March 19, 20 & 21 2021
After the excitement of the return of the Belarus Premier League last week, there is plenty to look forward to in Week 2……...
Will the Belarus FA YouTube streams return ? Will Smorgon or Sputnik actually score a goal ? Will the new look Dinamo Brest side be a match for BATE ? Will Gomel impress again ? Will Dinamo Minsk score from another splendidly creative move ?
Will have to wait for the weekend to find out !
FK Slavia Mozyr vs Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( Friday at 15.00 UK time )
Torpedo face a second consecutive away trip and will be looking to make amends for falling apart towards the end of the defeat at Dinamo Minsk, which head coach Yuri Puntus described as “unacceptable”. Mozyr is usually a tricky place to get a result despite Slavia’s tendency to blow hot and cold. It was 0-0 last season and could be same again this year. 0-0
Result : 0-1. The first match of the season to be played on a grass surface, but with a light covering of snow on the pitch, and with snow falling, it could have been arctic tundra ! Given the conditions the pitch was already looking in a pretty poor condition, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the season. Slavia took a practical approach in the first half, looking to play the early ball into the Torpedo half and to try and get the Torpedo defence to turn on the difficult surface. This gave the Slavia faithful a number of opportunities to be in good voice, although the home side failed to fashion any decent chances despite the pressure as Torpedo centre Bordachev, in particular, impressed. Indeed, the best chances of the first half fell to Torpedo, with Bordachev being the unlikely source of danger. First, he just shot just wide of the keeper Baronovski’s right hand post after a surging run, and on the stroke of half-time, Baronovski did well to make a save at the foot of the post from a header from a corner. Makarov also saw his shot crash back from the underside of the bar and out to safety after 30 minutes.
Torpedo took a grip on the game in the second half and frittered away a number of good chances. Substitute Nikolaevich’s close range header went straight at the keeper to be punched away, and in the 57th minute the same player blazed over the bar from 10 yards after two first time passes between Gabovda and Dmitri Antilevski carved open the Slavia defence. Ten minutes later Aleksey Antilveski’s whipped cross from the left by-line was met at the near post by Gabovda, whose flick went high and wide when he probably should have at least hit the target. Almost immediately after an intricate move ended with Burko shooting tamely at Baronovski, and then two consecutive shots from the edge of the area were blocked. Slavia’s only response had been a flicked on headed at the near post but no-one was on hand at the far post to finish.
Torpedo were on top, a goal felt inevitable and eventually it came in the 80th minute, Gabovda was left in acres of space on the right wing after Timonyuk failed to cut-out a crossfield pass, and crossed low into the Slavia area. Nikolaevich slid in at the penalty spot to divert the ball towards the far corner, and although his effort was not very powerful, Baronovski was unable to get to it as it rolled into the net. 0-1
Slavia responded with a Raevskiy 30 yard free-kick going narrowly wide, but Torpedo closed out the game to take a deserved three points. Slavia are pointless and goalless after two games and could be in for a long season.
FK Isloch Minsk vs FK Smorgon ( Friday at 18.15 UK time )
Isloch have looked a pretty solid side so far and should be too good for Smorgon. The visitors will need to improve upfront. 2-0
Result : 2-0. The kick-off was delayed 30 minutes for snow to be cleared from the pitch and so to allow the Wolves of Isloch to take on the Bears of Smorgon. The visitors started brightly and took the game to Isloch. However, after their slow start it was Isloch who took an early lead in the 17th minute when Yusov’s back-header found Komarovsky, and with the freedom of Minsk, the midfield enforcer had time to control, look-up and pick his spot in the top corner with a classy left-footed finish.
A delightful reverse pass by Lisakovich put Komarovsky in sight of goal again, but Intsoen was able to block his shot. Three minutes later, Yusov, who looked dangerous up front all game for Isloch, drilled a low shot narrowly wide.
