Belarus Football 2021 – Catch-Up Matches

October 27, 30 & 31, 2021

FK Gomel 2-3 Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( att : 7,100 )

Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino 2-0 Slavia Mozyr ( att : 508 )

FK Minsk 0-3 Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( att : 300 )

Wednesday evening saw the long awaited catch-up game between arguably the two most exciting sides in the Belarus Premier League and the game didn’t disappoint. The fixture was postponed from early July to allow Shakhtyor to prepare for their Champions League campaign, which actually resulted in 4 consecutive defeats, when many critics thought they would have been better off playing fixtures rather than resting.

The two sides were still to meet in a league fixture, with the match in Soligorsk scheduled for the last weekend of the season. However, Gomel recorded a convincing 2-1 extra -time win in Soligorsk in the Belarus Cup when Shakhtyor were under coach Sergei Gurenko, who has subsequently been replaced by Aleksey Baga.

A win for Shakhtyor would officially confirm the title to the Miners, whereas Gomel, who were still unbeaten at home, needed a victory to maintain their outside hopes of a top three finish. Gomel were promoted to the Belarus Premier League and have been a breath of fresh air, with Andreiy Solovei scoring 16 times to earn a call-up to the national team. Their free-attacking approach has seen goals scored all though their line-up, with midfielders Gomza and Pobudey having added 8 and 5 goals respectively. Centre-back and captain Ruslan Yudenkov’s impressive performances at the back had seen a call-up to the national squad.

Despite being champions-elect, Shakhtyor had not been totally convincing on their road to retaining their title. They won their first 13 matches, without exactly demonstrating a WOW factor, but their failures in Europe saw a change in coach which appeared to unsettle the squad. An embarrassing defeat in Luxembourg, the Cup exit to Gomel, and 0-1 league away defeats to Rukh and BATE saw the appointment of Aleksey Baga. In the meantime, the rot has been stopped, and Shakhtoyr appeared to be sailing to their ceremonial elevation.

Gomel got off to a dream start in the first minute, with Andrei Solovei twisting between Begunov and Filipenko to run clear on goal and beat Gutor with ease. Gomel went on to totally dominate the first half but without adding to their lead.

A mass melee broke out on the verge of half-time. Gutor gathered a weak header before Gomza and Yudenkov could get to it, and there may have been a very mild collision between the keeper and Gomza. The gut-less Gutor, true to type, totally over-reacted and with Yudenkov walking away, needlessly pushed the Gomel captain in the back. With players on both sides then getting involved it took several minutes for the officials to regain control, and four yellow cards were shown. Gutor was lucky his card was not a red one.

Shakhtyor improved in the second half, the introduction of Pejic and Ahmedi playing a part in this, but it was still a bit of a surprise when they equalised in the 65^th minute. There didn’t appear to be any apparent danger, but Filipovic turned and unleashed a 20 yard thunderbolt into the roof of the net giving Ivanenko no chance, with Shakhtyor’s first shot on goal.

After a brief interruption when a cat ran onto the pitch, a lovely pass from Ahmedi bisected the Gomel defence, and presented Skavysh the opportunity to go clear on goal, and last season’s golden boot winner confidently finished to give Shakhtyor the lead.

Gomel responded well, and with 12 minutes remaining, Pobudey’s shot appeared to take a slight deflection before looping slowly past Gutor. It looked like the match would finish with honours even, but in added on time Filipovic reacted the quickest to turn home a corner for his second of the evening, and only his third of the season, to give Shakhtyor the three points, but more importantly the 2021 Championship.

For Gomel, it was a harsh way to lose their unbeaten home record, which now leaves them hoping that Dinamo Minsk implode over their final three matches if they are to have any chance of finishing in the top three.

Torpedo achieved an important win over Slavia which should ensure they stay in the Premier League, but put a massive dent in Slavia’s hopes of escaping the relegation play-offs.

Slavia had the better of the early exchanges and Ossogo could have given them the lead in the 25^th minutes but he put the ball wide from 6 yards after sliding onto a cross from the right wing. Torpedo steadily got into the game and took the lead in added on time. Premudrov floated a chip over Slavia’s line of defenders for Dimitri Antilevksi to run onto, and with one touch with his right foot to control the ball he then turned to score with an exquisite finish with his left foot.

Torpedo extended their lead in the 56^th minute when a clumsy challenge by Tymonyuk sent Aleksey Antilevski cartwheeling, and Premudrov confidently struck the penalty into the top corner. Despite a second yellow card to Astakhov for a bad foul with just over 20 minutes left to play, Slavia never really looked like getting back into the game, and Torpedo could even afford to butcher a 3 on 1 in added on time.

If FK Minsk were hoping that Shakhtyor would be suffering from a post title celebrations hangover then they were in for a big disappointment as the champions, even with a much changed line-up, coasted to a 3-0 victory to leave Minsk deep in the relegation play-off mire.

Shakhtyor took the lead in the 28^th minutes, Skavysh diving forward to head home after Minsk keeper Prishivalko could only parry Kendysh’s long-range effort.  If Prishivalko was at fault for the opening, he redeemed himself two minutes later with a marvellous close range reaction save when Darboe looked certain to score.

