Review : Denmark 2021/22 Superliga – Round 17

November 26, 28 & 29, 2021

Friday November 26, 2021

Aarhus GF 1-1 Silkeborg IF ( att : 9,083 )

Sunday November 28, 2021

Odense BK 2-0  FC Nordsjaelland ( att : 5,258 )

Viborg FF 1-1 SonderjyskE ( att : 4,031 )

Brondby IF 1-0 Randers FC ( att : 15,437 )

Aalborg BK 1-3 FC Kobenhavn ( att : 10,254 )

Monday November 29, 2021

Vejle BK 1-1 FC Midtylland ( att : 4,012 )

 

With the completion of round 17’s fixtures, Denmark’s Superliga became the first of the European leagues to enter its winter break, with matches scheduled to resume on February 20, 2022.

Since late October, Superliga matches have been live streamed with commentary on Onefootball.com, in addition to the live streams available on Bet365.com. The league website, www.superliga.dk also has highlights of every match, and has an unimaginable wealth of statistics on the league, to the extent of VAR decisions per team, the percentage number of backward passes, and even the number of aerial duels won !

On a 2 month work assignment in Copenhagen in 1994, I took the opportunity to attend 4 football matches in Denmark.  The first was a UEFA Cup Winners Cup tie between Brondby IF and Albanian side KF Tirana, where the home side won 3-0 in front of a crowd of 6.035. In the Brondby side that night were future West Ham and Celtic defender Marc Rieper, future Portsmouth and Walsall forward Thomas Thogersen, Bolton forward Bo Hansen, and former Borussia Dortmund striker Mark Strudal. Every one of the Brondby starting XI that night eventually went on to win caps for Denmark. Of the Tirana side only Indruit Fortuzi had a career of any note outside of Albania, having spells in Greece with Apollon and Iraklis. The match ticket cost 80 DKK, which is around £9 at today’s exchange rates.

My only real memories of the match are that it rained all evening with the game resembling a game of water polo at times, and on arriving fairly early, I had a look around the back of the stadium where there was a very nice cricket ground. However, Google maps now show that this has obliterated by the extension of one of the stands and the installation of some football training pitches, and I’ve read that a new purpose-built cricket ground has been built elsewhere in Brondby for Svanholm CC.

I was also able to attend a UEFA Cup tie at the Parken stadium where a crowd of 4,232 turned up to witness a 1-1 draw between FC Copenhagen ( FCK as they are more commonly referred to ) and Slovan Bratislava, which saw the home side eliminated having lost 0-1 in Slovakia in the first leg. Despite dominating the match they were unable to convert the chances they created. From that FCK side, striker Per Frandsen went on to play for Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan, midfielder Allan Nielsen later played for Tottenham, Wolves and Watford, and defender Cristian Lonstrup went on to play for Cagliari in Serie A.

Despite being late September, it was a freezing cold evening and I had persuaded three colleagues from work to come and watch. Fortunately, we were able to get regular cold beers inside the stadium to compensate for the weather. The handful of Slovan fans were not bothered by the Arctic conditions, and proudly supported their team without wearing any shirts !

My first domestic match was at Lyngby were 2,462 watched the home side go down 2-3 to Fremad Amager. Faroe Islands international Todi Jonssen came off the bench to grab a goal back for Lyngby after the visitors had lead 3-0 with just 10 minutes remaining. The Lyngby line-up also included Per Pedersen, who went on to play for Blackburn Rovers, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Strasburg, Anders Nielsen who played for PSV Eindhoven and Sparta Rotterdam, and Aston Villa signing Henrik Larsen ( although he never actually played a match for Villa ), who scored three goals in Euro 92.

My final match in Denmark was in November 1994 with a drive to the coastal town of Naestved to see the home side lose 2-3 to Brondby in front of a crowd of 5,949. From the side that had played against KF Tirana, Brondby had been strengthened by the inclusion of future Fenerbache and Chelsea defender Jens Hogh, Kim Vilfort, the Danish international and goalscorer in the Euro 92 final against Germany, and future Rangers, Celta Vigo and Alaves centre-back Dan Eggen. Brondby took a 3-0 lead into the break but were rocking at 2-3 until a red card reduced Naestved to 10 men with around 20 minutes to play, after which they then comfortably held onto to the three points.

However, my outstanding memory of the day was watching the second half of the Youth team games between the two clubs on an outside pitch before the league match, in which the Brondby side looked collectively so much stronger, but Naestved had a centre-back who was the outstanding player on the pitch and on several occasions strode the length of the pitch to create chances for his side, leading to two goals. However, he was unable to stop his team also falling to a 2-3 defeat. I never found out his name, nor what became of him.

The Season So Far

The Superliga is a 12 team competition who play each other twice for a 22 game regular season. After this, the top 6 teams split into Championship play-off for 10 more matches, carrying forward the points earned from the regular season. The other 6 form the relegation play-off group, with the bottom two sides being relegated. The highest placed side in the relegation play-off table has a chance of qualifying for the Europa Conference via a play-off.

Brondby were the 2020/21 Champions, finishing 1 point ahead of FC Midtjylland. FC Copenhagen qualified for the Europa Conference by finishing third, Randers qualified for the Europa League by winning the Danish Cup and AGF Aarhus qualified for the Europa League after winning the play-off against relegation group winners Aalborg on penalties. Viborg and Silkeborg were promoted, replacing Lyngby and Horsens.

After round 16, FC Midtjylland lead the table by 4 points ahead of FC Copenhagen, despite having lost their last two matches ( 0-3 at Aarhus and 1-2 at home to Brondby ). FCK were unable to make much inroads as they had been held to two draws ( 0-0 at Silkeborg and 1-1 Aarhus ). Randers had been the early season pace-setters, going unbeaten through their first 6 games but after a mini-slump, a run of just one defeat in 6 games had seen them maintain 4^th position behind Aalborg on goal difference. The form team at the moment though are champions Brondby, who languished in 10^th place after round 9, but a run of 19 points out of 21, including 5 wins in the last 5 saw them climb upto 5^th place. One place below them were Silkeborg, themselves also on an unbeaten run of 7 matches, but with 4 draws in the last 5.

