First victory for FC Kuban under former BATE boss Viktor Goncharenko

The football club Kuban, Krasnodar, Russia, celebrated their first victory under new head coach, former FC BATE manager Viktor Goncharenko on 28 October.

In the ultimate match of the 14th tour of the Russian Premier League FC Kuban hosted the Premier League underdogs Anzhi Makhachkala and won 2-0, Gheorghe Bucur making a double after scoring in the 14th and 41st minutes.

Thanks to this victory FC Kuban have earned 17 points (4 wins, 5 draws and 5 defeats; goal difference 17-19) and are currently ninth out of 16 Premier League teams. Zenit St. Petersburg top the league table with 35 points, while Lokomotiv Moskva, coached by Belarus’ Leonid Kuchuk, are second (30 points).

On 24 October Viktor Goncharenko’s side traveled to Wales to play a Europa League group stage match against FC Swansea. FC Kuban held their opponents to a 1-1 draw after Djibril Cisse's injury-time penalty had cancelled out Michu’s goal in the 68th minute.

Viktor Goncharenko took over at FC Kuban in early October 2013 having signed a 4.5-year contract after six years of fruitful work at FC BATE Borisov. Viktor Goncharenko became a four-time winner of the Belarusian Premier League with BATE. Under him, the Borisov club played in the group stage of the Champions League and reached the Europa League playoff twice. Former BATE player Alexander Yermakovich has become BATE’s head coach. He has been part of BATE’s coaching staff since 2009.