The Minsk keeper might have done better to prevent Shakhtyor’s second goal seven minutes into the second half. Prishivalko could only spill Djordje Ivanovic’s low shot onto the base of the post whereupon Darboe reacted with a spectacular back-heel to score. Minsk tried to rally but Kozlov badly missed the best of the chances they created.

Shakhtyor put the game to bed 9 minutes from time when substitute Kolobaric ran onto a through a ball from Satara for a side-footed finish.

FK Akzhayik 0-2 FC Tobol Kostanay ( att : 2,000 ) – 2021 Kazakhstan Premier League

October 30, 2021

The final weekend of the Kazakhstan Premier League saw two sides still in contention to win the title. Tobol went into their last match with a two point lead over FC Astana knowing that a win would give them their second title, having previously won the league in 2010, whilst a draw would also be enough unless second placed Astana won their match at home to Turan by 6 goals or more.

Tobol are named are the river that flows through the city of Kostanay, which is located close to the border with Russia, and has a population of just over 200,000.

Tobol have had an outstanding season in the league, going into today’s match with a 17-7-1 record, with the sole defeat being a 1-2 reverse at lowly Kaspyi Aktau early in the season, and they were unbeaten in 18 matches since. Matches with nearest rivals Astana and Kairat Almaty were all drawn.

Tobol had a remarkable come-back victory over Hadjuk Split in the Europa Conference, winning 4-1 at home after a 0-2 loss in Croatia, although Slovak side Zilina were too strong in the next round.

The Tobal squad contains some names familiar to fans in the UK. Serbian forward Zoran Tosic was at Manchester United as a youngster before moving on to FC Koln and CSKA Moscow and earning 76 caps for his country. However, Tosic was not named in Tobol’s match-day squad.

Gambian midfielder Toni Silva started his career at Liverpool with loan spells at Northampton, Barnsley and Dagenham before moving on to CSKA Sofia.  Uzbek striker Igor Sergeev will be familiar to readers of these diaries after being part of Pakhtakor Tashkent’s 2020 championship winning squad, and has scored 3 times in 6 games since joining Tobol after a spell at fellow Kazakh side Aktobe.

Just about all of the Kazakh players in their squad have appeared for the national team at some point in their careers, with Samat Zharynderov, Askhat Tagybergen and Sergei Malyi being selected in the most recent squad. 40 year old keeper Aleksandr Mokin ( 22 caps ) was ever-present so far this season.

FK Akzhayik, from the city of Uralsk, were featured in these diaries in May when they inflicted a surprise 1-0 defeat on champions Kairat Almaty.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2021/05/fk-akzhayik-1-0-kairat-almaty-att-0.html

That victory elevated them to third in the table, but since then their erratic form has seen them fall to 7^th place in the table going into today’s game. After a win-lose pattern at the start of the season, they have now drawn 5 of their last 8 matches, with no wins.

Their squad had also seen some changes, with Belarus wing-back Pavel Nazerenko, who scored the only goal against Kairat, moving on to Shakhtar Karagandy, and Russian forward Marat Burayev having moved back to Slutsk. In their place Mozambique forward Reginaldo has been signed from North Macedonian signed FK Shkupi and forward Luka Imnadze was signed from Azeri side FK Sabail. Neither though were to come off the bench today.

Although Onefootball.com had recently announced that matches from the Kazakhstan Premier League were going to be shown live on their website, this was the one match from the final round of fixtures that was not shown. Similarly, this game was also the only one not live streamed by Bet365.com. Instead, the only way to watch the game was via the Kazakhstan Premier League website ( www.pflk.kz ). Unfortunately, this stream only began three minutes after the match had started, and the picture frequently froze, so at times it wasn’t easy to follow ! The temperature was forecast to be 5 degrees at kick-off, which was 16.00 local time.

Tobal dominated the first half, and had 64% of the possession. Akzhayik were forced to defend in depth and only had the occasional counter attack. However, the first piece of goal-mouth activity had to wait until the 22^nd minute, when Jovancic’s near post header from a corner produced a fine save from keeper Litovchenko.

Tobol took the lead four minutes later. The impressive Tagybergen sent a swerving shot from around 25 yards which Litovchenko could only parry back to the middle of the penalty area. Sergeev reacted the quickest to put the rebound past the Akzhayik keeper. Full-back Omarov was booked for his protests to the officials, presumably claiming Sergeev was offside, but the TV replay showed he was played onside by Saponov.

Tobol pushed for a second goal, and Jovancic was again denied by Litovchenko, this time with a one-handed punch to tip a long range effort over the bar, and from the subsequent corner, Litovchenko again excelled to dive and push Marochkin’s downward header up and onto the bar.

With Astana winning their match 1-0 at half-time, Tobol might have regretted not being able to convert their pressure into more goals but they were able to extend their lead in the 59^th minute. Firstly, Kairov played in Manzorro to run on goal, but there was an early flag from the linesman and although the French winger ran on to put the ball into the net, it was disallowed. As the incident was replayed, which wasn’t conclusive one way or the other, Tobol scored ! Only after the event were we able to see Tagybergen’s 20+ yard shot which went through the Litovchenko and into the net.

The game was effectively finished as a contest, although Jovancic shot narrowly over, and then the Serb mis-kicked in front of goal after a cross from the right wing.