At the bottom, Vejle and SonderjyskE have been cut adrift, lying 8 and 7 points respectively behind 10^th place Nordsjaelland, although Vejle have shown some signs of life having won their last two home matches, to at least close the gap with SonderjyskE, who have taken just a single point in their last 7 matches.

The top scorer in the Superliga after 16 matches was Brondby’s Mikael Uhre with 10 goals, ahead of Brazilian Junior Brumad of Midtjylland, Spanish midfielder Pep Biel of FCK and winger Nicolai Vallys of Silkeborg, all of whom were on 7 goals

FCK have been the best supported team so far this season, with an average attendance of 21,057, followed by Brondby with an average of 16,604. Aarhus are next with 11,318 whilst FC Nordsjaelland had the lowest average of 3,670.

Round 17

The Friday night game of the weekend saw 6^th placed Silkeborg, unbeaten in their last 5 away matches and with 10 goals in the last two, visit 7^th placed Aarhus, who had won their last 4 home matches. Unfortunately, Aarhus do not play in the middle of our street but home is instead the impressive 19,433 capacity Ceres Park in Denmark’s second city.

The home side started strongly and had a strong appeal for a penalty after only 2 minutes when midfielder Albert Gronbaek fell to the ground after an attempted tackle by Nicklas Helenius. After a lengthy VAR review an offside was spotted earlier in the move, so negating the need for any decision as to whether or not a foul had been committed !

AGF were aggressive from the start and won nearly all of the 50/50 challenges in the early stages, and this positive approach led to them taking the lead in the 16^th minute. 

Iceland midfielder Stefan Thordarson was caught in possession by Gronbaek as Silkeborg tried to play out from the back, and an immediate pass fed Mustapha Bundu to cut inside Calisir and smartly finish left-footed from just inside the area. The Sierra Leone international started his career at The Craig Bellamy Academy followed by a spell at Hereford United where he was part of the side that won the FA Vase. His form at Hereford led to a successful trial with AGF, from where he was signed by Anderlecht. With opportunities limited at Anderlecht, he is now back at AGF on a season long loan.

Silkeborg gradually got a foothold into the match and their first decent chance arrived in the 24th minute when from cross by Rasmus Carstensen on the right wing, the unmarked Helenius took time to place his header, but the ex-Aston Villa man placed it wide of the post from 8 yards.

The match then became end to end with both sides having near misses. For Silkeborg, a dangerous cross from the left just evaded Thordarson, and Jorgensen saw a shot blocked by defender Tingager. For AGF, Anderson sent a dangerous cross from the by-line across face of goal, and after Kahl played a 1:2 with Gronbaek, his pull-back was blazed over the bar by Mortensen.

However, Silkeborg finished the half on top. Jorgensen and Carstensen combined down the right and a driven low cross from by-line from Carstensen was parried by AGF keeper Hansen, and Jorgensen’s subsequent shot was also saved.

In first-half stoppage time Helenius’ shot from 12 yards was blocked by Hansen and looped up for the on-rushing Vallys to head goal-wards from close range, but he was denied by a remarkable follow-up save by Hansen, who was able to react and push the header onto the underside of the bar and for Tingager to hoof to safety. Silkeborg deserved to go into the interval on level terms, and 21 year old wing-back Rasmus Carstensen increasingly caught the eye, but AGF went to the dressing rooms with the one goal lead.

The pattern of the second half was quickly established as heavy rain began to fall, Silkeborg having the majority of possession but the home side looking dangerous on the counter, especially when Bundu was involved. On the hour mark, the Sierra Leone forward was able to run onto his own pass and then cross to Gronbaek, but the shot went over the bar. Five minutes later Gronbaek released Bundu to run clear on goal but he unselfishly played the ball across the goal where centre-back Brink made a sliding interception, the ball struck his keeper before falling to Mortensen. Unfortunately for AGF, their striker’s snap-shot from 8 yard struck the base of the post.

Silkeborg responded immediately with Vallys sweeping a low corner at the near post for Hansen to block with a leg, but the equalizer finally arrived in the 70^th minute. Carstensen start the move on the right touch-line and after a couple of first time passes, Helenius chipped forward for Carstensen to control on his chest, take a touch and fire underneath Hansen from just inside the area.

AGF Belgian defender D’Alberto then nearly scored a superb own goal in the 78^th minute but his header went just wide with Hansen beaten.

As the clock ticked down AGF had two good chance to take the three points. First Bundu and Poulsen combined to put substitute Kurminowski clear but the Polish substitute could only chip weakly straight to the Silkeborg keeper. A minute later, Links volleyed a shot-cum-cross from the left which was heading into the top corner before being athletically clawed away by keeper Larsen.

In the last minute, Vallys was put clear, but Silkeborg’s top scorer was unable to make a clean connection and his left footed shot was easily saved, and in added on time Rojkjaer cut in from the left but his curling shot drifted just wide of the upright.

Overall, a draw was probably a fair result from an entertaining game, as despite Silkeborg have 65% of the possession, both sides created an equal number of decent chances.

The two Sunday afternoon fixtures saw newly promoted 8^th placed Viborg have an opportunity to move further away from any potential relegation struggle with a victory at home to SonderjyskE and the winner of the tie between Odense BK and FC Nordsjaelland having an opportunity to make a big stride away from danger in a battle between 9^th and 10th.

Viborg got off to an ideal start with just under 10 minutes on the clock when 19 year old Tobias Bech skipped past an ineffectual challenge from Albaek and drilled a left-footed shot inside the near post from 18 yards. However, the game turned 15 minutes later, when after a lengthy VAR review Viborg’s Dutch centre-back Lars Kramer was shown a red card for pulling back Cameroonian striker Moumbanga. The only surprise was that the original decision was only a yellow card and it took so long to review and upgrade to a red card, so obvious was it that there were no covering defenders to mitigate the offence.

VAR was soon involved again. From a corner, Viborg keeper Mikkel Andersen, formally of Reading, Brighton, Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth, could only weakly parry Soren Reese’s header from close to the penalty spot, and SonderjyskeE defender Marc del Hende tapped the ball into the empty net from about a foot out. He looked well off-side and the referee awarded the free-kick.  However, after a delay off over 2 minutes the goal was eventually awarded with a Viborg defender’s shoelaces presumably playing del Hende on-side !

