July 24, 25 & 26, 2020
With the top three facing the bottom three this
week, the interest this weekend maybe on the chasing pack.
Will one of Energetik or Torpedo pick up a win to revive their season ? How will Dinamo Brest fare on their return after the enforced COVID break ? Will Vitebsk continue to stealthy fly under the radar into Europa League contention ? Will Dinamo Minsk grind out another win ( and will anyone stay awake to notice ) ?
Will one of Energetik or Torpedo pick up a win to revive their season ? How will Dinamo Brest fare on their return after the enforced COVID break ? Will Vitebsk continue to stealthy fly under the radar into Europa League contention ? Will Dinamo Minsk grind out another win ( and will anyone stay awake to notice ) ?
All will be revealed this weekend !
Rukh Brest vs FK Slavia Mozyr ( Friday at 16.00 UK
time )
After a week off last week, Slavia will be wondering
which Rukh will turn up this week. The solid,
hard working, defensively sound unit of the first half of the season or the
Kamikaze attacking side that thrashed Energetik but was ripped apart by BATE ?
No idea, but it should be fascinating ! 1-1 ?
Result : 3-3. A open and entertaining game. Rukh should have been out of sight after leading 3-1 with 3 minutes to play. Top finishes from Grichikho, the outstanding Kontsevoj and Nikiforenko for Rukh with Narh's reply for Slavia greatly assisted by a goalkeeping fumble. Malkevich gave Slavia some hope, and despite a striaght red card to Barsukov similiar to the Cameroonians on Cannigga in Italia 90, Rukh imploded in added time by conceding a careless foul inside the area and Sliusar gleefully converted for an unlikely point.
Result : 3-3. A open and entertaining game. Rukh should have been out of sight after leading 3-1 with 3 minutes to play. Top finishes from Grichikho, the outstanding Kontsevoj and Nikiforenko for Rukh with Narh's reply for Slavia greatly assisted by a goalkeeping fumble. Malkevich gave Slavia some hope, and despite a striaght red card to Barsukov similiar to the Cameroonians on Cannigga in Italia 90, Rukh imploded in added time by conceding a careless foul inside the area and Sliusar gleefully converted for an unlikely point.
FK Vitebsk vs FK Slutsk ( Friday at 18.00 UK time )
Despite stopping the rot against Isloch last week,
Slutsk’s misery is likely to continue with a trip to Vitebsk, where the home
side should slowly suffocate the visitors. 1-0
Result : 2-0. A deserved victory for Vitebsk with both goals neatly taken by man of the match Carioca. Slutsk worked hard but were toothless upfront. Vitebsk were simply much better on the day.
Result : 2-0. A deserved victory for Vitebsk with both goals neatly taken by man of the match Carioca. Slutsk worked hard but were toothless upfront. Vitebsk were simply much better on the day.
FK Isloch Minsk vs Dinamo Brest ( Saturday at 14.30
UK time )
If Dinamo have fully recovered from the virus that
swept through their camp, they should extend Isloch’s losing run to 4 matches.
0-2
Result : 2-0. A comfortable win for Isloch against an out-of-sorts Dinamo side and the winning margin should have been more. Yanush scored both goals and could easily have had a hat-trick. Dinamo gave first starts to Diallo and Sedko, but Laptev, Noyok and Milevskiy were only on the bench. As the old saying goes, Dinamo were lucky to get nil, and their performance raises question on the extent of the impact of the virus outbreak on their squad.
Result : 2-0. A comfortable win for Isloch against an out-of-sorts Dinamo side and the winning margin should have been more. Yanush scored both goals and could easily have had a hat-trick. Dinamo gave first starts to Diallo and Sedko, but Laptev, Noyok and Milevskiy were only on the bench. As the old saying goes, Dinamo were lucky to get nil, and their performance raises question on the extent of the impact of the virus outbreak on their squad.
Belshina Bobruisk vs Neman Grodno ( Saturday at 16.30
UK time )
Neman are unbeaten in 9, only conceding twice in
this run. However they have drawn the last two and scored only 3 goals in the
last 5 matches. Not the ideal opposition
for a Belshina revival though. 0-1
Result : 0-1. A spirited performance from Belshina and the result might have been different had Nivaldo's shot in the first half gone in rather than crashed against the bar. However, they are not the first side to flounder against the yellow and green wall, and once Kadimyan intercepted Gleb's weak headed back pass and chipped the keeper, the result never looked in doubt.
Result : 0-1. A spirited performance from Belshina and the result might have been different had Nivaldo's shot in the first half gone in rather than crashed against the bar. However, they are not the first side to flounder against the yellow and green wall, and once Kadimyan intercepted Gleb's weak headed back pass and chipped the keeper, the result never looked in doubt.