Akhaychik’s one response was a 30 yard effort three minutes from time that was comfortably saved. Tobol wound down the clock, and with the title confirmed with the final whistle, the players eagerly celebrated amongst themselves, and then in front of the their supporters who had made the 1,240 kilometre journey from Kostanay to Uralsk !

In the end Astana’s match ended in a 1-1 draw, so Tobol’s winning margin in the league was 4 points.

FK Akzhayik : Litovchenko – Sapanov, Baronovsky, Omarov – Chichikov ( Antipov ), Abdrakhmanov, Gaschenkov, Shustikov, Tapalov ( Prindeta ) – Kozlov, Kovtalyuk

FC Tobol Kostanay : – Mokin – Marochkin, Amanovich, Malyi – Kairov, Jovancic, Tagybergen ( Zhumashev ), Zharynbetov – Brigido ( Silva ), Sergeev ( Lobzhanidze ), Manzorro ( Nurgaliyev )

Chinnor 30-32 Cambridge ( att : 400 ) – 2021/22 National League One

October 23, 2021

Round 8 of England’s National League One saw the visit of Cambridge to Chinnor. The Blood and Sand, as they are known, had a 2-1-3 record so far in the season, starting with three consecutive losses - 28-34 at home to Rams, 7-25 away at Sale and 26-41 at Cinderford, before beating Moseley 32-7 at home and Blackheath 15-9 away. Their last result was a 22-22 draw at Caldy.

Cambridge are seen as being a solid mid-table side, capable of beating the best on a good day, but not expected to be struggling against relegation. Given both sides have recently drawn at Caldy a close encounter was likely.

Cambridge and Chinnor first crossed swords in 2014 in National League Two South after Cambridge had been relegated into the division and Chinnor promoted into it. In total, there have been 4 meetings at Kingsey Road with Chinnor being victorious in October 2014 ( 23-19 ), January 2019 ( 27-26 ) and November 2019 ( 34-22 ). The only win for Cambridge was in January 2016, when in their promotion season, they won 26-19 in a game in which future England international George Furbank came off the bench for Cambridge.

In contrast Cambridge have won 2 out of 3 matches they have hosted, winning 22-14 in 2014/15 and 40-22 in 2015/16, although Chinnor won 22-20 in 2019/20

The Cambridge squad appears to have been relatively unaffected by the 18 month cessation of rugby at this level, with 10 of their squad that featured in one or both of the encounters between the two sides in 2019/20 being named in their match day squad. In contrast, Chinnor had only three members of their squad from the last encounter between the two clubs involved today.

Chinnor center Sam Yawayawa appeared against his former club, whilst the Cambridge starting line-up included prop Harry Morley and pacy wing Kwaku Asiedu, who both made appearances on loan for Chinnor in 2017 on loan from Coventry ( 4 and 1 game respectively ) and Cambridge Director of Rugby Richie Williams is a former Chinnor player.

The weather at kick-off was dry but chilly 13 degrees, and Cambridge got off to a lightning start, with Asiedu breaking through two weak tackles along the touchline to score in the left hand corner with less than 2 minutes on the clock. Rayner missed the difficult conversion.

One pattern of the game emerged a few minutes later when Cambridge won a scrum penalty, which was to become the outcome just about every scrum in the match.

Chinnor full-back Bourton was tackled in the air by Asiedu but as he landed on his back rather than his head, the only sanction was a penalty. The response from Asiedu was to shortly after go on another storming run where he was tackled just short of the line. The ball was reworked but a kick to other winger on the touchline was poor and Chinnor were able to defend, albeit at the cost of a penalty. With the kick to corner for a 5 metre line-out, Cambridge won possession and hooker Brownlie was pushed over the line for the second try. Again, the conversion was missed so the score remained 0-10.

At this point it was looking ominous for Chinnor but they responded with a 5 metre line-out of their own, and this time their hooker, Van Vuuren was shunted over the line to bring the score back to 5-10 with another conversion missed.

Chinnor had their tales up and with a penalty advantage in the Cambridge 22, fly-half Nick Smith kicked high to the corner where Bourton out-jumped Asiedu and dived over into the corner. He then kicked an excellent conversion from close to the touch-line to give the home side a 12-10 lead after 22 minutes.

Good pressure from Chinnor forced a penalty in midfield and Bourton stepped up to kick through the uprights to extend the lead to 15-10 after 25 minutes. However, Cambridge hit back immediately when full-back Tarrant burst through the Chinnor defence and then fed wing Henderson who was stopped just short of the try line. Cambridge were able to re-work the ball, and centre Matt Hema scythed through the middle to score under posts. Rayner added the extra to put Cambridge back in the lead again at 15-17.

The end-to-end nature of the first half continued and after Chinnor won a line-out 10 metres from the Cambridge try-line, they worked the blindside and Crowley was released to score in the corner. Although another conversion went wide, Chinnor now led 20-17 after 31 minutes.

Cambridge finished the half strongly. Number 8 Maka made one bullocking run and Tarrant ran from his own 22 to the Chinnor 22. Although that move was thwarted, Cambridge kept possession and eventually Hema sent a grubber kick behind the defensive line for Asiedu to score his second try of the match and earn the four try bonus point for the visitors. Rayner missed his third conversion of the match so it was 20-22 at half-time.