Smorgon were not out of the match though, and on the half hour Kovel and Kopach both just failed to get onto the end of a teasing cross from Yatskevich, and 6 minutes later another great cross from Kopach saw Bondarenko badly mistime his header, with the ball bouncing into the ground to be cleared for a corner.
Smorgon also started the second half quickly and Panktatov was forced to making an alert low save at his near post from Kovel’s header in the first minute after the break. However, Isloch doubled their lead 4 minutes after half-time when Kaborda fouled Kovalev in a mid-air challenge, and although the Isloch midfielder made a meal of the challenge, a penalty was justly awarded. Komarovsky made no mistake from the spot.
Kozyrenko nearly added a third, but screwed his shot well wide when well placed. Smorgon huffed and puffed and although Isloch keeper Pankratov was forced to make a couple of competent saves, Isloch cruised to a routine win to make it 2 wins out of two.
Smorgon have lost two away games against middling sides without scoring a goal. With the match finishing well after 11pm local time, their 5 travelling supporters faced a long journey home and probably would have got home some time after 1 am. They would have been encouraged by another impressive performance from Camara, and their high press approach, but defensive lapses are punished at this level and will need to be eliminated if Smorgon are to have a realistic chance of survival.
Energetik BGU Minsk vs Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( Saturday at 11.00 UK time )
After a straightforward win over Smorgon last week, Energetik face a much tougher challenge with the visit of the champions. Whilst being victorious without conceding a goal in their two competitive outings, Shakhtyor have not been too convincing and have struggled to convert their dominance into goals. 0-1
Result : 1-2. Shakhtyor took the three points but it was another far from convincing performance in a proverbial game of two halves. Shakhtyor didn’t need to be anything special to take a 2-0 first half lead partly thanks to the generosity of the hosts. Darbo had already squandered two good chances before Shakhtyor took the lead in the 18th minute when the lively Ubaydullaev was needlessly brought down by a combination of Sokol and Shkurdyuk ( Sokol was shown the yellow card ). Kendysh drove the penalty high into the net.
The lead was extended just after the half hour when Energetik failed to deal with a corner and with his back to the goal, Sachivko hooked the bouncing ball over his shoulder and into the corner of the net. It could have been three but Ubaydullaev lacked composure and shot hurriedly wide from close range, and Ahmedi’s dipping shot was pushed for a corner by the outstretched Makavchik. Energetik’s only threat was a free-kick from Sokol which was easily tipped over the bar by Gutor.
Energetik came out for the second half with much more purpose, with Mawatu in particular prominent. The game came back to life as a contest when Energetik pulled a goal back in the 56th minute. A nice move enabled Rylach to find Vladislav Vasiljev on the edge of the area, and the Ukrainian had the time to look-up and place his side-footed effort into the keeper’s left-hand corner. Maybe Gutor could have done better but it was a delightful finish.
Energetic pressed for an equalizer and despite the industry of Ahmedi. Shakhtyor were finding it difficult to retain possession or play in Energetik’s half. Moussakhanian was unable to connect to Miroshnikov’s clever back-heel, Gutor unconvincingly parried Bashilov’s long range shot, and Mawatu really ought to have equalized in the 77th minute but he marred an otherwise good performance with a poor finish from 8 yards, steering his side-footer over the bar after being set-up by Miroshnikov.
That turned out to be Energetik’s last serious chance
as Shakhtyor managed to see out the rest of the game without too many alarms,
and Antic even forced Makavchik into making a meal of saving a free-kick at the
death although it would look good in the papers !
FK Vitebsk vs Dinamo Minsk ( Saturday at 13.00 UK time )
This should be a good test of Dinamo’s title credentials as Vitebsk are a well organised side who don’t give away goals too easily, and lost only 3 times at home last season. If Dinamo start too conservatively they may struggle to breakdown the Vitebsk defence. 0-0
Result : 0-0. As predicted, Dinamo struggled to break-down a hard-working, well organised Vitebsk outfit, who harried and closed down Dinamo, who rarely had time on the ball.