Despite having 60% of the possession, SonderjyskE were unable take advantage of the extra man, and Viborg held on pretty comfortable for the draw.

FC Nordsjaelland ( FCN ), one of the many fusion clubs in Denmark and based in the town of Farum, which is around 40km north of Copenhagen, started strongly with young Ivorian winger Simon Adingra looking lively, forcing a smart save from OB keeper Bernat and then crossing for Finnish striker Antman to flick wide from a good position. Bernat then also saved well from Andersen’s long-range effort.

Odense BK, located on the island of Funen and in the third largest city in Denmark, took the lead against the run of play in the 19^th minute.  Tunisian forward Issam Jebali burst between Thychosen and Hansen after a pass from Frokjaer to shot home from 16 yards past the motionless keeper. They nearly doubled the lead 10 minutes later when USA midfielder Emmanuel Sabbi played a cute ball through a huge gap in the middle of the FCN defence to Bashrim Kadrii, but his shot was well blocked by the FCN keeper.

Nordsjaelland had most of the possession in the second half, and 59% overall, but they were unable to create any clear-cut chances. Antman did have a low drive well saved but with less than a minute of regular time left to play, Jebali played a nice flick over the flat back line for Max Fenger to collect and coolly finish to settle the match at 2-0.

The late afternoon game saw 5^th placed Brondby host 4^th placed Randers FC, and Brondby continued their impressive run with a 6^th consecutive win with a 1-0 victory thanks to Mikael Uhre’s 11^th strike of the season in the 26^th minute. As a result, Brondby moved up into third.

The goal came when Randers Norwegian midfielder Lasse Berg Johansen was caught in possession in midfield, and after Croatian forward Marko Divkovic’s 20 yard effort rebounded off the post, Uhre clinically finished to give Brondby the lead. Randers best response was Erik Marxen’s header from a corner with slammed against the top of the bar and over.

Brondby had a couple of decent chances to extend their led early in the second half, but Maxso saw his header hit his own player, and then in the 57^th minute Slimane saw his instinctive volley blocked at close range after Frendrup’s shot had been parried.

With time running out Randers staged a grandstand finish. Eight minutes from the end Odey had his shot well saved at the near post, and in the 8^th minute of added on time, Kehinde’s snap shot from 15 yards resulted in an outstanding save from Brondby keeper Hermansen.

The Sunday evening match saw 3^rd placed Aalborg host 2^nd placed FC Copenhagen and the visitors registered a 3-1 victory to keep the pressure on leaders FC Midtjylland. Despite this, the main talking points was the performance of 16 year old Roony Bardghji. In just his second match for FCK, only two weeks past his 16^th birthday, and sounding like something England’s record goalscorer might order in an Indian restaurant, Kuwaiti born Under 17 Swedish international Roony became reportedly the youngster ever goalscorer in the history of the Superliga, and his performance sent some parts of social media in raptures about his footwork, and his mazy running drew comparisons to a slalom skier !

FCK took the lead in the 15^th minute when Lukas Lerager, formerly of Genoa, Bordeaux and Zulte Waregem, rose above his marker to head a cross from the right wing. The header wasn’t particularly powerful, but it had enough on it to evade the dive of AaB keeper Jacob Rinne, who really ought to have done better, and the ball ended up inside the post. FCK’s lead only lasted a minute before another piece of suspect goal-keeping handed the home side the equaliser. Kusk was played in down the left channel but his cross should have nestled in the bread basket of keeper Grabara. Unfortunately for the ex-Huddersfield Polish custodian, the ball spilt from his grasp and Louka Prip reacted the quickest to scramble the ball over the line.

Roony then got in the act in the 30^th minute, picking up a return pass and running at the retreating defence before unleashing a left-footed shot from over 25 yards, which bounced over the outstretched arm of the diving Rinne, and into the bottom corner.

FCK extended their lead 10 minutes later when a low cross from the right by Ankersen found 18 year old William Boving alone on the 6 yard line for a simple finish. At the first glance he looked offside and the TV replay seemed to confirm this, but the goal stood !

FCK nearly extended their lead even further early in the second half, but this time Rinne was able to make a strong block to a shot from Roony and then AaB keeper made another decent save after Roony had put Boving in space. AaB’s only response was a long range effort from Prip that Grabara tipped over the bar for a corner.

The 2021 league schedule finished with the Monday night match-up between bottom of the table Vejle at home to league leaders FC Midtjylland. The Vejle starting line-up included defender Jerome Opoku, on a season long loan from Fulham, having spent previously loans at Plymouth and Accrington Stanley. The Midtjylland side included keeper Jonas Lossl, who was at Huddersfield during their two recent seasons in the Premiership, but top scorer Junior Brumado was suspended.

Vejle started brightly, and after just three minutes Albanian winger Arbnor Mucolli skinned left back Juninho but saw his shot deflected narrowly wide. Mucolli and Molgaard looked dangerous down the right side as Vejle passed nicely and looked to move the ball quickly.

The visitors gradually got into the game, cheered on by a sizeable contingent who had made the 75 km journey from Herning, and half-chances started to rapidly arrive. Isaksen headed over when well placed, Cools volleyed straight at the Vejle keeper Grytebust after some good chest control, Isaksen sent a 25 yard left-footed shot which was well save at this near post by Grytebust, Sisto shot over and, Lind badly mis-kicked inside the 6 yard area enabling a grateful Grytebust to get a hand to the ball for Kolinger to hack clear. It felt like a goal was coming and just before the interval, Evander saw his curling shot from out wide on the left pushed behind for a corner and then Lind shot wide. It somehow stayed 0-0.

Eight minutes into the second half it was Midtjylland’s turn for a slice of good fortune, when Molgaard’s header struck the arm of Paulinho, whose arm clearly moved to change the direction of the ball, but somehow VAR did not intervene to award the penalty.

Three minutes later the visitors took the lead. Grytebust lost his bearings at a corner from Evander, and at the back post ex-Celtic defender Erik Sviatchenko escaped the clutches of Vejle centre-back Manjrekar James to head home from a couple of yards.

Vejle were unable to respond and Midtjylland looked to be easing to the three points, and nearly scored again when an incisive pass from Evander gave Lind the chance to get a shot away, but Grytebust made another fine save low down at this near post, and two minutes into added on time the Vejle keeper made another good diving save to keep out Evander’s header.