Chinnor started the second half brightly and won a penalty to kick to the corner. However, although they secured the line-out, a knock-on wasted the chance. The match then fell into a series of scrum penalties to Cambridge, from which line-outs were won. After winning a penalty from a line-out near to the Chinnor line, everyone was expecting another kick to the corner, but Duffin took a quick tap and ran at the dozing defenders. A couple of passes later, gigantic lock Kieran Frost went over under the posts. Rayner’s conversion made it 20-29 after 47 minutes.

Chinnor were able to have a spell of pressure in the Cambridge 22, but although they lost their line-out 8 yards out, a series of drives resulted in a penalty being awarded. Strangely, Chinnor opted to take the three points, to which one of the Cambridge players shouted “Cowards !”. However, with the score back at 23-29 Chinnor were one converted try away from the lead ,but Cambridge continued to win scrum penalties and the resulting line-outs to prevent Chinnor from generating any dangerous positions. Eventually, the Cambridge dominance resulted in a penalty inside the Chinnor 22, which Rayner kicked to put Cambridge 9 points clear at 23-32 with around 12 minutes left to play.

Cambridge were strangling the life out of Chinnor, typified by one crunching tackle on Tuilagi as his attempted to break through.  With the penalty count continuing to rise, Cambridge camped in the Chinnor 22 winding down the clock. Eventually the referee lost patience after Chinnor gave away another penalty and a yellow card was shown to the unfortunate Brockschmidt, who was confused as to why he was the one who had to go, but with the accumulation of offences someone had to leave the field. Cambridge eventually conceded a penalty of their own for the line-out throw not being straight and Chinnor wisely opted for a line-out rather than the scrum.

Although the line-out was won, Chinnor were forced to run the ball from inside their own in-goal area and after a number of phases manage to get within 10 metres of the Cambridge line. However, they offended again at the line-out and the ball was hacked back to the Chinnor 22. Bourton won the foot race and was able to keep the ball alive. Chinnor again went through the phases from close to their own line, and after a sustained period play, the ball was played wide for Scott to race over in the corner to give Chinnor 2 points from the 4 try and a losing bonus points. With a super conversion by Bourton from the touchline the referee blew his whistle to end the match with the score 30-32.

Cambridge were deserved winners, and with their scrum dominance, organized defence and dangerous running, the winning margin should have been a lot greater. Chinnor have now lost three of their 5 home matches.

Highlights : https://www.chinnor-rfc.com/videos/trylights--chinnor-30-cambridge-32-172574.html

League table as per englandrugby.com

 

Real Madriz 0-1 UNAN Managua ( att : 250 approx ) – Nicaragua 2021/22 Liga Primera Apertura

October 21, 2021

The last review of the Nicaraguan Liga Primera by these diaries was for week 2 of the 2021/22 Apertura competition. The regular 18 game season has now reached round 13.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2021/08/review-of-202122-nicaragua-liga-primera.html

Earlier in the season all matches were streamed live on the Primera Liga YouTube channel but subsequently, matches are now only available via a $3.99 monthly subscription, although one match in each round is still free to air. Match highlights and the goals of the week round up are still freely available on the YouTube channel though. This week’s free to air game is the match between Real Madriz and UNAM Managua, which is 6^th vs 10^th ( or last ).  As a 6^th place finish qualifies for the final place in the Apertura play-offs, and the sides are only separated by 4 points, there is still everything to play for.

Real Madriz are not to be confused with a similarly named side in Spain, but do play in a predominately all white kit ! They are located in the town of Somoto, the capital of the Madriz region in the northern hills of Nicaragua. It is approximately 220 km from the capital Managua, and the journey by road usually takes nearly 3 hours.

Real Madriz play at the Estadio Solidaridad which has a capacity of 3,000 and a grass pitch, one of only four in the Liga Primera. The Real squad are all qualified to play for Nicaragua, although top scorer Edwin Castros ( 9 goals ) was born in Honduras. Forward Ricardo Mendieta has 5 caps for the National side, and 4 goals so far this season. Defenders Ulises Pozo and Jorge Ellis both have 3 caps.

Real have a 4-2-6 record after 12 matches but their record is 3-1-2 at home. Home wins have been recorded against Walter Ferretti ( 3-1 ), ART Jalapa ( 1-0 ) and Juventus Managua ( 2-0 ) and they had a 3-3 draw with H&H Sebaco. Defeats were suffered against the top two, Diriangen ( 0-1 ) and  Real Esteli ( 1-2 ). The reverse fixture at UNAN Managua was won 5-3, after being behind 3-1 early in the second half. However, the highlight of Madriz’s season has been their progress to Nicaraguan Cup Final, to be played against Walter Ferretti on Wednesday October 27^th, a side that have not won in their past 6 league matches until this week.

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua ( UNAN ) Managua  were promoted back to the Liga Primera for this season, and play in the 20,000 capacity National stadium in the capital. They have only two wins in 12 matches, ART Jalapa 1-0 ( H ) and Deportivo Ocotal 2-1 ( A ), but they have lost only one of the last 5 matches, picking up 6 points in the process. Despite currently being last place, a good run over the last 6 games could see them sneak into 6^th place and the play-offs. Their squad is all local apart from Brazilian full back Rafael Almeida, who is joint top scorer with 3 goals, and Costa Rican midfielder Kevin Torres. Players with international experience include midfielder Norlan Cuadra ( 5 caps ), forwards Rafael Baquedano and Anderson Treminio ( 1 cap each ), and defender Mevin Hernandez ( 4 caps ).

