored again, after he outplayed two defenders and then finished: 2-0.

That then also seemed to be the rest position, but nothing could be further from the truth. In minute 43, Khyzyr Appaev made the connection goal, after which Reda Rabei made it 2-2 in minute 45 + 4 via a penalty kick. Spartak therefore had to start again and for a long time Fakel Voronezh, the number fourteen in the competition, seemed to cause a stunt. However, three minutes before the end, substitute Martins still made the liberating goal, so that Spartak does what it has to do in the battle for the Russian title. Promes has fourteen hits after Saturday and can therefore call himself the top scorer of the competition, together with Malcom (Zenit) and Vladimir Sychevoy (Krylia Sovetov Samara).