These saves proved to be vital, as with the clock into the 4^th minute of 5 added on time, Faroe Islands midfielder Hallur Hansson launched a great cross into the Midtjylland area, and substitute Djordjevic headed back across goal for the unexpected equaliser !

Danish Sides in Europe

Champions Brondby have had a miserable European campaign. Eliminated from the Champions League at the first hurdle by Red Bull Salzburg after losing both legs, 1-2, they are yet to win in their Europa League group with just home draws with Rangers ( 1-1 ) and Sparta Prague ( 0-0 ), with two defeats to Lyon ( 1-3 and 0-3 ) and a loss in Glasgow ( 0-2 ). They need to win their final match in Prague to drop into the Europa Conference and continue playing in Europe.

Runners-up FC Midtjylland entered the Second Qualifying Round of the Champions League, and knocked out Glasgow Celtic with a 2-1 home win in extra time, after a 1-1 draw in Scotland. PSV Eindhoven were too strong in the next round though, winning comfortably 4-0 on aggregate. Although currently in third position in their Europa League group, a victory in their last game at winless Ludogorets in Bulgaria will see them qualify for the knock-out stages, but they are guaranteed at least a place in the Europa Conference regardless of the result. They started the group slowly, with a 1-1 draw at home to Ludogorets and then lost 1-3 at Sporting Braga. At 1-1 home draw with Crvena Zvezda ( Red Star Belgrade ) followed before a 1-0 win in Serbia got their campaign back on the rails. An injury time winner in a 3-2 home win over Braga this week maintained their hopes.

Third placed FC Copenhagen have had an impressive Europa Conference season having already won their group to progress to the knock-out phases in the spring with a game to spare. Their run to the group stages resulted in straight-forward wins over Torpedo Zhodino of Belarus ( 9-1 on aggregate ), Lokomotiv Plovdiv ( 5-3 ) and Turkish side Sivasspor ( 7-1 ). Although they suffered a 1-2 home reverse to PAOK Salonika, they avenged this with a 2-1 triumph in Greece. Expected victories were chalked up over Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar ( 3-1 and 4-0 ), and they started the group with a 3-1 win at Slovan Bratislava, with the return fixture to come.

FC Randers enter the Europa League play-off round but were eliminated by Galatasaray 2-3 on aggregate. They are unbeaten in their Europa Conference group but just one win, a 2-1 win over Romanian’s CFR Cluj, means they need a win in their last game at AZ Alkmaar to ensure qualification to the knock-rounds. Failing that, they would need to match the result of Jablonec in their final game.

In contrast to the successes of the other Danish sides in Europe, Aarhus fell at the first attempt in the Europa Conference, unexpectedly being eliminated 2-3 on aggregate by Larne from Northern Ireland.

Review : Taiwan 2021 Mulan Premier League – Round 6

November 27, 2021

Taoyuan International 0-1 Taipei Bravo

Kaohsiung Sunny Bank 3-0 Hang Yuen

Hualien 1-0 Taichung Blue Whale

After a break of nearly 7 months due to season being suspended due to increased Covid cases in Taiwan, the 2021 Mulan Premier League resumed last week. Only 3 rounds of fixtures had been completed when the league came to a halt early in May, but with conditions now deemed suitable to continue, the CTFA decided to reduce the season to just 10 league matches, and postpone the Magnolia Cup until the spring.  The revised fixture schedule requires the sides to also play in mid-week to enable 7 matches to be played between November 20^th and the end of the season on December 11^th.

The Taiwan national side did see some action in October, travelling to Bahrain to play in a qualifying tournament for the 2022 Asian Cup, and qualified for the finals in India in January thanks to victories over Laos ( 4-0 ) and hosts Bahrain ( 2-0 ).

Taoyuan had lost all three of the games before break without scoring a goal. In an effort to strengthen their side they had signed Costa Ricans Daniely Arguedas and Britany Lewis as well as Sarah Bangura from Sierra Leone. However, the new players hadn’t had much impact in terms of improving results as Taoyuan lost both matches on the resumption, being thrashed 0-5 by Kaohsiung and 0-4 by Taichung Blue Whale.

Taipei Bravo went into the encounter without a win since the opening day of the season, when they beat Taoyuan 5-0, but only an equalizer two minutes from time prevented them recording a victory over Kaohsiung in mid-week.

Taipei Bravo look the lead in the 7^th minute when Wang ( No 6 ) got behind the defensive line and crossed left footed across the face of the goal for national forward Hsing Hui Lin ( No 14 ) to have a simple finish inside the 6 yard area. However, despite having nearly all of the possession, Taipei Bravo were unable to add to their lead. Ding ( No 7 ) twice came close in the first half, but after Wang’s shot from the edge of the area crashed back against a post, Bravo were reduced to hopeful long range efforts. Taoyuan never troubled the Bravo keeper but may see a one goal defeat as a reason to be optimistic.

Kaohsiung Sunny Bank have had a much better year than last season, when they won only one match, and drew with Taipei Bravo last time out. Hang Yuen showed their defensive qualities by holding champions Hualien to a 0-0 draw in mid-week, so a close match was expected.

There was little to chose between the two sides in the first half, but Kaohsiung went into the interval with a 1-0 lead thanks to a header from Lee Hsih Chen ( No 10 ) from Yang Yahan’s ( No 21 ) in-swinging corner, the ex-Taichung Blue Whale star evading her marker to power home from the edge of the 6 yard box in the 19^th minute.

Hang Yuen pressed for an equalizer in the second half but Kaohsiung held firm and took a firm grip on the match 10 minutes from time when Yang Yahan laid the ball back from close to the by-line for Lee Hsih Chen to sweep home between the keeper and her near post for her second goal of the game. Yang Yahan added a third two minutes later, sliding in at the far post to steer a cross from the left into the empty net.

Leaders Taichung Blue Whale visited champions Hualien in the tie of the round. The two sides had played a cagey 0-0 draw on the opening day of the season, since which Taichung had won their next four matches, whilst Hualien unexpectedly dropped points in a home 0-0 draw with Hang Yuen to drop to second place. Taichung though had been weakened by the departure of top scorer Michelle Pao, who had reportedly left Taiwan for a job as an engineer in the USA.

