WFC Dynamo suffered a big defeat to WFC Zenit in St. Petersburg

The beginning of the last month of summer was marked by not the happiest event for Dynamo — the team finished their performance in the Winline Cup of Russia, the second most important club tournament in Russian women's football.

Yes, the blue and white advanced one stage further this season than they did last year: in the 2023 season, Dynamo lost to CSKA (1:4) in the round of 16, and this year they lost to «Lokomotiv» (1:2) in the quarterfinals. On the other hand, you always want more, especially since this season the playoffs were such that, under favorable conditions, the road to the final was practically open.

On the eve of the meeting between Dynamo and Lokomotiv in Novogorsk, Zenit and Chertanovo played in another pair in Moscow, and the Muscovites sensationally defeated the clear favorites of the season in a penalty shootout, knocking out a major player from the tournament. That is, both Dynamo and Lokomotiv were well aware that if they made it to the semifinals, they would not have to play against the formidable Zenit, which is dreaming of finally winning the Winline Cup of Russia, but against a team that is clearly not playing at its level this season (the Chertanovki occupy the penultimate place in the tournament table of the Super League)

So the stakes were high. But it was certainly difficult for the Dynamo women to compete with the double trophy winner. Perhaps, the lack of experience in participating in matches of such a level of responsibility also affected. Anyway, Sergei Lavrentiev's team lost their way to the semifinals (and possibly the finals) to the railwaywomen, and now they can focus on the Super League. What exactly? Well, at least fighting for bronze medals, which have not gone anywhere from the blue and white yet and are within walking distance. It's funny that the Dynamo will have to fight for them with the same Lokomotiv.

Will it be possible to compete for something more than the bronze of the Super League this season? The answer to this question was largely due to today's match against Zenit. With a team that is a constant contender for all titles in Russia, and even wounded by such an unexpected departure from the Cup from capital's Chertanovo. Here, after all, it was possible to get under the hot hand of an angry Zenit. Something similar was actually expected by many

And although Dynamo's personnel losses have long ceased to surprise, this time the starting lineup of the white-blues for the match with Zenit surprised even seasoned Dynamo fans. Sergey Lavrentyev's team entered the game with one of the championship leaders with the combination of central defenders Milena Nikitina and Jose-Diana Pamen Tchato. It is not hard to guess that Dynamo has not played with such a pair of center backs this season.

If many have already come to terms with the loss of Ksenia Kubichnaya until the end of the season, then the loss of Helena Bozic until the end of August was difficult to accept. But already from the early substitution in the last cup match with Lokomotiv it was clear that the Montenegrin's participation in the upcoming games is now in great question.

Considering all these circumstances, it was not at all surprising to see Zenit's activity from the first minutes of the match. The hosts were clearly counting on a quick goal - and this calculation was justified. In the 14th minute, Gabriela Grzywinska was left all alone in our penalty area and easily sent the ball into the goal after a pass from the left side. The word "easy" is not accidental here, as the rest of the game showed, Dynamo's defense provided good opportunities for Zenit's footballers more than once, which they took advantage of. If Dynamo's players failed in positional or even counterattacking play, they looked for their opportunities in standard situations. By the middle of the half, the white-blues received two dangerous free kicks, which, alas, our girls did not take full advantage of. But things were better with corners. One of them brought Dynamo the long-awaited success! In the 27th minute, Kristina Komissarova served from the corner so cleverly that Zenit's goalkeeper Yulia Grichenko, in some confusion, sent the ball not from her goal, but into it. In such a curious way, Dynamo finally opened its scoring account against Zenit – only in the fifth match. But, as they say, better late than never.

It’s just a pity that the joy of scoring a goal was short-lived. The hosts needed literally three minutes to resolve all issues: first, Zenit captain Ksenia Tsybutovich in the 32nd minute, and then Kiki in the 35th took advantage of Dynamo’s defense mistakes and increased the advantage of the blue-white-blues to two goals.

The teams started the second half more calmly than the first, but this did not prevent the St. Petersburg footballers from scoring their goal. The lack of coordination between goalkeeper Diana Ponomareva and Pamen Tchato led to Kiki scoring a double and bringing the score to 1:4.

Obviously, the game was over and even a series of substitutions in the Dynamo lineup could change little. And then Zenit scored its fifth goal – this time Gabriela Grzywinska scored a brace with a beautiful long-range strike.

Dynamo footballers managed to score one goal, but again after a gross error by Grichenko – Kaylan Williams took advantage of it. But it was already unrealistic to change anything globally.

5:2 – they scored against Zenit for the first time, but suffered a major defeat in the Northern capital and complicated their fight for third place.

See the full information about the starting lineups and the events of the match in the match center.