May 7, 8 & 9,
Week 8 sees some very competitive fixtures, most of which are very hard to predict. The tie of the round is obviously Shaktyor vs BATE, which despite being so early in the season, could have a huge bearing on the destination of the title, especially if Shakhtyor were to win.
Wednesday sees the second legs of the Belarus Cup semi-finals, with Isloch hosting Shakhtyor Soligorsk in Molodechno, hoping to overcome a 0-1 deficit and keep their hopes of qualifying for Europe alive. In the other semi-final BATE go to Zhodino holding a comfortable 4-1 advantage over Torpedo.
In front of 287 spectators, Isloch caused a seismic shock by beating Shakhtyor 2-0 to reach the final and keep alive their hopes of playing in Europe. Shakhtyor were well beaten and paid the price for again selecting some of their fringe players. Keeper Gutor should have done better to keep out Dibango’s 68th minute shot that gave Isloch the lead, and after Yusov had missed a sitter to give Isloch an aggregate lead, he swiftly made amends with a smart turn and finish. Shakhtyor offered little in response.
In the other tie, an fine header from Filipovic gave BATE a first half lead, and although Antilevski equalised shortly after, Torpedo never looked like scoring another 3 goals to take the tie to extra-time, and most of 1,570 crowd went home disappointed.
Isloch now play BATE in the final, which is currently scheduled to be played on May 23rd.
FK Smorgon vs Neman Grodno ( Friday at 16.00 UK time )
Neman coach Kovalevich resigned after last weekend’s defeat but his resignation has not been accepted. Neman are not a bad side on paper but need someone to put the ball in the back of the net. Their season could start with a win in this relegation 6 pointer ? 0-1
Result : 0-2. Neman earned their first win of the season in a match played in heavy rain, and whilst not quite in the same league as last season’s Slavia vs Slutsk encounter, there were some large puddles on the far side of the pitch, and at times the match was a bit of a lottery. Smorgon faced an uphill battle after Dao was shown a second yellow card just before half-time for a handball that gave Neman a penalty. However, Neman squandered the opportunity when Zubovich’s attempted Panenka hit the bar and was gathered by the keeper. Neman though they had taken the lead a minute later, but Zubovich was clearly offside.
Zubovich made amends for his errors in the 54th minute after his 20 yard shot crept past Scherbachenya’s dive and inside the post. If the Smorgon keeper might have done better for Neman’s first goal, there was little he could do to keep out Dzhigero’s 25 yard effort 6 minutes from time that clinched the points for Neman.
FK Gomel vs FK Slutsk ( Friday at 18.00 UK time )
After banging their heads against the Big Blue Bus at Vitebsk, Gomel should enjoy playing against a more positive side like Slutsk. Could be the most entertaining game of the round. 3-1
Result : 4-1. A deserved win for Gomel in an open and enjoyable game played between two sides who are good to watch. Gomel took an early lead when Gomza calmly finished from just inside the area after the Slutsk defence failed to clear a cross from the left wing.
Slutsk were back on level terms in the 38th minute albeit in dubious circumstances. Sasin fell to the floor running for a ball from the halfway line they he was unlikely to reach and a penalty was awarded. The Gomel centre back may have made a faint touch on Sasin but it didn’t look enough to impede him. Whatever the merits of the award, Sasin got up to convert the spot-kick.
It was 1-1 at the break, but it took Gomel just 27 seconds of the second half to regain the lead, a flowing move gave Vasiljev space to thump home past Kharitonov. After Slutsk gave away possession in their own half, Pobudey strode forward to launch an unstoppable curling 20 yard shot into the top corner to make it 3-1 after 65 minutes.
Gomel were hungry for more goals, and another misplaced pass out of defence by Slutsk resulted in a clinical finish from Solovei to round off the scoring 13 minutes from the end.
The 4-1 score line was a little harsh on Slutsk as they were victims to some outstanding finishing by Gomel. However, they need to eliminate the sloppy defensive errors
Rukh Brest vs FK Sputnik ( Saturday at 12.30 UK time )
Despite their spirited show against Shakhtyor, Sputnik are unlikely to anything from a visit to improving Rukh. 3-1
Result : 2-0. A routine win for Rukh, and it should have been by more, but they were actually indebted to errors by the usually reliable Rudenok, who was at fault for both goals. Firstly, he decided to punch a corner to the near post rather than make a simple catch, but his weak punch hit Sadovskiy, who was able to react and prod the ball into the net. Then the Sputnik keeper fumbled a low cross from the right, leaving Pechenin a simple finish from 8 yards. It was effectively game over after 32 minutes.
Laptev, Pechenin and Kontsevoi all twice wasted good chances to make the result more emphatic, as Tweh stood out for Rukh on his return from injury.
Sputnik offered very little, although Kozel made several lung busting runs that came to nothing.
