Rubin stay alive as they edge Copenhagen

Deposed Russian champions Rubin Kazan kept alive their hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win here on Wednesday over Danish side FC Copenhagen.

A penalty in first-half injury-time by skipper Christian Naboa – who had scored Rubin’s only other goal in this season’s campaign also from the penalty spot – was enough to secure victory and dent Copenhagen’s hopes of becoming the first Danish side to reach the knockout stages.

Copenhagen are still second and a point ahead of Rubin with one match remaining and will fancy their chances of going through as they play bottom side Panathinaikos while the Russians travel to Barcelona – though they did stun the 2009 champions at the Nou Camp in last season’s competition.

On-loan striker Sergei Kornilenko was the only forward capable of coming up with anything like a shot on target in the opening half hour, the Belarus star, who is on loan from Zenit St Petersburg, striking a fierce effort just wide of the post.

Rubin – who had left Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins out of the squad completely – showed remarkably little ambition or urgency given they needed a victory to keep alive their hopes of reaching the second round.

However, they got a break in injury-time of the first-half as veteran Jesper Gronjkaer – who was playing his 150th game for the club – was adjudged by English referee Martin Atkinson to have handled the ball and Noboa tucked away the ensuing penalty.

The visitors took time to get back into the match but did start to dominate proceedings form the hour mark and went desperately close to an equaliser in the 76th minute when Senegalese striker Dame N’Doye hit the bar with a shot from the edge of the area.

Copenhagen pressed ever more urgently and almost grabbed a share of the points at the death as 16-year-old striker Kenneth Zohore lashed in a shot inside the area but Rubin ‘keeper Sergei Ryzhikov pulled off a great save.