Anatoly Davydov: “I didn`t like the match”

The head coach of Zenit`s youth team talked about the rather poor quality of his team`s play in the center of the field after its victory in Makhachkala.

– I didn`t like today`s match too much, – said Anatoly Davydov. – We had to work a lot, we didn`t hold on to the ball well. I`m not sure why. We had a normal flight, and we didn`t have any questions about preparation for the match. Maybe we were thinking that we`ve got Spartak ahead of us? But I told the guys that they don`t have to save their strength. They have to fight in each match, keep going forward. Every game should be a step forward. When you go forward you develop. I said before the match that southern teams always bite. And that`s the way it was today. I don`t have any complaints about the refereeing. Both the head referee and the linesmen did a great job today.

– You didn`t like the match most of all because the players held the ball poorly in the center of the field?

– Ya. And partly also because we didn`t have the same unity like in the previous match with Amkar: we were wandering all around the field, we worked individually, not as a team. But that`s why they`re young players. They`re not completely stable yet. We`ll talk about it and figure out how to break open the game in such situations. Maybe we can do so through our free kicks. Maybe we can do so by making six or seven passes in a row, and setting the opponent back into their own penalty box.

– Gigolaev`s free kicks today deserve special mention. Were they planned that way?

– Well, if I decided that Gigolaev and Sirotov are going to take care of the free kicks, then I guess it was planned (smiles). Before the match I explained what, who, and from where each person is supposed to play. And my players executed. In matches like today, free kicks should decide everything, and I`m happy that`s the way it turned out.

– Which of the players would you point out today?

– Andrey Zaitsev. He gave it his all today. He didn`t make any mistakes, and he started talking, telling the players what to do. I think he was the best player out there today.