RYAZAN, May 18 (SW) -In the highly anticipated return of the 2005 UEFA U19 European Championship top goalscorer Elena Danilova to face her former club Ryazan-VDV, the visiting Spartak Moscow had to settle for a goalless draw and slipped further in the race to catch the defending champions Rossiyanka.

Almost 2000 fans turned out to see the match that was seriously affected by the terrible condition of the field. Once a perfect emerald pitch of the CSK stadium represents a bumpy patchy surface today, and it was a challenge for the players to simply control the ball. Still, both teams were playing to win, which resulted in a lively open game with a lot of chances.

The hosts looked more dangerous in the first half. On the 33rd minute Svetlana Sedakova was fouled inside the penalty area, and Ryazan had a chance to open the scoring from the spot. Sedakova hit the ball low to the right of the keeper, but Ukraine National Team Goalkeeper Veronika Shulga was able to stretch to parry the ball wide. Spartak was able to change the game in the second half and thanks to Danilova and her Russian WNT teammate Elena Terekhova created a couple of great chances to score. First, Liliya Vasilyeva after receiving the ball from Danilova entered the penalty area but shot straight at Tatyana Repejkina. Then, right before the final whistle, Terekhova dribbled past two opponents and squared the ball to the late sub Chukisova, who missed the goal from 10 metres out. Both sets of coaches agreed that it was a fair result. Spartak are back in action on Thursday in a Moscow derby against Chertanovo. Ryazan plays away to Victoria Belgorod.

Ryazan VDV - Spartak Moscow (0-0) 0-0

Attendance: 1,850