April 16, 17 & 18 April 2021
Several close games in prospect with no obvious favourite in possibly at least 5 of the matches. Shakhtyor will be expected to win again, so the pressure will be on their challengers to avoid slipping even further behind !
Sputnik Rechitsa vs FK Isloch Minsk ( Friday at 16.00 UK time )
Sputnik will be buoyed by their first victory whereas Isloch were awful last weekend. It could be one for the purists ! 0-0
Result : 1-5. Sputnik were brought back down to earth after being outclassed by Isloch, who made a rare appearance in yellow shirts. After a bright start from Sputnik, the result was never in doubt after Isloch took the lead in the 13th minute through Anfruiev, and two more goals followed from Yusov and Patotskiy for a 3-0 half time lead for the visitors, highlighting Sputnik’s defensive frailties.
Sputnik keeper Rudenok made a couple of decent saves to keep the score down, before Komarovskiy added a 4th in the 58th minute from a rebound, after another defensive mistake had given Yusov a good chance that Rudenok had saved.
Sputnik did claim a consolation goal with a diving header from Kholodinskiy 20 minutes from time to spoil Isloch’s clean sheet bonus, but Yusov added a 5th for Isloch to wrap-up an emphatic victory for the visitors.
Isloch have now beaten three of the teams expected to struggle, but looked poor against two of the sides expected to be in the top six, so have probably reconfirmed their mid-table credentials. Sputnik again look like relegation candidates.
FK Vitebsk vs FK Slutsk ( Friday at 18.45 UK time )
Vitebsk got their season on track at Slavia whilst Slutsk continue confound the doubters. Could surprisingly be a good game. 1-1
Result : 0-0. Hopes of an entertaining game were seriously mis-placed ! This was a turgid affair, not helped by the awful condition of the grass pitch in the first match played on it this season. It may have been different had Diego Carioca taken an early chance for Vitebsk, but his touch was poor and he was crowded out by the Slutsk defence.
Neither side unduly troubled the goal-keepers until Vitebsk had a golden chance to win the game in the 87th minute. Kalenchuk fell to floor after the slightest touch from Bocherov and referee Stetsurin awarded a penalty. Julio Cesar calmly side-footed the spot-kick, and although Slutsk keeper Karitonov dived the wrong way, the ball rolled slowly wide off the post. It was almost worth watching the game just for that moment !
Neither side deserved the three points, and as one person commented, it was the return of Vitebsk Nil. Slutsk though will be content with a point and at the moment they look like they should be well clear of any trouble at the bottom of the table this season
Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino vs Dinamo Brest ( Saturday at 12.00 UK time )
Dinamo impressed in the Dinamo derby whereas Torpedo disappointed again away from home. They are likely to be a different force at home though. 1-1
Result : 0-2. Dinamo recorded their third consecutive victory away from home in an entertaining game played on a pitch that resembled a beach in places. Dinamo have only conceded one goal all season and a defence prepared to put bodies on the line, and Stepanov seeming virtually unbeatable in goal have been key components to their successful start to the season.
They took the lead in the 15th minute. Shestyuk had too much pace for the left-back, and his first time ball into the centre, was met by a delightful left footed finish by Sedko getting goal side of the centre-back.
In the 52nd minute the roles reversed, Sedko curled in a left footed cross from the right for Shestyuk to glance into the corner of Bushma’s net.
Torpedo didn’t play badly, and will have days when they will play worse and win. Brazilian Oya showed some neat touches in midfield, but Torpedo need to be more clinical in front of goal.
Neman Grodno vs FK Minsk ( Saturday at 14.00 UK time )
Neman have been the biggest disappointment of the season so far and are yet to win. Minsk were very unlucky not to beat BATE last week and will be confident of getting a result in Grodno. 1-1
Result : 0-2. Minsk continued their good start to the season with an efficient display at Neman, for whom the alarm bells will be sounding. Neman remain in the bottom three after this limp performance.
It is obvious where Neman’s problems are, they have scored only one goal in 5 matches, and in this match Koaudio missed two good chances. Minsk keeper Prishivalko also made a decent save to push Zhukovski’s shot on the turn over the bar.
Neman shot themselves in the foot for Minsk’s opening goal in the 33rd minute. For some reason all bar one Neman player went forward for a corner, leaving Shramchenko to play the ball past the one player left back to Lopez, and the Argentinian ran from well inside his own half to smartly finish.
Schramchenko also had an assist for the second goal in the 62nd minute, crossing from the left to leave Bogomolskiy with a simple header from 6 yards.
