Belarus Football - Week 10

May 20, 21, 22 & 23, 2020

An early start this week with the 2019/20 Belarus Cup Final being played at the weekend ( the first round of the 20/21 Cup has already been played ! ). Wednesday sees the two cup finalists play each other in a dress rehearsal so it will be interesting to see how both sides treat this, and if it will have any bearing on the final.

Elsewhere it remains to be seen if FK Minsk will be able to fulfil their fixture after their period of isolation, and whether Covid-19 will impact any other sides this week.

Dinamo Brest vs BATE Borisov ( Wednesday at 17.00 UK time ) 

A dress rehearsal for the Cup Final at the weekend. Brest’s home displays haven’t been too bad, so they have a chance of halting the BATE juggernaut, although it depends if either or both sides are distracted by the Cup Final. 1-1

Result : 1-3. BATE march on having now taken 22 points out of the last 24. However, the scoreline is harsh on Brest and Savitskiy's miss from one yard with the score 1-1 after 72 minutes proves extremely costly, especially when ex-Brest man Nekhaychik gives BATE the lead two minutes later. Milevskiy's first half equaliser for Brest is worth watching again.

Neman Grodno vs Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( Thursday at 17.00 UK time )

Neman have slipped into the bottom three and will be desperate for a good result. Torpedo are hard to breakdown and the brilliance of Kadimyan may not be enough for Neman. 0-0

Result : 3-1. Neman deservedly overcame a lacklustre Torpedo despite falling behind to Yusov's earlier strike. Kadimyan's delightful cross sets up the equaliser for Rassadkin. Neman though they had taken the lead with 20 minutes to go but the goal was ruled out and strangely a penalty awarded instead. However, Zhukovskiy ensured justice was done from the spot, and another goal on full time sealed the win. 

FK Slavia Mozyr vs FK Gorodeya ( Friday at 16.00 UK time )

Entertaining Slavia versus the all-out defence of Gorodeya. Expect home advantage to count. 2-0

Result : 1-1. Despite Slavia's domination of possession, Gorodeya can feel hard done by as Slavia's equaliser came from a ridiculously awarded penalty for handball where the Neman defender had no chance of avoiding the ball. 

Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs Belshina Bobruisk ( Friday 18.00 UK time )

Shakhtyor are on a roll and should overcome a Belshina side showing recent signs of improvement. 2-0

Result : 4-0. Shakhtyor confirm their championship credentials with a ruthless despatch of doomed Belshina. Podstrelov nets twice from the bench for the home side.

FK Slutsk vs Rukh Brest ( Saturday at 14.45 UK time )

Slutsk need a win to get their unlikely championship challenge back on the rails but Rukh are unbeaten in their last 6 matches and have only conceded five times all season. 0-0

Result : 1-1. For most of this match it seemed to be much a do about 0-0. However, after Semenov's heade gave Slutsk the lead with ten minutes to play, a needless foul gave Rukh a penalty to equalise. A draw was a fair result.

FK Isloch Minsk vs Energetik BGU Minsk ( Saturday at 16.45 UK time )

Two of the most positive minded sides in the league so it could be cracker. Neither side have drawn this season so perhaps this statistic will end. 2-2

Result : 1-2. Still not a draw for either side. After a soft penalty a piece and a few missed chances, a draw looked on the cards until Yudchits long range shot took a deflection to give Energetik the victory and keep them one point behind BATE.

FK Vitebsk vs Dinamo Minsk ( Saturday at 18.45 UK time )

A hard one to call. Vitebsk have looked solid at home, and Dinamo have lost three out of four away. At times, Dinamo have played some really good football but rarely away from the Dinamo stadium. 1-0 ?

Result : 1-1. Dinamo are the Brighton and Hove Albion of the Belarus Premier League. Brave as lions at home but turn into the lion in the Wizard of Oz away. Despite an early lead from Bakhar, once Moldovan goal machine Nicolaescu equalised for Vitebsk, Dinamo struggle to make any impression on the game and if anything Vitebsk look the more likely winners. 

FK Smolevichy vs FK Minsk  

Match postponed as FK Minsk are still in 14 day quarantine.

Summary :

Dinamo Brest 1-3 BATE Borisov ( att : 4,320 )

Neman Grodno 3-1 Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( att : 384 )

FK Slavia Mozyr 1-1 FK Gorodeya( att : 850 )

Shakhtyor Soligorsk 4-0 Belshina Bobruisk ( att : 442 )

FK Slutsk 1-1 Rukh Brest ( att : 540 )

FK Isloch Minsk 1-2 Energetik BGU Minsk ( att : 400 )

FK Vitebsk 1-1 Dinamo Minsk ( att : 773 )

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA0i-Knsvjc

Comments :
BATE's win at Dinamo Brest keeps them top of the table and keeps them odds on for the title. Energetik and Shakhtoyr keep the pressure on with wins of their own.

The seven matches played produced 21 goals, 5 penalties and zero, yes zero red cards !

In other news, a scrambled goal in the last minute of extra time gave BATE a 1-0 win over Dinamo Brest in the Belarus Cup Final in Minsk ( attendance : 5,761 )