Soccer-Euro-Russia find top gear fast after bumpy start

By Sonia Oxley

VIENNA, June 25 (Reuters) - Russia's footballing engine stalled and spluttered in the early Euro 2008 matches before finding top gear and cruising into the semi-finals in style.

Guus Hiddink's men looked destined for the scrapheap after a 4-1 loss to Spain in their first game but the coach's remarkable repair job and the influence of Andrei Arshavin, who was banned last time, means a repeat is unlikely in Thursday's rematch.

The Dutchman gave the players a hard time after that opening loss, telling them they needed to change their naive ways fast and putting them through what he said were tense sessions.

It had not been all bad in that first match, with Russia looking exciting going forward, but the problem was that in their enthusiasm to attack they seemed to forget about defence.

With just one or two Russian defenders at the back at times, Spain forward David Villa was handed a hat-trick on a plate.

They learnt a painful lesson and when they faced Greece in the next match they barely looked in danger of conceding.

Hiddink installed the experienced Sergei Ignashevich in the centre of defence instead of Roman Shirokov, who had tended to drift into his usual midfield position against Spain.

Going forward they looked constantly dangerous but their 1-0 victory told the story of missed opportunities, mainly by striker Roman Pavlyuchenko who squandered several sitters.