In a match of very few chances, the decisive moment came in the 27^th minute when an attempted clearance hit Hualien striker Wu Shi Ping ( No 13 ) and fell kindly to the unmarked Chen Ya Wei ( No 7 ) to smash home from 8 yards off the inside of the post. Hualien move above Taichung to the top of the table, and with just 4 matches remaining sit in pole position to retain their title.

Belarus Football 2021 – Week 30

November 28, 2021

The Belarus Premier League 2021 season reaches its final day, with some medal places already determined, but with several others still up for grabs !

Champions : Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Runners-Up : BATE Borisov or Dinamo Minsk

Fourth : Gomel or Rukh ( will qualify for the Europa Conference if BATE or Dinamo Minsk win the 2021/22 Belarus Cup )

Relegation Play-off : Energetik, Neman or Slavia. In the event of two sides being level on points the respective records against each other will coming into play. Neman have a better record against both Energetik and Slavia, but Energetik and Slavia have the same record against each other so it will come down to goal-difference, where Slavia currently hold a three goal advantage. FK Minsk are safe as Energetik can only draw level on points with them, and Minsk have the better head-to-head record. Slutsk are save as Energetik can’t over take them once the 3 points from the Sputnik default are added to Slutsk’s points tally.The loser will play either NFK Krumkachy or Volna Pinsk over two-legs

Relegated : Smorgon and Sputnik

Promoted : Arsenal Dzerzhinsk & Belshina Bobruisk

Hopefully the ABFF will repeat last week's around the grounds live action updates on its YouTube channel !

BATE Borisov vs FK Vitebsk ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

BATE are hot favourites to take second place having lost only one home match all season, whilst with 4 consecutive losses, Vitebsk have given the impression of having gone on holiday several weeks ago. 2-0

Result : 4-0. For nearly 70 minutes it looked like the Big Blue Bus of Vitebsk had returned after a lengthy spell off the road for extensive repairs. A combination of resolute defending, good goal-keeping and, on two occasions the woodwork, had succeeding in thwarting BATE’s aspirations of finishing second. However, once Gromyko was given space to turn and run at the defence and curl a left-footed shot from outside of the area into the bottom corner for an outstanding individual goal, the wheels fell off the proverbial bus.

Three goals in the last 10 minutes, from Signevich, Yablonski ( a 20 yard screamer ) and Yusov saw BATE ease to the three points and the runners-up medals.

FK Slavia Mozyr vs Dinamo Minsk ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

A win for Slavia would ensure their safety regardless of results elsewhere. Dinamo are still in the hunt for the runners-up place, but may only have pride to play for depending on the news from Borisov. 1-2

Result : 0-0. Despite the score line, this was a cracking match, especially towards the end with Slavia throwing caution to the wind in search of the goal needed to win the match and so avoid the relegation play-offs, but at the same time leaving themselves open to counter-attacks from Dinamo. There must have been at least 10 good chances in an end-to-end last 10 minutes, evenly split between the two sides, which neither side could take. Slavia’s players were particularly guilty of going for glory rather than passing to a better placed colleague.

Encouraged by a boisterous and hostile home crowd, Slavia played above themselves, but ultimately it wasn’t enough on the day. Dinamo keeper Khatkevich gave a reminder as to why he became the national keeper last season with three fine saves to deny Essogo and another 12 minutes from time from Alshanik. Dinamo also had some good chances, in the first half Selyava hit the post and Bakhar shot narrowly over.

Rukh Brest vs Dinamo Brest ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

Both sides played last week as if they wished the season had ended. However, the Brest derby should focus minds and attract a decent crowd. Rukh have never beaten Dinamo. 1-1

Result : 3-2. Both sides belied their recent indifferent form to serve up an entertaining derby. Rukh had the better of the first 25 minutes and it wasn’t too much of a surprise when they took the lead, Shevchenko bending to head home Kontsevoy’s corner. Dinamo though, were back on level terms with a minute thanks to Bilenkyi’s exquisite turn to beat Grechikho and a calm finish beyond Pavlyuchenko.

Dinamo then had their turn to be on top, and Pavlyuchenko made two top saves to prevent Potorocha giving the “away” side the lead.

With the scores level at half-time, Rukh took the lead 10 minutes into the second half when a sloppy pass out from the back by Yasukevich was intercepted by Cepenkov, and a return pass from Kontsevoy gave the Rukh midfielder a simple finish. Yet again though, Rukh’s lead lasted barely a minute and Bilenkyi swept home the equalizer with 4 defenders in close attendance for his 13^th goal of the season. Dinamo’s Tikhonovskiy then hit the outside of the post when well placed.

The decisive moment of the match came in the 79^th minute when Yudchits poor control enabled Kovalevich to steal possession from him and the Dinamo defender’s attempted to recover the situation resulted in Kovalevich being brought down. Those of us expecting Noyak’s penalty to find row Z or the car park were disappointed as the spot-kick slammed into the roof of the net.

Dinamo were unable to respond within a minute for the third time but as the game entered added on time, Pavlychenko’s poor goal-kick went straight to Affi, and as the Dinamo centre-back headed towards goal, Kiki had little alternative other than to bring him down for an obvious red card. The free-kick from Lotysh was heading for the top corner, but Pavlyuchenko manage to get a finger tip to push onto the post and off for a corner.

Shakhtyor Soligorsk vs FK Gomel ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

Having won the title, Shakhtyor have shown no signs of easing up and will be out to avenge their home cup defeat to Gomel. Defeat could see Gomel finish 5^th, which would be disappointing after offering so much this season. 3-1

Result : 0-1. Just like in the reverse fixture in Gomel, Andrei Solovei scored in the first minute, running onto a flicked header to calmly round keeper Chernik to walk the ball into the net, but this time there was to be no rousing come-back from Shakhtyor. Chikida missed a good chance for Gomel, before Solovei had a goal chalked off for off-side, which must have been a very marginal decision. Solovei also saw an in-swinging corner rebound off a post and out to safety. For Shakhtyor, Stasevich and Darboe had good chances but the visitors deservedly led at the interval.

Shakhtyor were unable to apply much pressure in the second half, and slipped to their first home defeat of the season, as Gomel held on to finish 4^th in a remarkable first season back in the Premier League. 

