Sergey Semak: “It was a tough game, but we deserved the win”

The Zenit boss on the win in Moscow over Dynamo.

It was a difficult, edgy game. The score was dangerous and up until the end of the match there were some nerves from us. It’s good that we were able to score the second goal and more or less kill the game off. In the first half we made a lot of technical errors and we didn’t get out of defence well. In the second half we had fewer mistakes, they had a chance right in front of our goal and could have equalised. We also had chances to seal the win. It was a tough game, but we deserved the win. We will go on and prepare for the next match. 

You mentioned about playing out of defence. What happened there and what improved in the second half?

There were less mistakes in the second half. In the first we had some mistakes coming out of nowhere. We didn’t move well and made simple errors, things did not go as we wanted at all times. We had mistakes in the middle of the pitch and out wide. 

Has Driussi picked up an injury? Could Sutormin have moved to the left?

Sutormin was quite disciplined in his defensive duties, he is a fast player. Driussi has an injury to his calf muscle. We will know more after an examination. 

Why didn’t Malcom start this game? Is he in competition with Driussi for a starting place? 

I would like to thank Driussi for playing for a long time where the team needs him. He would rather be a second striker, but he plays where the team needs him. As for Malcolm, he needs to gain match fitness first so he can reach his highest level. We will see about who starts in future games.