Match №16

The match № 16, group B, fourth tournament day

RUSSIA – St.PETERSBURG 4:1 (2:0)

January 27th, 2014, St. Petersburg, Peterburgsky SCC, 2350 spectators

Referees: Vladimir Moskalyov, Vladimir Korzhevskiy, Aleksey Krohin

Russia: Leonov, Zuev (c), Kalyashin, Sharipov (Yarmolitsky, 83), Chkhapelia (Zemskov, 61), Mogilevets (Pantsyrev, 74), Bolov (Kutin, 83), Zubarev, Ovsyannikov (Zakuskin, 55), Zuikov (Manzon, 70)

Head coach: Nikolay Pisarev

St. Petersburg: Tsvetkov, Krivulkin, Deyneko (smirnov, 46), Ivanov V. (Pankov, 87), Umarov (Zakarlyuka, 77), Zolotarenko (Efimov, 46), Panfilov (c), Ivanov A., Bogayev (Kopeikin, 80), Tundenkov, Guschin (Lyasovy, 46)

Head coach: Boris Rapoport

Goals: Zubarev (9), Chkhapelia (27), Panfilov (56), Bolov (67, pen.; 69)

Yellow card: Yarmolitsky (88)

Best players: Ruslan Bolov, Roman Krivulkin

 

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After match comments

Head coach of team Russia Nikolay Pisarev:

– The game must have been good for the spectators. There were many moments and goals. The score is deceiving, for there were two teams equal in determination, will, individual skills and dedication.

– As the coach of Russian team you must have watched the opponents and could have taken note of somebody. Would you name such players?

– I liked two players of St. Petersburg but I won't speak their names. It can affect negatively them in such an age. I liked their speed skills and their desire to show their best in order to enter the list of the youth team Russia.

– Which of the teams would you like to oppose in the quarterfinals?

– There's merely no difference. And besides, what are the variants? We are to play with the third place of the group C. We don't know so far who will take this place. On the other hand, we must play against anyone.

– After the scored goal you screamed to your players: "Psych up!" Is it that your team can be psyched up only after a goal and not from the start?

– It's third time that we talk about psyching up in the changing room. And it's third time we start the game laid-back, with a sense of excellence. So first minutes were quite worrying. We faced the aggressive playing of the opponents. A good aggressive and bold playing, evil in the sports manner. And our leaders kept silence. We urge them to speak on the pitch, to give advice, but the team of this season is silent. Maybe it's because of their nature. We fail to activate them. Yet, there's a strategy and playing discipline which they are trying to follow. It's rather difficult, considering the lacking physical fit. Say, the head knows and the feet don't run. That's where mistakes come from, as well as the decisions which the coaches fail to understand. When you calm down you understand the guys' fit is not perfect. And besides, it's the third game within 4 days.

– Third match on end your team plays an excellent first half with all the players involved in attacks and defense. And in the second the ball is passed to Mogilevets who directs the team. Can you comment this?

– You might have noticed that we start the games with almost the same squad. I speak about the 11 players who come on the pitch at start. In the second half we change the staff. Many substitutions, many new players, the playing links deform. The pattern of the game changes. And then we need somebody to restore the links.

Head coach of team St.Petersburg Boris Rapoport:

– I can't say we have decided to play against Russia open football, let it be creating; and I think it was successful. We wanted to create, to score. We didn't fall back to defense and the game was spectacular. We couldn't cope with the opponents and the scored goals. I can't blame my team. Numbers 7 and 11 in Russian team are stronger and faster. We didn't want to change our defense line, play personally against forwards. My players wanted to create and show their best to the coach of national team. They want to reach something in football. I think we spent a good match failing only to transfer our sharp moments into goals. But this is the question of skills. If we had forwards as team Russia has we would have scored for sure. But we don't have them. There are such forwards in our city but not in our team. But in spite of anything I'm satisfied with the game. We lost and we lost with a big score, but to my mind it was the best match of our team on this tournament including our two victories.

– № 18 of your team didn't cope with his duties as a defender and the penalty kick occurred because of his fault. Didn't you want to substitute him after so many mistakes?

– I have such a desire but Guschin, our leading central defender, couldn't play second half and we have no one to change him. I substituted him with Lyasovy who is 95th year of birth. On the left wing we had Roman Krivulkin – a player of 96th year of birth. There was a variant with Sasha Tundenkov. I had some substitutions for attack but there was a big trouble with changes in defense. I've put Andrey Ivanov on a different wing, but he is a left legged player. If there were a possibility I would have certainly changed Tundenkov. But on the other hand, he must cope with the psychological pressure, so we will check it. Now he is very upset because of this, and he's a good boy if he's able to make it through. This is football, everyone should increase his level.