In a game of precious few chances, Dinamo’s main tactic seemed to be to give the ball to Poe and hope he would conjure up something magical, but by and large Vitebsk dealt comfortably with the crosses he sent in. After Poe was substituted with just over 10 minutes to play, Dinamo never looked like scoring.
The closest Dinamo came to breaking the deadlock was a first half Davyskiba header from a Poe cross that drifted just wide, and Klimovich shot into the side netting in the second half after a promising run.
Torpedo rarely threatened the Dinamo goal although Teverov did force Pomazan to make a good diving save in the 26th minute. Their best chance though came in added on time, when Ksenofontov shot over the bar after a route 1 ball into the “mixer” had fallen to him. If the game went on until midnight it probably would still have remained goal-less !
Dinamo Brest vs BATE Borisov ( Saturday at 15.00 UK time )
New look Dinamo cantered to a 4-0 victory over promoted Sputnik but will face a much sterner test against BATE, which will give a better indication of how they are likely to fare this season. BATE have played very well in patches so far, but need to string it together for longer periods. 1-2
Result : 0-0. Crisis, what crisis ?! In another match played on a grass pitch that didn’t look in great condition, the new look Dinamo Brest side battled to a point. Roared on by a passionate and large vocal crowd, the Dinamo fans haven’t deserted the club even if nearly all of the better players have. In truth, they rarely looked like scoring and BATE keeper Chichkan had an easy afternoon, but BATE were made to look pedestrian for most of the game.
Signevich came closest to opening the scoring for BATE in the first half but his powerful header from Umarov’s cross hit the post with Stepanov beaten, and BATE should have won the game in the 94th minute but Yablonski fired over from 12 yards after Stepanov’s parry fell invitingly to him. Defeat would have been harsh on Dinamo though.
In between BATE were limited to harmless long range efforts or watching moves breakdown against committed defending.
FK Minsk vs Rukh Brest ( Saturday at 17.00 UK time )
FK Minsk put up a resolute defensive display against Shakhtyor and Muniru has impressed so far in midfield. Expectations are high at Rukh, but they were shocking in the first half against Gomel and were fortunate to take a point from their opening fixture. They should be better this week. 2-2
Result : 2-2. Minsk played their get-out-of-jail free card to snatch an undeserved point. They were awful in the first half and should have been a lot more than 2 down at half-time as Rukh showed much improvement over their similarly inept performance last week against Gomel. However, Minsk put up more of a fight in the second half with the introduction of Shramchenko at the break, and the appearance of Zenkovich with just over 15 minutes to play also made a difference. Minsk keeper Ignatovich made a brave block to deny Kontsevoi in the 78th minute and the come-back started in the 81st minute when Yarotski was needlessly brought down for a penalty. Zenkovich sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot. The annoyance of Rukh coach Alshevsky was clearly visible and his mood got worse 4 minutes later. Kasarab made a probing run to the by-line and squared to Shramchenko. Keeper Pavyluchenko looked to have the shot covered but it took a deflection off Rakhmanov to leave the keeper stranded and unable to prevent the equalizer.
Rukh stormed back in attack and Minsk keeper made another important stop to deny Sadovskiy, and when the ball was crossed back into the danger zone by Bakaj, Sadovskiy was on-hand to convert a simple chance. Unfortunately for Rukh though, the linesman’s flag was raised for offside and the “winner” was disallowed.
Rukh had taken the lead in the first minute of the game, Big Denis Laptev prodding into the corner after a fine run and pass from Savitski, and Laptev turned provider to lay on a simple chance for Kontsevoi to double the lead. Laptev and Tweh were causing the Minsk defence all sorts of problems, and Tweh could have scored twice. Savitski also missed a glorious chance early in the second half but his fabled left-foot send the ball just over the bar.
Rukh will be kicking themselves for failing to take three points from this match but Minsk will be delighted to take their first point of the season.
