MOSCOW: Russian Premier League leaders Zenit St Petersburg's march to the title suffered a blip on Sunday after they were held to a 0-0 draw at Kuban Krasnodar.
However, Zenit remain eight points clear of the second-placed FC Krasnodar, with champions CSKA third another four points further adrift.
"Our performance was good but it was difficult to break down Kuban's defence as they were very compact," Zenit manager Adnre Villas-Boas said.
"We had some chances in the first minutes and in the last minutes. We were close.
"I'm satisfied with the performance but upset with the result as it was our big chance to finish this championship.
"Now we shall focus on our next league match against Tula."
Zenit dominated possession from the start but Kuban, who have never beaten the St Petersburg club in the Premiership, had the best chance in the first half as Bulgarian midfielder Ivelin Popov sent the ball just inches past the post with a six-yard header in the 24th minute.
After the interval, Zenit moved up a gear pinning Kuban back but created only one serious opportunity to break the deadlock with four minutes to go when Oleg Shatov failed to convert a precise cross from Hulk five metres out.
Elsewhere, CSKA failed to close the gap to FC Krasnodar as their head-to-head clash at the Khimki Arena ended in a 1-1 draw.
Swede Pontus Wernbloom put CSKA into the lead just before the break when he headed the ball home from the edge of the six-yard box off a 30-yard freekick by Israeli international Bebars Natcho.
But FC Krasnodar playmaker Roman Shirokov helped the ball on to Brazilian midfielder Francisco Wanderson in the area and the latter kept his cool to send the ball into the corner to level with just two minutes to go.
"Of course we would like to win every single league match but for us it's even more important to extend an unbeaten record," said Oleg Kononov, the head coach of FC Krasnodar, who are unbeaten in their last 13 matches.
"We remain in the race for a place in the Champions League. That's the most important thing for us."
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