FK Isloch vs Energetik BGU Minsk ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

A must win for Energetik and an Isloch side with 3 consecutive losses are just about the best opposition they could face. Energetik though have just one win in their last 11 matches. 0-0

Result : 0-4. Energetik ensured their survival for another season with an embarrassingly easy victory over an Isloch side that showed little interest to compete. Energetik took the lead in the 15^th minute, Isloch’s Patotskiy passed straight to Abdukhalikov, whose low shot from just outside of the corner nestled in the corner of the net. It was effectively game over after 32 minutes when poor defending from Shalashnikov allowed Mamadu to turn and smash home from just outside the 6 yard area for 2-0.

Substitute Conde did force Makavchik to make one decent save but any lingering doubt was removed by a second yellow card just after the hour mark to Ruslan Lisakovich after a needless challenge. Mamadu added his second, and Sokol thumped a free-kick through the wall to complete the scoring. I doubt Isloch will be receiving many Christmas cards from Slavia !

Neman Grodno vs Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

Neman need a win to be sure of survival but they have taken just one point from their last 5 matches, although they did play the top four in that sequence. A win for Torpedo could see them finish 6^th, but Neman should get the result they need at home. 2-0

Result : 3-1. Neman comfortably achieved the win they required over a compliant Torpedo side. A soft penalty award after 26 minutes put them on their way, when Premudrov was adjudged to have brought down Olatund, and Gribovskiy despatched the spot-kick. A nice move 10 minutes later saw Olatund play an inside pass for Shukurov to run on to and fire past Abramovich in the Torpedo goal.

Gribovskiy was left in freedom to smash home Neman’s third goal from 6 yards in the 56^th minute to confirm the home side’s safety, and although Torpedo did claim a consolation goal from Premudrov it had no bearing on the final result.

FK Smorgon vs FK Minsk ( Sunday @ 10.00 UK time )

Neither side have anything to play for. Smorgon have taken 5 points from their last 4 games and continuing to battle despite having been doomed a long time ago. With Minsk now safe, the Bears could bow out with a victory. 2-1

Result : 1-0. Smorgon bowed out of the Belarus Premier League with a deserved final day win over lacklustre FK Minsk. The only goal of the game came in the 25^th minute after Minsk midfielder Kozlov lost possession near half-way.  Camara ran at the retreating Minsk back-line and played the ball off to Nuradin, for the on-loan BATE striker to score his first goal for Smorgon.

The winning margin could have been greater but Minsk keeper Prishivalko made good second half saves to deny Sibilev and Pasevich. Minsk rarely threatened and will be glad the season is over.

Summary :

BATE Borisov 4-0 FK Vitebsk ( att : 2,160 )
FK Slavia Mozyr 0-0 Dinamo Minsk ( att : 3,350 )
Rukh Brest 3-2 Dinamo Brest ( att : 1,400 )
Shakhtyor Soligorsk 0-1 FK Gomel ( att : 1,205 )
FK Isloch 0-4 Energetik BGU Minsk ( att : 100 )
Neman Grodno 3-1 Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino ( att : 710 )
FK Smorgon 1-0 FK Minsk ( att : 233 )

Highlights :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sw1XdMYny4

Comments

So, the curtain came down on the 2021 season, with BATE clocking up the expected home win over Vitebsk to secure second place. leaving Dinamo Minsk in third place.

By inflicting Shakhtyor’s only home defeat of the season, Gomel clinched an impressive 4^th place finish, leaving Rukh having to settle for a disappointing 5^th place after their significant investments.

After their extensive upheavals suffered before the start of the season, a 6^th place finish for Dinamo Brest was a noteworthy achievement, but in perspective, 14^th placed Slavia gathered only 6 points fewer. Outside of the top 5 and the bottom 2, none of the sides in the Premier League stood out and they all struggled to put together any decent stretches of form. This did lead to a fascinating battle to avoid the one relegation play-off position, and whilst Slavia will face NFK Krumkachy for the right to remain in the Premier League, it could easily have been any one of a number of sides. Nevertheless, if Slavia can repeat the form they displayed in their 10 matches, where they only lost twice, they should be too strong for the Ravens.

In the 7 matches, there were 19 goals, two penalties ( both scored ) and two red cards. 

Chippenham 27-18 Frome ( att : 250 ) - 2021/22 South-West 1 East

November 20, 2021

With another weekend away in Wiltshire, we decided to make a return visit to Chippenham RFC, particularly as Mrs Fatbear enjoyed our time there in September when they were beaten by Trowbridge in an entertaining game.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2021/09/chippenham-23-33-trowbridge-att-300.html

Since then Chippenham lost a further 5 league games to have a played 8, lost 8 record, although that run finally came to end in their last outing, when Witney were overcome 25-21 at Allington Fields, but they remained second from bottom in the table. A win today could see Chippenham move out of the relegation places and into mid-table, such is the congestion in the bottom half of the table.

Today’s visitors Frome made the 20 or so mile journey from Somerset and were also in desperate need of points. Having been promoted to this level after a second place finish in the 2019/20 Southern Counties South division, they sat level on points with Chippenham but a place higher due to having won two matches. Home wins were registered over Windsor ( 38-19 ) and Buckingham ( 20-19 ), their most recent fixture, holding onto a one-point lead in the final 20 minutes of the game. All four away matches were heavily lost though, conceding 43, 36, 45 and 54 points respectively.

Entrance was still £5 per car and programmes were free. Some of the beers on tap were different this time with the ales, all apparently £3 per pint, ranging from Tribute, Doom Bar, Bellringer and Butcombe whilst the lagers included Staropramen and Pravda. I went for the Staropramen ( £4.25 ) whilst Mrs Fatbear tucked into the Prosecco ( £5.50 ). Whilst waiting for me at the entrance to the clubhouse Mrs Fatbear engaged in some conversation with one of the staff who was most surprised when asking were we supporting the home side or the visitors to hear we were neutrals, as if this was almost an unheard of event !

The weather was dry and temperatures 12 degrees at kick-off, which was 3pm local time, with the home side choosing to play under floodlights rather than starting at 2.30pm as per the other matches in the division.

Frome started strongly, and after a series of drives close to the Chippenham line their forwards barged over to claim a 0-5 lead after 5 minutes, with the conversion going wide.