The match kicked-off at 19.00 local time, which was 2am the following day in the UK. I decided to watch the YouTube stream later in the morning without knowing the score, but I hardly had to go to the extremes of The Likely Lads to avoid finding out the result !

After a hot, dry day of around 31 degrees, the temperature for the evening kick-off was cooler at 22 degrees.

Real made three changes to their starting line-up that lost 0-1 at Real Esteli last time out, with keeper Ortiz being replaced by Hernadez, and Ellis and Edwin Castro dropping down to the bench, with Agurcia and Espinoza coming into the side.

UNAN made four changes to the side that drew 2-2 at ART Jalapa, with Almeida, Downs and Cacares missing out completely, whilst Cuadra dropped to the substitutes bench. Castillo, Rodriguez, Rizo and Hernadez came into the team.

UNAN’s shirts were was yellow and blue chequered pattern on the front but all blue on the back. Real’s white shirt had one vertical claret and blue stripe on one side, and looked like something Crystal Palace might have worn in the 1990s.

The commentary on the YouTube stream was in Spanish, and sounded like it was coming from a studio given the lack of noise and atmosphere being picked up on the sound-track. The stadium has a large grass bank behind one goal, with some flat grass and a perimeter wall behind the other goal. There is a small elevated stand on the side of the pitch where the cameras were located, presumably for directors and dignitaries, which stands above the team benches. The main stand on the far side has a several rows of large concrete steps on which the spectators sit, and the middle third is under cover. It looked like all of the crowd were wearing face masks.

The pitch looked in poor condition, with the grass being particularly long and there were some muddy patches. It was also quite bumpy, with the ball not always rolling smoothly and making passing football difficult. Perhaps some vegetables are grown there in the close season ?!

As usual in the Liga Primera the national anthem was played before kick-off. The first half-chance fell to UNAN in the 5^th minute but Treminio shot wide from the left hand side of the penalty area. After this Real took control but without creating any meaningful chances from open play, and all their best chances came from set-pieces.   

Parades delivered a free-kick from close to half-way and Gallo with his back to the goal, managed to turn and head across the face of the goal and just wide with the keeper motionless. The same combination created the next chance with Parades’ corner being headed just wide by Gallo with the UNAN keeper beaten. Centre back Gallo also had the home sides other good chance in the half with a glancing header from a chip forward by Kevin Castro, but the effort went straight to Mayorga. Real’s only other real chance was a left-footed shot from Agurcia after being teed up by Kevin Castro, but the effort went comfortably wide. Espinoza also sent a weak shot from long-range but it bounced just in front of Mayorga, who could only push away but a UNAN defender cleared the danger.

UNAN gradually got into the game and created a number of good chances in the final 15 minutes of the first half. In the 33^rd minute, Treminio showed good skill to flick the ball over the head of a defender and run into the penalty area, but his shot was high, wide and handsome as they say.

UNAN should have taken the lead in the 38^th minute. A dreadful pass across the pitch from Pozo went straight to Treminio. He had time to control the loose ball, but instead he opted to send a first-time chip over the Real Madriz keeper who was in no-man’s land, but the effort was too close to the keeper, who gratefully was able to block with his outstretched hands and gather the ball.

The pressure was building and Torres through ball split the Real defence and Treminio swept the bouncing ball left-footed goalwards, but Hernandez made a fine reaction save from close range to tip the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner, Brenes got a faint touch with head at the near post and keeper Hernadez was able to get his body in the way to keep the ball out of the net. The loose ball fell to Rizo a couple of yards from the goal line but he could only scoop the ball on to the bar, where it bounced twice before falling for Parades to make an athletic goal-line clearance.

Eventually the pressure told, and after Real failed with two attempts to clear a free-kick into their area, Melvin Hernandez’s mishit volley looped up off Parades and bounced into the corner of the net to give UNAN the lead. UNAN probably deserved to be ahead at the interval as they had created several good chances in the short spell before the break whereas all Real’s best efforts came from a central defender.

Real could easily have equalised two minutes into the second half, when Gallo again made his presence felt from a free-kick to head across goal, but from about 8 yards, Vasquez stabbed the ball well wide of the goal with the outside of his foot.

Winger Angel Brenes then came to the fore for UNAN, firstly running past two defenders before sending a left footed shot just wide of the near post. He then latched onto a dangerous cross from the by-line from Torres but saw both his attempts blocked by defenders, after which he got to the by-line on the right hand side to set-up a golden chance for Treminio, but the goal bound shot hit the foot of Gallo to go off for a corner. It just about summed up Treminio’s day, who a few minutes early had seen a shot go off for a throw-in.

Real responded by making a tactical change with a double substitution. Stocky and overweight top scorer Edwin Castro came on, together with the tall and powerful Jorge Ellis, who is normally a centre back, but both went up-front. It was a clear statement of intent to play a more direct style of football.

The change nearly had an instant impact when a long-ball in to the UNAN wasn’t dealt with and Ortega sent a left footed volley narrowly wide. However, the impressive Brenes was soon in the action again, easily running past Vasquez to send a fierce shot that Hernandez was able to tip around the post for a corner.

