Captain Daku brought victory to "Rubin": the Kazan team earned a hard-fought three points in the match against "Baltika."

      In the match of the 28th round of the RPL, "Rubin" won away against "Baltika" with a score of 1:0. In the last 12 matches for "Rubin," Daku had one goal. Yesterday, the Albanian secured the victory over "Baltika." "Baltika" was rightly considered the main discovery of the autumn part of the RPL 2025-26 season. Having just risen from the First League, the Kaliningrad team managed to confidently establish themselves in the top five strongest teams in Russia during the first stage of the championship without significant investments. However, this spring, the charges of Andrey Talalaev can no longer boast outstanding results. The last time "Baltika" won in the RPL was on March 21 (against "Sochi," 4:0). In the last six games, the Kaliningrad team has four draws and two losses. The last of these was inflicted by "Rubin" yesterday. For the victory, the Kazan team needed only one goal. In the 29th minute, forward Mirlind Daku scored from a corner. In the last 12 matches, the Albanian had only one goal. Due to an injury, Daku had to miss the first matches in March. And Franko Artiga managed to secure two convincing victories over "Krasnodar" and "Lokomotiv" even without the star player of "Rubin." It cannot be said that the Kazan team has completely rid themselves of "Daku-dependence" under the Spanish coach, but it is foolish to argue that during Rashid Rakhimov's time, the Albanian was almost the only option in "Rubin's" attack. Now, with varying success, Daku is replaced by Jacques Sive, and sometimes Artiga can deploy a "false nine" in the form of Nazmi Gripshi. Overall, this summer, the management of "Rubin" will have a reason to consider a profitable sale of Daku in case of high demand for the forward. The fact that Mirlind scored yesterday from a corner after Gripshi's assist is emotionally important primarily for him. The prolonged goal drought could have drawn Daku into a certain crisis. However, the Albanian clearly demonstrated to everyone yesterday that he is in good shape and does not intend to slow down compared to the striking autumn part of the season. Daku also wore the captain's armband in the absence of Vujacic. "Rubin" has two matches left in the championship: against "Spartak" away and "Pari NN" at home. Franko Artiga would certainly like to involve Daku in these matches. Why do we emphasize this? Because in the second half of the game against "Baltika," the Albanian required an emergency substitution due to injury. The "Rubin" forward was even carried off on a stretcher, as he could not leave the field on his own. However, it seems that the injury turned out to be minor. After the substitution, Daku was seen relaxing and watching the match from the bench in a good mood. Artiga also confirmed at the press conference that the worst fears did not come true. "Mirlind is happy. He is doing fine," he succinctly replied. It is worth noting that in yesterday's match, Daku was on the field with the captain's armband in the absence of Igor Vujacic. Even under Rakhimov, the Albanian received it several times, and as the former coach of "Rubin" said, this was supposed to help Daku keep himself in check. And indeed, feeling the additional burden of responsibility, Mirlind seems to abstract from all provocations, does not engage in meaningless acts of aggression, and consequently does not receive unnecessary yellow cards that would cause him to miss matches. Artiga remains unbeaten in the spring part of the season with "Rubin." "Rubin" continues its unbeaten streak under Franko Artiga. Surprisingly, even with not the highest quality of play, the Kazan team continues to steadily earn points. And yesterday's victory over "Baltika" is perceived as sensational, considering that in the first round, "Rubin" lost to the Kaliningrad team at "Ak Bars Arena" – 0:3. However, the current version of "Baltika" is far from ideal. The Kaliningrad team has many injured players, including the top scorer – forward Brian Hill. The vulnerable "Baltika" allowed "Rubin" to take away three points. The Kazan team's play was also far from perfect, but as Artiga rightly noted, his players should be able to rejoice in such hard-fought victories. "The result is very important – we come here to win. A crucial victory was achieved, and it would be wrong to discuss the style of play in such a match. We prepared thoroughly, and if we had come here to show the same style as against "Akron," knowing the quality of the pitch right now... You saw the match, right? The ball was constantly bouncing. And knowing "Baltika's" strengths, we would have lost. We are very happy and delighted. There should be no feeling that the match was unsuccessful. It was an incredibly successful match! I want to defend my players – they are doing great, they fought so hard! We should rejoice more in the result than discuss the quality of the game," Artiga said at the post-match press conference. The Spanish coach continues to experiment with "Rubin's" lineup. Yesterday, for example, nominal full-back Ilya Rozhkov played as an attacking winger. In the remaining matches of the season, the Spaniard can calmly pursue such trials and adventures. On the other hand, "Rubin" can boldly play for the result against "Spartak" and "Pari NN." After yesterday's defeat of CSKA by "Zenit" (1:3), the Kazan team can compete for the sixth place in the RPL standings.

      Photo: fc-baltika.ru

      More news about the event:

      Talalaev's cap, a flick for Daku, and Lobov's tears: stories from the match between "Rubin" and "Baltika." Safiullin was greeted with applause in the Kazan locker room, while Artiga asked to water the pitch. In the match of the 28th round of the Russian championship, "Rubin" defeated "Baltika" away (1:0), inflicting its second home defeat of the season. 09:37 03.05.2026 Business Online - Kazan

      Captain Daku brought victory to "Rubin": the Kazan team secured a hard-fought three points in the match against "Baltika." In the match of the 28th round of the RPL, "Rubin" won away against "Baltika" with a score of 1:0. In the last 12 matches for "Rubin," Daku had one goal. 08:58 03.05.2026 IA Tatar-inform - Kazan

      News from neighboring regions on the topic:

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