Chippenham quickly responded to win a penalty within kicking distance mid-way into the Frome half but fly-half Dowell pushed his kick wide. When the play returned to the other end, Chippenham conceded a penalty and Thompson ( number 20 ) successfully converted from just outside the 22 to give the visitors an 0-8 lead after 14 minutes.

Chippenham again responded well, and after a penalty was kicked to the corner, they won the line-out and spread the ball to their backs. However, good defensive work led to a ruck and although a Frome forward was clearly off his feet at the breakdown he got away with it, and won the penalty.

From the line-out, Frome’s centre Davin Jones ( number 13 ) made a great break and made 50 yards into the Chippenham but the danger was eventually snuffed out.

After 24 minutes, Chippenham were awarded a penalty just inside the Frome half and after a quick tap they made progress into the Frome 22 until a knock-on ended the move. However, they soon had a line-out into the Frome 22 and from the catch and drive hooker Louis Snape was driven over for the try. Dowell was again wide with his kick to leave the score 5-8.

Three minutes later Chippenham won their line out and spread the ball through their backline, with winger Ayliffe being released to dive over in the corner. Again, the conversion was missed, but Chippenham led 10-8 after 30 minutes.

Two minutes later, Frome winger Bull made a good break but dropped the ball under little pressure. Chippenham gathered the ball and fly-half Dowell launched a pretty poor cross-field kick into the Frome half. Luckily for him there was a fortunate bounce which enabled Chippenham to gather the ball, and full-back Jack Lowe was released to run in under the posts. With the easy conversion, the home side now led 17-8.

With the clock edging to half-time Frome centre Jones made another jinking run but was stopped by a high tackle. Rather than taking the straight forward three points, Frome kicked to the corner. After winning the line-out their forwards rumbled across the pitch, but it looked like one of the forwards dropped the ball in the act of crossing the line. Chippenham survived and went into the interval with a 17-8 lead.

Frome came out of the blocks strongly at the start of the second half and after a scrum midway into the second half, full-back Thompson made a good break only to be tackled about 5 yards short of the try-line. Chippenham won a penalty at the ensuing ruck and were able to clear their lines.

Chippenham then had their own spell of pressure, but a 5 metre line-out was stolen by Frome, and then a fairly straight forward penalty was missed. In response, Frome won a scrum penalty against the head and kicked to the corner. After winning the line-out and releasing their backs, a high tackle on the centre led to a mass hand-bags brawl, and once things calmed down, Thompson opted to take the easy three points to bring the score back to 17-11.

Frome were starting to get on top, and after another scrum penalty were back in the Chippenham 22. However, the home side won the line-out and flanker Bean made a storming run back into the Frome half. Frome though won another penalty and after a quick tap made progress back to the Chippenham 22. After several phases, the ball was sent down the blind-side channel but the attack was stopped just short of the try-line. Frome continued to press and eventually Button was forced over the line and under the posts, and with the conversion the visitors now led 17-18 after 64 minutes.

Chippenham upped the tempo and although Frome were able to defend a 5 metre line-out and win a scrum, a clearing kick was partially blocked and full-back Low released winger Ayliffe but his jinking run was halted just short of the try-line. After a series of drives, prop Marshall was driven over the line, and with an easy conversion the home side regained the lead, 24-18 with around 10 minutes left to play.

Frome responded to going behind by kicking a penalty to the corner but after several drives a knock-on gave Chippenham some temporary respite. The home side were pushed back in a scrum but no penalty was awarded and from a pick-up and go they were pushed into touch for a line-out on their 22.

Frome won their line-out thanks to a majestic leap by Mallon,their number 8, and after a couple of midfield charges, a dam-buster pass meant the momentum lost and a fly-hack took the play back to half-way.

Frome lost their line-out, and then a knock on gave a scrum to the home-side. Number 8 Faosiliva picked up at the base of the scrum and made 20 yards into the Frome 22 but the move was thwarted by a forward pass.

With the clock ticking into the red zone, Frome tried to keep ball in hand but another knock-on gave possession away, and after another good run by Ayliffe, Frome were caught off-side, giving Dowell a simple kick to put Chippenham clear at 27-18.

From somewhere the referee found 10 minutes of added time, but despite Frome pressing to get a score to get back to losing bonus point range, another knock-on gave possession back to the home side, and a kick to touch ended the match with a 5-0 point win for Chippenham. Frome will probably feel they should have taken something from the game, but too many handling errors at key moments proved costly. Chippenham moved upto 11^th in the table,  and face a trip to bottom of the table Grove next week. Frome host fellow strugglers Witney.

 

Belarus Football 2021 – Week 29

November 20, 2021

After the international break, where the Belarus national side suffered a 1-5 defeat to Wales in Cardiff, thanks to a combination of dodgy goal-keeping, individual mistakes and good play from the Welsh, followed by a shrewdly arranged home fixture to protect/improve their FIFA ranking with a 1-0 home win against higher ranked Jordan, the penultimate round of the Belarus Premier League is played out this weekend.

At the top, BATE and Dinamo Minsk will be looking to register victories to stay in the top three positions, whilst Rukh and Gomel will be looking to keep up the pressure. With a visit to Torpedo, BATE have the toughest fixture of the round out of the top five.

There are also some crucial matches at the bottom to avoid the relegation play-off, with perhaps the key match being the Energetik vs Slavia tie, from which the loser would be deep in the mire. Elsewhere, Minsk still need a point or perhaps two, and will be hoping to ensure their safety against Isloch.

Slutsk still to have three points for the Sputnik default to be added to their total, so should be safe on 32 points even if they lose to Rukh. Should a series of unlikely results occur, Neman will also still have another week to avoid the third bottom place should they lost at Dinamo Minsk.

All matches are scheduled to kick-off at the same time, namely 13.00 local time, 10.00 am UK time, so it may require a lot of switching between the Bet365 streams to keep up with developments !

Dinamo Minsk vs Neman Grodno ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

A must-win for Dinamo if they hope to finish in second place, and whilst Neman might still need a point to stay clear of the relegation play-offs, they should be safe. 2-0

Result : 2-0. Two goals in the first 15 minutes by Po with assists from Putilo settled any anxieties Dinamo may have had. Neman responded positively and had a good go at Dinamo, Gribovskiy had an effort ruled out for offside and Zubovich struck the crossbar.