Real’s route one football nearly succeeded again when a long free-kick from Kevin Castro sailed over the UNAN back-line but Mendieta failed to make contact from inside the 6 yard area and the chance was wasted. A long throw to the middle of the edge of the penalty area was then hooked just over the bar by Espinoza, before another free-kick was launched by Kevin Castro which was headed by Edwin Castro. It was probably going in, but it hit Ellis and bounced to safety.

It was to prove to be Real last good chance, although Edwin Castro did head another free-kick over the bar in the 90^th minute as UNAN held on fairly comfortably in the closing stages.

It looked like Kevin Castro might have sustained a serious injury in the last 10 minutes when he was unable to check his run and fell over the low wall just behind the by-line, taking a chunk out of the wall in the process. The UNAN keeper and a defender immediately showed their concern and signalled for the Real trainer to come over to his aid. Fortunately, he recovered and was able to finish the game.

Overall, it wasn’t a great game to watch, but UNAN deserved their win and moved to one point off a play-off place.

 Real Madriz : Hernandez – Gallo, Benavidez ( Ellis ), Parades – Pozo ( E.Castro ), Espinoza, K. Castro, Bermudez ( Ortega ), Vasquez, Agurcia - Mendieta

UNAN Managua : Mayorga – Hernandez, Rizo ( Cisneros ), Salgado, Castillo – Torres, Rodriguez ( Cuadra ), Canales – Brenes, Baquedano, Treminio

Week 13 Results

October 20, 2021

CD Walter Ferretti 5-0 ART Jalapa

Calabrese ( 8, 18 & 81 ), Forbes ( 60 ), Ugalde ( 86 )

Real Esteli 3-0 Juventus Managua

Danilo ( 54 ), Acuna ( 64 ), Goufas ( 92 )

Managua FC 1-2 H&H Export Sebaco

Alvarez ( 86 ); Trujillo ( 32 ), Galeano ( 95 – pen )

October 21, 2021

Diriangen FC 3-0 CD Ocotal

Moreno ( 27 ),  da Silva ( 28 ), Coronel ( 85 )

Real Madriz 0-1 UNAN Managua

Hernandez ( 44 )

Walter Ferretti led the Apertura table after the second round having scored 4 times in both their wins and it looked as if they might offer a serious challenge to Real Esteli and Diriangen, respectively winners of the 2020/21 Apertura and Clausura tournaments. However, their form fell off badly and before this week’s thrashing of Jalapa had taken only two points from their 6 matches after their crazy 8-4 win at H&H Export Sebaco. A hat-trick for Argentinian striker Brian Calabrese took him clear at the top of the goal charts on 12 goals. Jalapa have now taken just one point from 7 away matches and slip to bottom of the table.

Real Esteli and Diriangen went into the round of fixtures as joint-leaders, both with a 9-1-2 record, and 9 points clear of their nearest challenges. Esteli had lost 0-3 in round 3 at Managua FC, and went down 2-3 at Diriangen, with the only other points dropped being a 1-1 home draw with Walter Ferretti. Three second half goals saw off Juventus Managua, whose poor form on their travels continued, to leave them with only 4 points from 6 away matches.

Juventus’ home form has been decent though and last time out they inflicted one of Diriangen’s two losses, winning 2-0. Diriangen’s other defeat had been when they were surprisingly beaten 1-2 at bottom of the table Jalapa.. Diriangen though were easy winners at home to Ocotal to remain level with Real Esteli.

Managua FC started the season slowly, taking only one point from their first 2 games. However, a run of just one loss in 9 games took them up to third place. A 0-1 loss at Real Esteli prevented them closing the gap on the leaders but this week’s 1-2 home loss to H&H Export Sebaco was more unexpected. A penalty in the 5^th minute of added on time gave Sebaco the three points. Sebaco have had a reasonable season since promotion to the Liga Primera but had been let down by their failure to win a home match so they started the day as one of three sides joint bottom of the table on 10 points. However, the win at Manuaga FC was their third on the road.

Belarus Football 2021 – Week 27

October 22, 23 & 24, 2021

Just four more rounds of fixtures to be played in the season, and with Shakhtyor likely to move even closer to claiming the title, the most interesting fixtures this week involve sides at the bottom. Slutsk could virtually ensure survival for another year with a home win over Smorgon, whilst FK Minsk and Slavia meet in a proverbial “six-pointer”. A victory for Slavia would potential drag three or four sides into the relegation play-off mire, including Minsk, whereas defeat would leave them odds-on to be in the play-off.

Elsewhere, BATE have a tough task at Neman if they are to remain in second place with Dinamo Minsk being this week’s recipient of the walk-over win over Sputnik.

Neman Grodno vs BATE Borisov ( Friday @ 18.00 UK time )

Neman had won 4 consecutive home matches without conceding a goal until a 0-1 defeat to Rukh last time out. BATE have only one win in their last 5 away, and are now struggling to even finish second. 1-1.

Result : 0-2. An important and deserved victory for BATE, who showed a lot more defensive resilience than in recent weeks. The best chance of an even first half went to Neman, but Zubovich missed horribly after Jimoh’s cross fell kindly for him.