Dinamo Minsk vs FK Gorodeya ( Saturday at 18.30 UK
time )
A match-up between two of the dullest
sides in the Belarus Premier League. Gorodeya have gone 6 games without an away
win and Dinamo have slowly moved up to 5th. 1-0
Result : 1-0. This match didn't disappoint with its lack of excitement. The deciding goal was suitably scrappy, a deflected cross was well saved, but Khvashchinskiy was quickest to react to prod the loose ball home to give Dinamo the lead on 50 mintes.
Result : 1-0. This match didn't disappoint with its lack of excitement. The deciding goal was suitably scrappy, a deflected cross was well saved, but Khvashchinskiy was quickest to react to prod the loose ball home to give Dinamo the lead on 50 mintes.
Energetik BGU Minsk vs Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino (
Sunday at 14.00 UK time )
A tough one to call. Both sides were on good runs
and on the fringes of the title race, but Energetik have had two demoralising defeats
and Torpedo have taken only one point out of the last 9. 1-1 ?
Result : 1-4. A consecutive home thumping for Energetik. They had started promisingly though and Girs turned in Usmanov's low cross cum shot to give them the lead after 30 minutes. Premudrov's neat header gave Torpedo parity at the break and the match turned decisively in their favour when Yudchits was shown a straight red for a foul in the penalty area and Premudrov scored from the resulting penalty. Energetik further shot themselves in the foot when trying to play out from the back under pressure and lost possession, which Afanasiev punished. The rout was completed when Shkurdyuk missed his clearance and Nikolaevich's shot went through the keeper for a poor goal which summed up Energetik's day. It could have been worse, but Torpedo wasted two late chances. Energetik's confidence looks totally shot.
Result : 1-4. A consecutive home thumping for Energetik. They had started promisingly though and Girs turned in Usmanov's low cross cum shot to give them the lead after 30 minutes. Premudrov's neat header gave Torpedo parity at the break and the match turned decisively in their favour when Yudchits was shown a straight red for a foul in the penalty area and Premudrov scored from the resulting penalty. Energetik further shot themselves in the foot when trying to play out from the back under pressure and lost possession, which Afanasiev punished. The rout was completed when Shkurdyuk missed his clearance and Nikolaevich's shot went through the keeper for a poor goal which summed up Energetik's day. It could have been worse, but Torpedo wasted two late chances. Energetik's confidence looks totally shot.
BATE Borisov vs FK Minsk ( Sunday at 16.00 UK time
)
BATE have been more comfortable away from home
recently, looking much more dangerous on the counter attack rather than trying
to break down a massed defence. Struggling Minsk shouldn’t cause too many
problems though. 2-0
Result : 6-0. BATE have struggled at home against teams that park the bus, but Minsk came to play and were ruthlessly torn apart as BATE took advantage of the spaces left by Minsk's defence. BATE took the lead in the 5th minute with Skavysh being given the freedom of Borisov to head home and Stasevich's lovely timed run and finish gave BATE a 2-0 lead at half-time. In the second half, three goals came after Minsk had given away possession and were punished by swift attacks, with the other goal being a trademark header from a free-kick. The scoreline was perhaps a little harsh on Minsk who did create several chances, but were unable to convert any of them.
Result : 6-0. BATE have struggled at home against teams that park the bus, but Minsk came to play and were ruthlessly torn apart as BATE took advantage of the spaces left by Minsk's defence. BATE took the lead in the 5th minute with Skavysh being given the freedom of Borisov to head home and Stasevich's lovely timed run and finish gave BATE a 2-0 lead at half-time. In the second half, three goals came after Minsk had given away possession and were punished by swift attacks, with the other goal being a trademark header from a free-kick. The scoreline was perhaps a little harsh on Minsk who did create several chances, but were unable to convert any of them.
Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs FK Smolevichy STI ( Sunday at 18.00 UK time )
A big test for the new look Smolevichy line-up, and
one they are likely to fall short in.
Shakhtyor are unbeaten in 13 and it should be 14 after the week-end. 3-0
Result : 4-0. Shakhtyor scored 4 for the third time in 4 games. The result was never in doubt after Antic hammered home from a tight angle in the 9th minute and Smolevichy rarely looked like scoring. Yakshiboev scored twice, the type of chances he often wasted at Energetik, and Szoke's first of the season completed the scoring.
Result : 4-0. Shakhtyor scored 4 for the third time in 4 games. The result was never in doubt after Antic hammered home from a tight angle in the 9th minute and Smolevichy rarely looked like scoring. Yakshiboev scored twice, the type of chances he often wasted at Energetik, and Szoke's first of the season completed the scoring.
Summary :