Eto'o hails Anzhi's winning start

Anzhi Makhachkala captain and Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o said Monday he was pleased with his team's winning start into the Russian Premier League's new season. "It was very important to win the opening match," the forward, who fulfilled a promise to Makhachkala fans he would score in Sunday's match with Kuban Krasnodar which Anzhi won 2-1. "I promised I would score on Sunday and I did it. But our team's win is much more important than any of my individual achievements." Anzhi - by far the biggest spenders in the Russian Premier League and managed by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink - are hoping that their transfer outlays will help them lead them glory this season and a place in the UEFA Champions' League. On Sunday Anzhi trailed 1-0 after their Brazilian full back Joao Carlos sent the ball into his own net attempting to clear Igor Lolo's pass into the area in the opening minute. "It's football," said Eto'o. "This blunder is just a part of what makes football a beautiful and interesting sight. It was hard but we managed to battle back and grab all three points to take the winning start into new season. The season-opening matches are often hard and Sunday's showdown was not an exception. I hope we will play better in the next matches." Eto'o and Côte d'Ivoire forward Lacina Traore netted one apiece before the break to give Anzhi a morale-boosting 2-1 win, setting themselves up for a return UEFA Europa League second qualifying round match with Hungarian outfit Honved on Thursday. Anzhi won 1-0 their home encounter with Honved courtesy of Brazilian midfielder Jucilei da Silva's strike. FIFA .