BATE took the lead in the 60^th minute when Yusov rose above Jimoh to head Bessmertny’s cross into bottom corner, and Bessmertny should have doubled their lead 5 minutes later but he blazed his effort over the bar from close to the penalty spot.

Neman thought they had equalized in the 69^th minute when Saroka headed Jimoh’s cross past Chichkan but the striker looked on in disbelief when Jakov Filipovic somehow managed to head off the line. Neman wasted another good chance 5 minutes later when Varaksa fired over after weak block by Chichkan.

BATE were relatively untroubled after those misses, and clinched the three points three minutes from full-time when Yablonski stabbed home on the goal-line after a corner had been flicked on at the near post.

FK Slutsk vs FK Smorgon ( Saturday @ 11.00 UK time )

A big chance for Slutsk to move to safety, especially with 3 points still to come from their match against Sputnik. However, if Smorgon repeat their form from the win against Vitebsk it won’t be a forgone conclusion. 2-1

Result : 2-1. A far from impressive performance from Slutsk but a vital win. Smorgon will feel hard done by to have not taken at least a point from this game.

After an even start to the match, Slutsk took the lead in the 26^th minute from the penalty spot. Intsoen’s high challenge made contact with Sasin’s chest and Slutsk’s Russian striker went down as if shot by a sniper in the stands. Sasin recovered sufficiently to make no mistake from the spot.

Balanovich came close to doubling Slutsk’s lead before half-time, and Alfred forced two saves from Scherbachenya after the interval, before Smorgon drew level in slightly fortunate circumstances in the 65^th minute. Pasevich’s cross was met by Savostyanov but his header was in totally the wrong direction. Fortunately for Smorgon it hit the unfortunate Zhevnerov and looped gently into the opposite bottom corner before Branovets could get to it.

If there was any feeling that the Slutsk keeper had been slow to react, Branovets redeemed himself in the 78^th minute. Pasevich easily skinned the Slutsk right back and delivered a fine cross to the back post for Frantsev to head towards the goal from around 4 yards. However, Branovets’ outstretched leg blocked the effort at the expense of a corner but quite frankly though, Frantsev should have buried the chance.

The miss proved to be costly as Slutsk won the match with a goal three minutes later. Gvazava got to the by-line and pulled back into the Smorgon area where the unmarked Kontsedailov swept home from close to the penalty spot.

With a minute to go Smorgon’s Camara was put clear but with a 3 on 1 but his attempt to pass to Zadi was intercepted by Bylinkin and a glorious chance was wasted. 

FK Vitebsk vs Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( Saturday @ 13.00 UK time )

With Vitebsk seemingly already mentally in the Belarus equivalent of their summer holidays ( winter dachas perhaps ? ), and Shakhtyor back on top form its hard to see anything other than an away win. 0-3

Result : 1-2. Shakhtyor edged even closer to reclaiming their title in a match in which they did just enough to deserve the win.

Shakhtyor took a fortunate early lead when Satara’s shot from just outside of the area deflected off two defenders to give keeper Gushchenko no chance. Vitebsk hit back immediately with Teverov’s clever steer from Ermakovic low cross bringing them level after 17 minutes. However, Shakhtyor were back in the lead in the 25^th minute when Igor Ivanovic ran at the defence, took a return pass from Ahmedi and calmly stroked the ball into the net.

Neither side came close to scoring again after such a lively start until Shakhtyor’s task was made easier with a second yellow card to Cesar for a clumsy trip on Skavysh with ten minutes remaining.  Djordje Ivanovic hit the post in the closing stages and Stasevich forced a good save from Gushchenko, but Shakhtyor were unable to extend their lead

FK Gomel vs Energetik BGU Minsk ( Saturday @ 15.00 UK time )

Energetik have won only once in their last 8 matches so should not be any match for an enterprising Gomel side who are still unbeaten at home. 2-0

Result : 4-0. A straight-forward victory for Gomel who remained unbeaten at home, having now scored 31 goals in the process.

Abdukhalikov actually hit the bar in the first 10 minutes for Energetik but a real comedy own goal put Gomel into the lead in the 14^th minute. As Myshenko bore down on goal for Gomel, Rylach’s sliding tackle succeeded in not only taking the ball away from the Gomel player, but also past Energetik keeper Makavchik and towards the goal. Miroshnikov managed to get back to cover but unfortunately for him, his attempted clearance hit the post and went over the line before Makavchik could clear. The own goal was credited to Miroshnikov.

Gomel then bombarded the Energetik goal with their dynamic football but the visitors looked like being able to hold onto just a one goal deficit at the break until centre-back Sokol slipped when a pass was played in his direction, and Solovei swooped to run forward and calmly put the ball past the Energetik keeper. It was 2-0 at half-time with Energetik having shot themselves in the foot for both goals.

Once Myshenko prodded home a third from around 14 yards in the 51^st minute, it became a question of how many, although Gomel had to wait until the 87^th minute before Gomza added the fourth.

For Energetik, Strelkovsky hit the top of the bar with a close range header.

Dinamo Brest vs FK Isloch Minsk ( Saturday @ 17.00 UK time )

With 11 points from their last 6 games, Isloch are making a strong bid for the 6^th place finish that looked to belong to Dinamo at the end of July. However, one win in their last nine has put that in jeopardy and with three goalless draws in their last 5 they are turning into the new Vitebsk. 0-0

Result : 1-0. An important win for Dinamo in a game of relatively few chances.

