It’s a Cup match and the result is fair. Both teams were focusing on defence more than attack. Perhaps we weren’t as lucky with our long-distance shots, two of which were a little bit inaccurate. One of them was saved by the goalkeeper, and the other one hit the crossbar. There were a lot of tackles and close-range passes. It was a true Cup game. We’ll find out who progresses to the next stage in the match in St. Petersburg.
Was that substitution when Erokhin came on planned, or was it purely the reaction of the player, his skills in choosing position and performing headers?
Without a doubt we were planning to play a footballer who has the skills to finish attacks. We changed both of the flanks to increase the amount of passes. Therefore Erokhin came on as he knows when to act to finish this type of passes. He scored a beautiful goal, and I’m happy for him. He truly deserves recognition for the scored goals.
Did you choose this formation based on who was ready for tonight’s match, or was the plan to use a more attacking formation?
We had to use this formation. Mário, Karavaev and Douglas are three of our full-backs, and right now all of them are unavailable for one reason or another. That pushes us to search for other formations that would allow us to rotate the players considering the upcoming match, as well as to see how certain players perform on different positions.
Today Zenit were able to score and break the goalless streak. The players on the bench also reacted to this goal in celebration. How important was this goal, and how important was it to break the goalless streak in this specific match?
It wasn’t about the goal itself, we didn’t deserve to lose with the way we played today. Obviously we’re all happy that we scored a well-deserved goal. In my opinion, with our performance this is a fair result. Therefore the players were happy for Aleksandr and for the team as well, considering that we had to make a comeback. It’s a lot of aspects combined, not only the scored goal.
Baltika beat Rostov today. Would you like to face Sergei Ignashevich’s team in the final?
We have to win against CSKA to advance to the next stage first. The second match will reveal who progresses further. The teams from the regions path will be facing each other to determine who reaches the final. Therefore it doesn’t matter which team it will be, they’ll be there because they deserve it. This is the Cup and everything in this tournament is possible. Considering that we’re the only team among the Cup tournament participants that continues to compete for the title too, it’s challenging to play both in the league and in the Cup, everyone knows this.
I think the main tournament is the league, and the Cup comes second. Nobody ever says that it’s the other way around as everyone is aware of how things are, but somehow there are still questions about this.
Those teams that have smaller chances to win the league title usually try their best to succeed in the Cup. The teams that can choose their priorities and don’t have an opportunity to get ready fully, will obviously lean towards competing for the league title. In my opinion it’s obvious.
You know Sergei Ignashevich well. Would you be happy to see him and his team in the final?
Without a doubt I’m happy to see Sergei Ignashevich succeed. The team has started playing in attack more after the season resumed and the matches have become quite interesting. In the first half of the season they had a lot of passes out wide and tackles. Now the team has another way of playing. I’m glad that the way they play now brings better results and the wins both to Baltika and to Sergei Ignashevich.
