Russian Cup: Christopher Wooh and Djiku convert penalties to send Spartak through

Christopher Wooh showed nerves of steel to convert the winning penalty kick for Spartak Moscow, who advaned to the Russian Cup semifinals on Wednesday evening with a 7-6 penalty shootout victory over Zenit St. Petersburg.

Christopher Wooh 🇨🇲 sends Spartak Moscow through to the Regions Path final (semifinals) of the Russian Cup!

Alexander Djiku 🇬🇭 also converted for Spartak, who defeated Zenit St. Petersburg 7-6 in PK’s following a 0-0 draw. pic.twitter.com/sSNa5NKkzX

— Pan-Africa Football (@PanAfricaFooty) April 8, 2026

The Cameroonian fired his penalty into the top corner to give his club a satisfying end to a roller coaster of a semifinal in the Regions Path of the competition, leaving Spartak one victory away from the final. Ghana national team defender Alexander Djiku also converted his attempt earlier in the shootout.

They will face Moscow rivals CSKA in early May to determine the cup finalist from the Regions Path.

For most of the match, it was a stalemate between the two Russian Premier League rivals at the Gazprom Arena in St. Petersburg. While hosts Zenit controlled the majority of possession, they were unable to solve a strong performance from the Spartak defense led by Djiku, who joined at the beginning of the ongoing campaign from Fenerbahçe.

Plenty of drama despite goalless Russian Cup clash

But on two occasions, the visitors let big opportunities slip away. Esequiel Barco had a chance to give them the lead from the penalty spot just before halftime but his attempt to roll the ball slowly down the middle backfired spectacularly.

 

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And in the penalty shootout, Zenit were the first team to blink when Andrey Mostovoy’s effort was saved. However, Costa Rica national team star Manfred Ugalde allowed the hosts back into it when he failed to convert for the visitors on their fourth attempt.

After the opening five rounds, the two teams exchanged successful spot kicks until the eighth round when substitute goalkeeper Ilya Pomazun saved from Zenit teenager Daniil Kondakov. Wooh showed no signs of pressure when he finished the job for the Red-and-Whites.