FK Minsk vs FK Vitebsk ( Saturday at 16.30 UK time )
Having played 5 nil-nils out of 7, the law of averages would suggest a goal in a Vitebsk games is overdue. However, it is brave person to predict it ! 0-0
Result : 3-3. In the unpredictable world of Belarusian football Vitebsk ended their goal famine in a 6 goal thriller ! The Big Blue Bus failed to make its way to the Traktor, and Minsk were taken aback by Vitebsk’s positive approach as Brazilians Julio Cesaar and Diego Carioca gave the visitors a two goal lead after 34 minutes. However, Minsk bounced back immediately with Shramchenko’s smart finish, and Lopez and Zinovich added further goals in the second half to give Minsk a 3-2 lead.
Vitebsk’s famed defence was non-existent at times and several players were guilty of ball watching during all three goals they conceded. However, their new found positive approach was rewarded in the 93rd minute when the two Brazilian’s combined for Julio Cesar to rise and head home Diego Carioca’s cross for his second headed goal of the game.
FK Slavia Mozyr vs Dinamo Brest ( Saturday at 18.30 UK time )
Dinamo have been defensively very solid, but sometimes short of ideas going forward. Slavia have looked much better in their last two matches. 1-1
Result : 1-1. An even game but Slavia left it very late to earn a draw through Melnikov’s equaliser in the 93rd minute. Dinamo gave a performance typical of their season to-date, solid and organised, passing nicely and with an occasional threat upfront. They took the lead in the 57th minutes with Bilenkyi’s half-volley on the turn and they had been the better team up to that point. However, Slavia pressed for the equaliser, which they finally got after of couple of near misses.
Energetik BGU Minsk vs Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( Sunday at 13.30 UK time )
Energetik need a win to move away from the lower reaches of the table, but Torpedo are upwardly mobile, and should continue to move towards the top six. 1-2
Result : 1-1. Perhaps a fair result in a low-key encounter which for some reason was played at BATE’s old ground in Borisov, and Energetik played in all blue rather than their distinctive orange kit However, Torpedo will probably feel they deserved to win after getting on top in the last 20 minutes, and Nikolaevich missed an open goal in the last minute, steering the a low cross over the bar from inside the 6 yard box.
Torpedo took the lead after a bright start when Oya swept Antilevski’s left wing cross but Energetik were soon back at parity. After Girs’ curling shot was pushed onto the bar by Bushma, Yudchits scuffed the ball home off the opposite post.
FK Isloch Minsk vs Dinamo Minsk ( Sunday at 15.30 UK time )
Isloch are beating the sides below them but losing to the teams above them. On that basis Dinamo should win ! 0-1
Result : 1-3. A merited victory for Dinamo although they could have thrown away 2 points at the end after failing to convert their dominance into goals. Isloch took the lead in the 5th minutes with Mozorov profiting from a dreadful error from Dinamo keeper Pomazan, taking advantage of his poor first touch when attempting to control a back pass.
However, the days of Dinamo falling behind resulting in an inevitable 0-1 loss are over, and they were quickly back on level terms thanks to a clever turn and finish from the lively Mbengue in the 9th minute. Dinamo took the lead 8 minutes before half-time after good play from Klimovich left Lozhkin a simple tap-in, and Lozhkin rattled the bar with a long range effort just before the half-time whistle.
Mbengue tormented the Isloch defence in the second half but wasted three glorious chances, and Putsula saw a left-footed effort go inches wide. With three minutes left on the clock, Isloch’s Komorovski fell in the Dinamo penalty area, and although it looked like it was a foul, the referee decided otherwise, and gave a yellow card to the Isloch player for diving.
As Isloch threw players forward in added on time, Dinamo added a third goal on the counter attack. With Isloch keeper Vasilyuchek deciding to come 20 yards outside of his area, Shikavka beat him to the ball and unselfishly squared to Davyskiba to roll the ball into the empty net.
Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs BATE Borisov ( Sunday at 18.30 UK time )
A titanic battle in prospect between the top 2. They played out a 0-0 draw after extra time in the Super Cup, and it is likely to be as close again. 1-1
Result : 1-0. A crucial victory for Shakhtyor thanks to a wonderful goal by Demba Darboe. The Gambian cut back from the left, ran past a couple of defenders across the edge of the penalty area before unleashing a thunderbolt that crashed into the net off the inside of the post to give Shakhtyor the lead in the 20th minute. It was a goal worthy of winning any match.
Shakhtyor fully deserved their half-time lead, but BATE gradually clawed their way back into the contest and gave the home side a nervy last minutes as they pressed for the equaliser. Indeed, Shakhtyor were indebted to Begunov’s goal-line clearance to prevent Signevich from scoring. On balance, Shakhtyor just about deserved to take all three points.
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