AMSTERDAM — Tom Tomsk loan striker Eugene Starikov notched his first goal of the season on Saturday by bagging the opener in a 2-1 victory over parent club Zenit St. Petersburg.
The recent US call-up highlighted his 77-minute shift by sneaking in front of Portugal defender Bruno Alves to nod home a right wing cross eight minutes before intermission. The victory was good enough to lift the Siberians up to ninth and extend their unbeaten run to seven games.
Over in Germany, David Yelldell and Duisburg had to be satisfied with runners-up medals after a crushing 5-0 DfB Pokal loss to Schalke.
Despite a tardy corner kick punch attempt on the third Miners goal, the American could hardly be blamed for the drubbing as his injury-depleted second-flight defense was carved open early and often by the Bundesliga side.
Next door in Ligue 1, Carlos Bocanegra and Saint-Étienne surrendered all hope of a Europe League berth with a tough 2-1 loss at Sochaux.
Turkish Süper Lig closing day action saw Jozy Altidore work a solid 68 minutes as Bursaspor clinched third place with a 1-0 victory over visiting Genclerbirligi.
The final match news was not so happy for Leo Krupnick and Maccabi Netanya, who finished out of Europa League position in fifth with a 4-1 defeat at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
