Round Eleven saw the league back to it’s full compliment of games after Minsk’s two week isolation period ended, and it began on Friday evening with two games….
Round Eleven – Friday 29th May
Torpedo BelAZ 2 Smolevichy STI 1
Hosts Torpedo really needed to bounce back after there woeful performance in defeat at Neman Grodno last weekend, and they were up against a side who were still searching for that elusive first win this season. It didn’t start well for the host either when they fell behind on the quarter hour mark when Makarov sent a bullet of a strike into the hosts net after Ramos lost the ball on the edge of his own box, and it looked like another hard weekend was upon the home side. But in the 34th minute Ramos made up for that error, as a free kick into the box saw a flick on hit him on his back and loop up and into the far corner as the teams went in level at the break. And Ramos was involved in the winning goal after 68 minutes, as after he was played in his effort was saved but it fell into the path of visitors skipper Zhevnerov who could only put the ball into his own net and give Torpedo the three points. A welcome win for the hosts then and it sees them stay third and four points behind leaders BATE, whilst Smolevichy remain second bottom and six points from safety.
Gorodeya 0 Neman Grodno 2
On paper most fancied the visitors prior to kick off, the hosts don’t score many and had drawn three of their last four, whilst Neman had swept Torpedo BelAZ aside last weekend in a very impressive display, and were looking climb further up the table with a win here. The visitors did most of the pressing in a goalless first half were neither keeper was really tested, but early in the second period Neman saw keeper Dudar given a straight red card after coming out of his goal and taking out an attacker as he tried to lift the ball beyond him, meaning the visitors would have to play the majority of the second half with ten men. Advantage hosts then? Well no not really as in the 66th minute Neman won a penalty after a foul inside the area, and the ever reliable Kadymyan stepped up to convert the spot kick, and then ten minutes later the ten man visitors doubled their lead when Yablonski followed in to net a rebound, meaning the visitors recorded back to back wins and lifted themselves into tenth and only three points off fifth!! Gorodeya though drop to fourth bottom after a poor display here.
Round Eleven – Saturday 30th May
Belshina 2 Slavia 3
Bottom side Belshina were still searching for their first win of the season, and had come close a couple of times recently, but last weekend’s heavy defeat at Shakhtyor was a disappointment, whilst visitors Slavia hadn’t won in three and were in the lower half of the table themselves so wanted to win to put more daylight between them and the dangerzone down at the bottom. The first half hour belonged to the hosts and they were two goals up inside 25 minutes, firstly when Bashilov produced a brilliant long range effort in off the post after 16 minutes, and seven minutes later it was two as Solanovich headed home a cross from the right, and you felt maybe just maybe they would now grab their first win and climb off the bottom. Well….on 32 minutes Slavia managed to pull one back when Nedashkovski nodded home, and then with thirteen minutes remaining it was all square after a cutback into the six yard box saw Kovel put the ball into his own net. It looked like a draw was the likely result with the hosts yet again disappointed after throwing a lead away to only get a point, but in the 89th minute disaster for Belshina as Narh swivelled on the edge of the box and sent a effort at goal which deflected and ended up in the top corner and Slavia had pinched all three points after a stunning comeback win!!! Absolute heartbreak for the hosts and this will take time to get over I’m sure, and they remain bottom of the league with no wins still and must be wondering if they will ever have a better chance of getting that elusive win here. For Slavia absolute joy after being outplayed for the opening half hour, and they rise to eighth and now only six points off a European spot!!! Madness!!
Dinamo Minsk 0 Shakhtyor 1
This game won’t live long in the memory that’s for sure, but a Lisakovich strike early in the second period settled this one at the Dinamo Stadium. The winning moment came five minutes into the second half when Lisakovich broke the offside trap and bent a decent finish beyond the keeper with the outside of his right foot. It also meant the visitors still have the meanest defence in world football, with nine clean sheets so far this season in eleven games and have now gone 595 minutes since last conceding a goal. Pretty special you have to say!!! It means they remain fourth and have now won three on the spin, whilst Minsk are down in 12th but are only four points off Slutsk in fifth!!! So tight.
