Gus Hiddink has failed in his atttempt to appear at four World cup finals with four different teams as Russia are beaten 1-0 by Slovenia to their World Cup hopes.
The hero of the night for Slovenia was striker Striker Zlatko Dedic. The Slovenian was quickest to react when Valter Birsa crossed from the right caught out Russia's defence .
Russia had won the first leg 2-1 in Moscow on Saturday, but Slovenia's win on Wednesday meant they qualified on the away goals rule.
The warning signs were there for Hiddink as early as the fourth minute, when a simple through-ball from Birsa inexplicably cut open the Russian defence and allowed Milivoje Novakovic a clear sight of goal, but his finish lacked confidence and was straight at keeper Igor Akinfeev.
Six minutes later there was a huge let-off for Russia when Andraz Kirm’s cross from the left struck the leg of the hapless Sergei Ignashevich, who saw the ball rebound off the post with Akinfeev motionless.
Dedic then beat Yanbaev to a deep cross from Novakovic, but his header lacked power and Akinfeev gathered comfortably.
As the clock ticked towards half-time, the home support erupted as Dedic got behind two Russian markers to turn in Birsa’s cross and give Slovenia the lead at the break.
Hiddink made two changes at half-time, bringing on Sergei Semak and Aleksandr Kerzhakov for Pavlyuchenko and Yanbaev.
But Russia’s night went from bad to worse when the Dinamo Moscow striker was shown a contentious red card by Norwegian referee Terje Hauge on 66 minutes.
Zhirkov’s cross from the left was whipped in dangerously towards Kerzhakov, who got the better of his marker and slid in on goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, appearing to make a legitimate stab at the loose ball.
The challenge was interpreted as dangerous play by the referee, and closer inspection of the incident also appears to show Slovenia defender Bostjan Cesar strike Kerzhakov in the face, while goalkeeper Handanovic chipped in with a retaliatory hand aimed at the striker.
Hiddink reacted by throwing on another striker, Pavel Pogrebniak, in place of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and the Stuttgart man almost made an immediate impact with a 12-yard header from Arshavin’s cross that was held by Handanovic.
As the game neared its dramatic climax, Zhirkov soared into the penalty box and hit a volley that was beaten out by Handanovic.
The ball was immediately cleared downfield to Dedic, who drilled a glorious opportunity wide, whilst at the other end Vasili Berezutsky came closest to finding an equaliser for Russia, volleying over from close range following Ignashevich’s flick.
There were more ugly scenes in stoppage time as Zhirkov was shown a second yellow card following an altercation with a Slovenia substitute on the by-line.
Seconds from the end Novakovic had a further glorious chance to put the icing on the cake, and the final whistle brought scenes of jubilation, with Russia ultimately left to pay the heaviest of prices for not finishing the match off on Saturday.
Slovenia will be heading to South Africa with high hopes in their second ever World Cup.
