Grozny – A brace from Albanian striker Bekim Balaj gave the Chechen football club a 2-1 win over Russian Premier League contenders Zenit St. Petersburg on 6 November at Akhmat Arena.
Slovakian midfielder Robert Mak put Zenit in the lead after ten minutes.
Home side Terek Grozny knew they had a tough task on their hands entering the match with Zenit but they were determined to continue their good form.
Bekim Balaj leveled the scores at 1-1 on a goal assisted by Iranian left back Milad Mohammadi in the 34th minute.
Four minutes later Balaj struck again on a goal assisted by midfielder Daler Kuzyayev to give the home side a 2-1 lead.
Balaj is on fire as he has now scored eight goals in twelve appearances this season for Terek Grozny in his first season with the Chechen based club after playing for Rikeja in the Croatian First Division.
No more goals were scored the rest of the match but seven yellow cards were handed out in a physical match that saw Portuguese defender Neto of Zenit receive two yellow cards in the second half that led to his sending off in the 90th minute.
Terek Grozny – led by Tajikistani coach Rashid Rakhimov – are now unbeaten in their last six matches and sit in third position of the Russian Premier League table with twenty-four points and only trail Zenit St. Petersburg by four points.
Rakhimov’s men will face Tom Tomsk away from home on 19 November.