Shunin on the podium, Semin’s anniversary and Khokhlov’s composure: what remains of the match between Dynamo and Lokomotiv

“No creative moves will help if there is no game”

The Dynamo - Lokomotiv derby turned out to be quite emotional and vibrant, but to the disappointment of the leadership of both clubs, it did not cause proper excitement among fans.

Sunday evening in the arena named after Lev Yashin there were voids of vacant seats. And this is despite the fact that the organizers together with the RPL made every effort to ensure that the fans at the stadium were not only comfortable, but also interesting.

However, neither the entertainment program, nor the opportunity to chat with the players of your favorite team - Arthur Yusupov and Anton Shunin, who missed the match due to injury and disqualification - did not attract the proper number of spectators to the stadium.

“No creative moves will help if the team does not have a game. Nobody wants to come to a beautiful stadium in the hope and leave after with a constant feeling of the deepest disappointment. When they start winning, the viewer will return, ”said White and Blue fan Sergei Petrov to RT.

Lokomotiv also had problems with attendance. As RT told the fan club of the railroad workers, fans of red-green had difficulty buying out most of their quota.

“We were given 2,500 tickets, a few hours before the match, only 2,000 were sold. Expected more excitement. Team on the go, match in Moscow. Perhaps this is due to the holiday season, ”explained fans of red-green.

However, active fans of “Loco” should pay tribute. They thoroughly prepared for the match with a principled rival and decorated the guest rostrum of Dynamo stadium with specially prepared red-green flags.

Shunin and fans

The fan sector Dynamo this time did without performance. However, despite this, Grandstand D attracted the attention of all visitors to the match, as well as journalists, photographers and videographers, since from the first minutes of the match, an injured captain of blue and white Shunin appeared on the tower for “loaders”.

The warm greetings from their own fans initially confused the goalkeeper, but after Shunin got accustomed to an unusual role for himself and took an active part in the noise support of partners. In particular, Igor Leshchuk, for whom the match with Lokomotiv was only the second in the RPL.

It is noteworthy that, by the will of the lot, Leshchuk in the first half defended the goal located immediately in front of the Dynamo active platform. So the chanting of his name from the lips of an older comrade and several thousand fans was more than ever worthwhile.

By the way, Igor was able to keep his gates untouched exactly as long as Shunin was behind him. A few minutes after the main goalkeeper of the blue and white left the podium, his young commander missed from the penalty spot from Alexei Miranchuk.

Semin's emotionality and Khokhlov’s composure

Special attention should be paid to the behavior of the team coaches, because the week preceding the derby was marked by discussion in the media about their future fate.

In the place of Semin, French journalists predicted the ex-mentor of the London Arsenal Arsene Wenger. In the event of a defeat against Loko, Dmitry Khokhlov experts predicted an early dismissal.

It is noteworthy that both specialists have long known each other. Khokhlov, 43, trained twice under the supervision of Semin. Their path crossed for the first time in Lokomotiv, and after both ended up in Dynamo.

At the same time, despite a considerable age difference, an experienced mentor behaved much more actively than the former ward. Semin, for whom this match became the 600th in the Russian championships, practically didn’t sit on the coaching chair and watched the actions of his wards on their feet, not hiding their emotions. For example, the excitement of a successful penalty was so strong that the specialist began to be baptized.

Khokhlov behaved a little more restrained. The Dynamo coach only at the time of attacks went to the border of the technical zone, most of the time preferring to watch the game from the bench, part of which, at the request of a specialist, was dismantled and raised to the field level.