Sergei Semak: “We don't like dropping points”

The Zenit manager’s words on the draw in Grozny.


Sergei Semak: “We don't like dropping points”

“It was a difficult game, as we expected. In the first half, when we had an equal amount of players, we were on top, but unfortunately we were far from being perfect in defence compared to other matches and one of our mistakes resulted the red card. It’s way more difficult to play when you’re outnumbered, but nevertheless we had good chances in the second half too and had possibilities to score, for example Malcom had a few chances. I think the result is fair, but unfortunately today our play in defence wasn’t as good as we would have wanted. We’ll be getting ready for the next match.”

Today Zenit, a great club and the biggest threat of the Russian football, had a defence that could be compared to the Great Wall of China. What happened? Did the red card affect the team’s tactics so much?

“Obviously the red card seriously affects further actions in the match. Regarding the game, I think in the first half Akhmat’s defence was really tough to break through, even when we had equal amount of players.”

In the last minutes of the match Chistyakov, Sergeev and Krugovoy were warming up. What was your plan for each of them and why did you choose specifically Dmitriy?

“Because the coaches of the opponent sent Konaté on the pitch. At the end of the match there are usually many set-pieces, long shots and passes to the penalty area, these moments are one of Dmitriy Chistyakov’s strong points. We thought Ivan Sergeev could freshen the game by taking his position, and we had an option of moving Douglas to the central zone and sending Krugovoy on. Since we didn’t have that many problems in defence, we changed the tactics and started playing with three central defenders, we just added a taller player who plays well in the air to the centre of defence.”

It seemed like in the last minutes Kerzhakov was taking too long to return the ball into the game. Does it mean that the team was fine with the draw?

“We had an amazing chance on the last minute, clearly we wanted to win. Though it was difficult for the guys, they’re not made of steel, so from the point of playing as a team and giving our all we looked very good today. As for defence, we had one obvious mistake in the second half, and in the first half there were two moments near our goal, but they were individual mistakes for the most part. We can’t blame the players personally for those actions, but generally they were leading to uncoordinated moves in defence.”

Why did you decide to send Alip on in the halftime and not Chistyakov? Were the substitutions after the first half due to the cards?

“That’s right, we were down to ten men, and losing another player would have made the situation even more difficult for us. Nuraly is in good shape, and Dmitriy is too, but Nuraly is a bit faster. In the first half the opponent’s tactics in attack was to shoot the ball behind our players, and in this situation speed is the key, so we decided to place him on that position. Also he is left-footed, and Rodrigão is right-footed, he’s more comfortable playing there too. We knew that Berisha was going to enter the game, and Rodrigão could easily watch over that zone.”

Does losing points in the recent matches affect the team? Does it decrease confidence?

“The opponents are getting points, but we’re going to get ours too. Obviously we don’t like dropping points, but the season is long, and the one who loses less in this whole period wins, and losing is inevitable for everyone. We have quite easy away matches, so we’ll be getting ready for the next games to lose fewer points.”

Will Odoevskiy being sent off impact his future career? Or is he going to come back to the starting team after this disqualification?

“We’ll view his conditions and the conditions of the other players. We have Mikhail and Ivan, so we’ll see, who is the most ready will play. Odoevskiy will miss the next match, that’s for sure.”

It’s the second away match of the season, the second time Zenit drop points, and the second time the fans leave. Do you pay attention to that?

“Certainly we understand why they leave, everyone knows about that. Unfortunately, we can’t do anything about it. We’re grateful to the fans that they travel with the team and support us, they’re stating their point. Regarding losing points, it happens, what can you do. We will be working to minimize the amount of mistakes.”