FK Slutsk vs Neman Grodno ( Sunday at 12.00 UK time )
A 0-3 defeat at BATE was harsh on Slutsk, who played some decent football at times, and Nigerian Steven Alfred looked promising on debut. Neman are yet to score after two competitive matches, and squandered several good chances against Vitebsk. If they continue to create opportunities, they will eventually convert some ! 1-1
Result : 1-1. An even match with the draw being a fair result. Neman were typically solid and their main sources of danger were from set-pieces, whilst Slutsk were looking to counter-attack quickly and exploit the pace of Alfred upfront. Slutsk looked the livelier of the two sides in the first half, they could have been awarded a penalty but the referee adjusted the foul to have occurred fractionally outside the penalty area, and they appealed in vain for a goal when Kurganski fumbled a cross but managed to paw the ball away before it could cross the line. However, they shot themselves in the foot in the 41st minute, Butarevich played a risky pass across the goal straight to Dzighero who volleyed left footed across the goal giving Branovets little chance for Neman’s first goal of the new season.
Slutsk had a great opportunity to equalize just over 10 minutes into the second half but after Alfred’s left-footed side-footed shot was parried by Kurganski, Potapenko put the rebound over the bar. Neman captain Zhukovski then forced a good diving save from Branovets from a free-kick, but the equalizer for Slutsk arrived in the 64th minute. Alfred ran onto a long ball, and Kurganski, with a rush of blood to the head charged well outside of his area. Alfred simply pushed the ball past the stranded keeper and ran on to side foot into the open goal despite the despairing attempt by Legchilin to stop it.
Neman pressed for the winner, but were off-target with their free-kicks. Their best chance fell to Dzighero but his left footed shot was punched away by Branovets. As both sides cancelled each other out in the closing stages, the most notable event was the appearance of a dog on the pitch, no doubt trying to add bite to the Slutsk attack !
FK Gomel vs Sputnik Rechitsa ( Sunday at 14.00 UK time )
Although Gomel finished behind Sputnik in the Pershaya liga last season, on the evidence of the opening day this could be a mismatch if Gomel can find more accuracy in front of goal. Sputnik looked competitive against Dinamo Brest until being reduced to 10 men, but need to do better in the final third. Their two new signings from Latvian side Spartaks Jurmala, strikers Mikhael Yambe and Ariagner Smith may get an outing after staying on the bench last week. 3-0
Result : 2-0. Gomel confirmed the good impression from Week 1 with a convincing win over Sputnik, for whom keeper Rudenok had an outstanding game to keep the score down. Gomel will be concerned though that again they failed to convert numerous chances into goals.
Gomel took the lead in the 10th minute. Monastyrski was adjudged to have pushed Solovei, and the Gomel forward certainly made the most of any contact. Gomza stepped up to take the penalty but his effort was brilliantly saved by Rudenok diving to his right. However, unfortunately for the Sputnik stopper Gomza reacted the quickest to score from the rebound, getting there just ahead of team-mate Yudenkov. Tseslyukevich, Solovoi and Chikda all looked likely to score but Rudenok made excellent saves, and Vaskov’s overhead kick went inches wide. Somehow Gomel went to the break just one-nil up.
Four minutes into the second half Djouhary should have equalised from a rare Smorgon attack, but Gomel made them pay for the miss with a second gaol in the 55th minute. Ukrainian Batyshchev slipped a pass behind the square defence for Tseslyukevich to run onto and again Rudenok was equal to his effort and made another diving save. Solovoi was not to be denied though and he slid in to force the ball over the line.
Gomel did not sit back on their lead and Gomza and Sajcic had their turns to be denied by Rudenok, and with 5 minutes left on the clock, Sajcic somehow put the ball over the bar from 6 yards after being set up by Vaskov’s square pass.
Despite some tidy play, Smorgon struggled, and keeper Rudenok can be expected to be very busy this season.
Summary :