Isloch dominated the early stages of the first half and Kovalev, Sanoh and Gorbachik all missed good chances to give Isloch the lead, but Dinamo managed to get to half time on parity. The home side took the lead in the 52th minute when Isloch keeper Vasilyuchuk made an horrendous hash of attempting to collect Bilenkyi’s harmless free-kick and Oreshkevich headed the rebound into an unguarded net. It was probably their only shot on target, and once Dinamo had the lead, Isloch never really looked like equalizing.

FK Minsk vs FK Slavia Mozyr ( Sunday @ 11.30 UK time )

A big game at the bottom and a chance for Slavia to drag Minsk into danger if they can repeat their form from their win over BATE. Minsk have stopped the rot though and are now unbeaten in three. 1-1

Result : 0-6. An astonishing result which makes Slavia increasingly likely to avoid the relegation play-offs, and puts Minsk in real jeopardy.

Minsk started brightly and they thought they had taken the lead in the 10^th minute, but Lopes’ header was ruled out for offside. Shortly after Schramchenko forced Baronovski into a decent diving save and Kasarab headed against the bar, but that was about as good as it got for the home side. Once Slavia took the lead in the 26^th minute, when Zherdev ran onto a ball over the top from Narh to finish past the exposed Prishivalko, the result never really looked in doubt. Another ball over the square Minsk back four put Kurbanov in space and he easily lifted the ball over the advancing Minsk keeper to give Slavia a two goal lead at the break.

The game was effectively finished as a contest when Minsk threw every outfield  player forward for a corner in the 48^th minute, and when it was headed clear, Zherdev had a free run the length of the pitch to make it 0-3 with every Minsk player close to the Slavia penalty area. Shortly after, Vlad Malkevich shot into the top corner from 20 yards to make it 0-4.

More shocking defending by Minsk saw Kurbanov add his second with 8 minutes remaining after Raevskiy had flicked on a corner, and it got even worse for Minsk when Prishivalko could only fumble Barsukov’s free-kick against a post and over the line.

Torpedo BelAz Minsk vs Rukh Brest ( Sunday @ 13.30 UK time )

Torpedo have lost 5 out of their last 8 matches, and Rukh will be smarting from losing their long unbeaten record in controversial circumstance against Dinamo Minsk. 0-1

Result : 3-3. Another six-goal thriller but this time with honours even. Rukh led 2-0 at the break and 3-1 after 52 minutes, but Torpedo fought back for a point that could prove vital for them to stay in the division for next season.

For once, a Noyok shot didn’t find row Z or the corner flag, but it needed a deflection to divert it away from keeper Bushma and into the corner for the opening goal to Rukh. Savitskiy bravely slid in to propel Pechenin’s low cross over the line to extend Rukh’s lead just before half-time but took a nasty blow for his troubles.

There were four goals in first 15 minutes of the second half. One minute in, Torpedo’s Premudrov sent an impressive 20 yarder into the top corner but Tweh restored Rukh’s two goal advantage, heading home from close range after Bushma had parried Bakaj’s free-kick and Kontsevoy turned the rebound across the face of the goal. Yashin was then left unmarked at the back post from corner to reduce the deficit with a header from about three yards.

Nikolaevich volleyed Torpedo level from close to the penalty spot after Pavlyuchenko could only punch a shot out to him.

Both sides missed a stack of chances and it could easily have finished 6-6 !

Summary :

Neman Grodno 0-2 BATE Borisov ( att : 620 )
FK Slutsk 2-1 FK Smorgon ( att : 312 )
FK Vitebsk 1-2 Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( att : 511 )
FK Gomel 4-0 Energetik BGU Minsk ( att : 3,500 )
Dinamo Brest 1-0 FK Isloch Minsk ( att : 1,268 ) 
FK Minsk 0-6 FK Slavia Mozyr ( att : 173 )
Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino 3-3 Rukh Brest ( att : 530 )

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yknnnj0NIWk

Comments

After their win at Vitebsk, Shakhtyor now need just three points from their last 5 matches to retain their title, and they could wrap up their triumph with a victory at Gomel on Wednesday night. BATE recorded an important win at Neman to stay in second place ahead of Dinamo Minsk who added three points from the forfeited game against defunct Sputnik.

Gomel pulled level with Rukh in joint fourth place but stayed 5 points behind Dinamo Minsk, albeit with a game in hand. They may well have beat Shakhtyor twice in their remaining games if they are to claim a place in the top three. By dropping points at Torpedo, Rukh are virtually out of the running for a top three finish.

Dinamo Brest’s win over Isloch put them back in pole position for 6^th place but Vitebsk and Isloch could still take that position by winning their last three matches, and Vitebsk still have three points to come from the Sputnik default.

At the bottom, Smorgon are now officially relegated, but Slavia’s renaissance continued with their remarkable 6-0 win at FK Minsk, which means that everyone from ninth placed Neman downwards remain in danger of the relegation play-off. Slavia play their game in hand at Torpedo next Saturday, and a victory would see them leap-frog Slutsk, FK Minsk, Energetik and Torpedo into 10^th !

In the 25 matches, there were 16 goals, one red card and one penalty.