Tymoschuk floored by Zenit marvel

Anatoliy Tymoschuk was left stunned as FC Zenit St. Petersburg earned a final place at FC Bayern München's expense, saying: "I could not believe we made it."

Unbelievable result
The 29-year-old midfielder went into the game with confidence, but the 4-0 win that earned them a 5-1 UEFA Cup semi-final triumph against tournament favourites Bayern was something neither he nor anyone else could have anticipated. "My first thought after final whistle was that we are going to play in the final," he explained. "I could not believe we made it."

'We made it'
"All the moments when you achieve something are special," added Tymoschuk, who reached the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals with Ukraine. "Getting to this semi-final was special. A FIFA World Cup quarter-final is a big achievement too. Now we have a UEFA Cup final. These are all things you can never forget. I can't say if it's the biggest thing I ever achieved. The main thing is that we made it."

Unexpected outcome
And how. With many expecting a solid Bayern rearguard action at the Petrovsky Stadium after Zenit snatched a 1-1 draw in Munich, the 2007 Russian champions ran amok, with Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring twice either side of goals from Konstantin Zyrianov and Victor Fayzulin. "I feel great," said Tymoschuk. "Beating Bayern the way we did – few people expected this."

Nervous moments
The match looked increasingly one-sided, but Tymoschuk did not feel comfortable until late on. "I was afraid that Bayern would score even when it was 3-0," he said. "We saw their match with Getafe [CF], when in ten minutes they scored twice. There was still plenty of time left to lose concentration, but we were disciplined and the fourth goal ended any doubt. Bayern gave up after that."

Early break
Pogrebnyak opened the scoring after just four minutes, but Tymoschuk was pleased that Zenit did not become complacent. "The first goal did not relax us, but put us on even higher alert," he said. "We did not lose focus. We were determined not to concede. The most important thing we did was show determination and movement. We complemented each other; we played as a team, not as individuals."

Pogrebnyak suspended
The only disappointment as Tymoschuk looks ahead to the final in Manchester on 14 May is that Pogrebnyak will not be playing, a yellow card on Thursday having triggered a one-match ban. "It's sad that he will miss what would be one of the most important matches of his life," he said. "He is a key player at the moment, but other key players were missing today and we still beat Bayern. Let's hope the player who replaces him will be as successful in the final."