The meeting of the 8th round of the Youth League ended with a confident victory of the blue and white over Zenit (2:0).
In the away match against Zenit St. Petersburg, the Dynamo Moscow players announced their intention to play number one from the very first minute. Already in the 4th minute, Ksenia Pilnikova made a solo pass through the central zone and struck a solid blow from 25 meters, but the ball passed just above the crossbar.
The starting segment was completely left to the blue and white: by the 5th minute, the team had organized a series of protracted attacks, culminating in several shots on target of the opponent's goal. Zenit was able to respond with its attack only by the 10th minute, but Dynamo's defensive line acted in an organized manner and eliminated the threat on the approaches to the penalty area.
By the 12th minute, the game had become tougher. Zenit players began to use minor foul tactics more often, including in the center of the field, where Ekaterina Sergeeva received a painful blow after one of the collisions. The guests gradually seized the initiative, betting on standard positions.
The Dynamo defense coped with the canopies, despite the continued pressure of the St. Petersburg club. By the middle of the first half, the game had leveled off: in the 23rd minute, Zenit had more possession of the ball and controlled the territory, while Dynamo responded with sharper counterattacks.
After the 30th minute, despite the presence of shots and approaches to the goal from both sides, the sharpness in the game temporarily decreased. The situation was changed by an episode in the 32nd minute, when Pilnikova dribbled against several Zenit players and delivered a powerful blow - the goalkeeper of the guests Daria Selikhova managed to transfer the ball to the corner.
Zenit's response came in the 36th minute: a corner was followed by a headbutt, which was confidently recorded by Arina Taranchenko. Two minutes later, the Dynamo goalkeeper came back into the game, first deflecting a blow from Yulia Soboleva, and then taking the ball away, not allowing her rivals to play on finishing. In the 43rd minute, the blue and white got the right to a dangerous standard, but failed to implement it.
As a result, the first half ended with a score of 0:0, fixing an equal game with a number of unrealized moments from the home team.
But the second half began with Dynamo attacks. In the 48th minute, Sergeeva twisted the ball into the far corner, but Selikhova coped with the threat. In a retaliatory attack, Soboleva struck from the penalty line above the goal. In the 51st minute, Irina Dricheva struck a long-range shot under the crossbar, which the Zenit goalkeeper again transferred to the corner.
Soon the advantage of Dynamo in terms of the quality of the moments created became obvious. At the 58th minute, the first substitution took place as part of the hostesses: Daria Sorokina entered the field instead of Ksenia Pilnikova. Immediately after that, Daria Guskova's serve-kick almost led to a goal — Selikhova had to knock the ball out from under the crossbar to the next corner.
In the 63rd minute, Zenit responded with two dangerous attacks: in the first case, Taranchenko took the ball, in the second the ball went above the target. In the 67th minute, Dynamo managed to open an account. The protracted combination ended with the transfer of Ekaterina Sergeeva to Irina Dricheva, who sent the ball to the far nine with a powerful shot from the goalkeeper's line – 1:0!
By the 74th minute, Zenit increased the pressure, trying to recoup. In the 76th minute, Varvara Demidova could have doubled the advantage, but Selikhova transferred her shot to the corner with her fingertips. It was this standard that became effective: the same Demidova completed the serve, and Ekaterina Sergeeva sent the ball into the net with a header — 2:0!
In the final part of the match, Zenit was actively moving forward, but Dynamo's defense acted reliably. The final assault of the guests in regular time and for five added minutes did not bring them success.
Dynamovki confidently held the advantage until the final whistle, which recorded the success of the blue and white in the Northern capital.
For full information about the starting lineups and the events of the meeting, see the match center.
The next match of Dynamo U-21 will be played on July 6 – in Novogorsk it will host CSKA Moscow derby. The meeting starts at 19:30 Moscow time.
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