However, Dinamo maintained their led to half-time and in the second half seemed content to hold to what they had. Indeed, the main highlights of the second period were a couple of fouls !

Dinamo Brest vs Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

Dinamo have little to play for so the champions’ class should prevail. 0-1

Result : 0-3. After Djordje Ivanovic gave Shakhtyor an 8^th minute lead, the Champions strolled to victory over a subdued Dinamo side lacking the energy and fight from the first half of the season. Igor Ivanovic added another before the break after good work from Darboe, and Djordje added his second just after the restart to make it Dinamo 0 Ivanovic 3…….

Energetik BGU Minsk vs FK Slavia Mozyr ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

Probably the match of the day, being virtually a must win for Slavia to avoid the play-off and a must not lose for Energetik. Will be tight and tense. 1-1

Result : 2-3. A vital win for Slavia to take them above Energetik in the table, but the result still left both sides in trouble with one more game to play. Some slack marking allowed Barsukov to give the visitors a second minute lead, and Slavia looked the more purposeful side and deserved to be ahead at the half-time break. They extended their lead 2 minutes into the second half through Malkevich’s close range effort but Energetik struck back with a minute later with a calm finish from Papariga. However, Barsukov scored again soon after for a third goal in a four minute spell to give Slavia a 3-1 lead.

Energetik strove to get back into the game, and Ubaydullaev’s penalty 10 minutes from time gave them a life-line. Slavia though saw out the rest of match without any undue alarms to take three important points.

FK Minsk vs FK Isloch Minsk ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

Another key game at the bottom. Whilst Isloch are now safe, Minsk still need a point or two to be assured of avoiding the play-off. This could also be tension packed. 1-1

Result : 1-0. A huge win for Minsk in a scrappy game that sees them now safe from the relegation play-off, thanks to a better head-to-head record with Energetik. Bogomolskiy’s finish on around the half-hour mark was enough the settle the match, running onto a through ball and scoring from a tight angle.

Two minutes before, Isloch’s normally dependable Komarovsky had missed from the penalty spot after a handball had been spotted, smashing his kick down the centre of the goal but Prishivalko hadn’t moved and was able to block with his arms. Although Isloch had the majority of the possession they rarely looked like grabbing an equalizer.

FK Gomel vs FK Smorgon ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

A win for Gomel is essential if they are to maintain their hopes of finishing in third place, and whilst relegated Smorgon should be competitive, the home side should prevail. 3-1

Result : 0-0. A proverbial coupon buster as Smorgon again showed their battling spirit against the odds. They might even have snatched a remarkable victory had the normally reliable Pasevich not put a penalty high over the bar. Predictably, Gomel dominated the match but created very little against a determined and packed defence, with their best chance falling in the 94^th minute, but Nekrasov snatched at the chance and put the ball wide from close range.

Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino vs BATE Borisov ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

A crucial game for BATE who need to win if they are finish second, but it is the type of match they have recently been struggling to win . Torpedo are in decent form and are aiming to finish 6^th. 1-1

Result : 0-3. After an even and competitive first half, in which both sides missed good chances, the most notable being by Torpedo’s Aleksey Antilevski, BATE took the lead in the 57^th minute from a header by Signevich from a free-kick by Umarov. At first it looked like he had to be yards off-side and Torpedo protested furiously, but finally a decent TV angle was found which confirmed he had timed his run perfectly.

Torpedo pressed for an equalizer, and Aleksey Antilevski squandered another good chance. With 12 minutes remaining, Yusov’s ball across the face of the Torpedo’s goal left Signevich a simple finish for his second goal of the game, and Yusov added the third three minutes later to make the score-line a little flattering to the visitors.

FK Slutsk vs Rukh Brest ( Saturday @ 10.00 UK time )

Rukh have to win to stay in the race for a top three finish and with Slutsk virtually assured of their safety, the visitors should have a greater will to win. 0-2 

Result : 3-0. Slutsk confirmed their place in the top flight for next season with a surprisingly easy victory over a lack-lustre Rukh side in windy conditions. Butravich gave them the lead just before the interval after an exaggerated dummy by Semenov to Alfred’s low cross gave him the time and space to control and score. After Bakaj was shown a second yellow for an unnecessary challenge 6 minutes into the second period, goals from Sasin and Alfred wrapped up the three points for Slutsk, who could have easily have won by a bigger margin.

Summary :

Dinamo Minsk 2-0 Neman Grodno ( att : 1,307 )
Dinamo Brest 0-2 Shakhtyor Soligorsk ( att : 1,518 )
Energetik BGU Minsk 2-3 FK Slavia Mozyr ( att : 80 )
FK Minsk 1-0 FK Isloch Minsk ( att : 200 )
FK Gomel 0-0 FK Smorgon ( att : 4,100 )
Torpedo BelAZ Zhodino 0-3 BATE Borisov ( att : 1,360 )
FK Slutsk 3-0 Rukh Brest ( att : 538 )

Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N38ZCZqJPn4

Comments

There were several unexpected results this week, but at the top, wins for BATE and Dinamo Minsk confirmed both sides would now finish in 2^nd and 3^rd place, with the order to be decided by their final games. BATE are in pole position with a one point advantage and home fixture with Vitebsk to come.

Gomel were amazingly held at home by relegated Smorgon but Rukh’s lifeless showing at Slutsk leaves Gomel one point ahead in 4^th place. Both sides face tricky fixtures to finish the season, Gomel visit champions Shakhtyor whilst Rukh have a Brest derby to contend with.

At the bottom, Energetik’s loss at home Slavia saw them slip into the relegation play-off position, but they can still save themselves with a last day win at Isloch, who only have pride left to play-for. Slavia are far from safe and may well need to get something from their home tie against Dinamo Minsk. Neman’s defeat at Dinamo Minsk means they might need to beat Torpedo at home, but Slutsk’s victory means they are now safe, as their default 3 points from Sputnik puts them clear on 35 points. After their victory over Isloch, FK Minsk are also now mathematically safe.

The Belarus FA YouTube channel had a live show, moving from match to match as the action happened, a welcome return of live action on the official channel. Hopefully they will show something similar for the final set of fixtures next week !

In the 7 matches, there were 17 goals, three penalties ( two missed ) and one red card.