BATE Borisov vs Energetik BGU Minsk ( Saturday at 16.00 UK time )
Energetik did the double over BATE last season but a side that can lose at home to Sputnik is unlikely to go to Borisov and get a result. 2-0
Result : 2-1. BATE deservedly won their third consecutive home match but again were unconvincing at times. Stanislav Dragun made his first appearance of the season for BATE and the talismanic midfielder marked his return with two first half goals, both headers. First, he leapt to power home a cross from Skavsyh and then glanced Umarov’s free-kick past Sadovsky. By the time Energetik’s Vladislav Vasiljev converted a penalty awarded for a handball against Alexsandar Filipovic in the 30th minute, BATE should have been out of sight, and when Skavysh volleyed a cross from Umarov just before the half-time whistle, one expected to see the net bulge, but fortunately for Energetik the shot when inches wide.
The second half was more even but relatively uneventful as the game lost its rhythm. Svirepa looked to have equalised mid-way through the second half, but his touch from a corner somehow bounced wide, and in the closing stages Skavysh hit the bar with a thumping shot from a tight angle.
After their dismal display against Sputnik, Energetik would have taken heart from their second half performance, but they remain on just 4 points from 5 matches.
Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs FK Slavia Mozyr ( Saturday at 18.00 UK time )
A home banker. Shakhtyor hold a 100% record and Slavia have just one point. The situation is unlikely to change. 3-0
Result : 4-1. A deserved victory for Shakhtyor, who retained their 100% record, but the scoreline was a little harsh on Slavia, who were still in with a chance on nicking a point until Zhuk’s second yellow card 10 minutes from time.
Slavia created a few half chances in the first period and nearly took the lead 7 minutes before the break when, after a mass scramble with about 10 players involved, the ball hit Shevchenko on the line by the goal post and rebounded to safety. Shakhtyor led 1-0 at the break, Kendysh reacted smartly after Darboe’s back-heel was blocked to control on his knee and volley home from close to the penalty spot.
Darboe doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half, After a bullocking run past three Slavia players, he received a return pass to smash into the net from just outside the area. A terrific goal and further evidence that he has now adjusted to this level after a slightly iffy start after arriving as a big money signing for Shakhtyor.
However, Slavia quickly pulled a goal back, Tymonyuk’s shot dramatically hit the bar twice before crossing the line. However, after Zhuk’s dismissal, Shakhtyor clinically wrapped up the result, firstly with a goal-poacher’s finish from Darboe from inside the six yard box and Debelko back-heeled over the line from a few inches after good work by Antic
Dinamo Minsk vs FK Gomel ( Sunday at 12.00 UK time )
Potentially the match of the weekend. Gomel have been good to watch so far and Dinamo have had their moments, especially against teams that haven’t parked the bus. 2-1
Result : 1-2. A thoroughly deserved three points for Gomel, who again impressed with their hi-energy approach, quick passing and willingness to play forward at every opportunity. Even conceding a goal in the first minute didn’t faze them, a defensive mistake gave Klimovich the chance to cross to Poe for an easy finish from about 4 yards.
Instead, Gomel took the game to their highly fancied hosts, and after Gomza chipped over as the Minsk keeper advanced off his line, and then made a great run only to finish weakly, he finished off another good move on the stroke of half-time with a left-footed strike past Pomazan from 12 yards.
There was an element of good fortune to Gomel’s 57th minute winning goal, Podubey’s shot took a huge deflection of Shvetsov leaving Pomazan stranded. Gomel continued to press for a third goal although Dinamo did fashion one chance to equalise, but Lozkhin’s shot was too close to the keeper.
Dinamo didn’t play badly, and contributed to an entertaining match, but in comparison to Gomel they were pedestrian, building slowly from the back, and on the day Gomel were simply the better side. Some of Minsk coach Kuchuk’s substitutions were also a little puzzling.
Rukh Brest vs FK Smorgon ( Sunday at 14.00 UK time )
Rukh haven’t been convincing so far but are still unbeaten. Smorgon have played well in parts but are still to win. 2-0
Result : 5-0. Rukh produced their best performance so far, justifying some of the pre-season hype, but in fairness it was only against the league’s bottom side. The game was realistically over as a contest after 8 minutes, big Denis Laptev with both goals from inside the 6 yard box, and Rukh strolled to victory with further goals from Savitski, Laptev again for his hat-trick, and Sadovskiy. It could have been a landslide.
Smorgon played some nice football when 3 goals behind but were reduced mostly to harmless shots from long range, and their defending was awful.
Summary :