Round Eleven – Sunday 31st May
Energetyk BGU 3 Vitebsk 3
Sunday’s triple header began in Minsk as Energetyk BGU were looking to go top ahead of BATE’s encounter against Isloch and were also looking to make it five straight wins in the process. Vitebsk were the visitors and were in a group of teams sitting just above the drop zone, albeit with a healthy gap to those sides in the bottom two, but after three successive draws they wanted three points. This turned out to be an absolute cracker and saw the visitors take a shock lead on eight minutes when Santos got in to slot home, but just past the half hour mark the hosts levelled when Bakic powered home a header. That began a remarkable end to the half as BGU then went in front seven minutes later as a poor defensive clearance was brilliantly volleyed home by Umarov, but two minutes later Vitebsk levelled from the spot through Nicolaescu after a needless foul inside the box. However, there was still time for BGU to retake the lead as a minute before the break a ball across the box was smashed home first time by Tweh, and a crazy twelve minutes ended with the hosts leading at the break. The early exchanges of the second period were not favourable for the home side, first of all they thought they had increased their lead, only to see the flag go up for offside as an attacker was standing offside and in the eyeline of the keeper, so after celebrating they were left disappointed at having the goal chalked off, and then ten minutes into the half Yudchits was shown a straight red card after going into a challenge, and it was very very harsh it had to be said, but they would now have to play the final 35 or so minutes with ten men. Well, they had to do a lot of defending for most of the remainder of the contest, but it looked like they had held out for a well-earned three points, that was until a ball into the box saw Cesar rise to power home a header for the visitors four minutes into stoppage time and rescue a point for Vitebsk with what was the final play of the game. It meant BGU’s winning run came to an end as they now sat level on points with leaders BATE before their game, whilst the visitors had their fourth successive draw which sees them in 11th, just three points behind Slutsk in fifth. A brilliant attacking game of football it was, although BGU will feel the harsh sending off of Yudchits might have cost them the game here, it certainly gave the visitors the initiative in the second period that’s for sure.
BATE 1 Isloch 0
BATE knew a win would see them end the weekend three points clear of Energetyk BGU in second, and they were up against an Isloch side who were trying to avoid a third straight defeat. The odds were heavily in favour of the hosts then but the first half saw both sides create one decent chance each, however, it wasn’t a half with many chances apart from that, but seven minutes before the break BATE managed to edge ahead when after winning a penalty Milic struck home the spot kick meaning the hosts did lead at half time. Things got harder for the visitors on the hour mark when their main striker Yansane was sent off after receiving two bookings within minutes of each other, but despite the hosts hitting the woodwork twice, Isloch were still in the game. BATE missed chances to kill off the visitors, and then deep into stoppage time Isloch were reduced to nine men when Yanushkevich was given a straight red after bringing down an attacker who was in on goal. Not a vintage performance from the hosts by any means, but after losing their opening two games of the season they have now won eight of their last nine and are sitting pretty at the top. Isloch battled hard and made it tough for the league leaders in Borisov, but they lose their fourth game in five and slip to seventh and will be without a key striker and defender next weekend.
Ruh Brest 1 Dinamo Brest 4
It was that old saying, last but certainly not least, as Sundays triple header ended with the Brest derby at the Stadyen DASK Brestski, and a noisy crowd of just under 2,500 awaited the sides, most of whom were backing the visitors for the day. This was a huge game for Dinamo as after the season they were having and coupled with that heart-breaking cup final loss last weekend, defeat here was unthinkable. Rukh, who were playing their first season in the top division, could pull a gap of four points to their city rivals with a win here, so they knew they could really be top dog in the city with three points in this one. And after 13 minutes Rukh drew first blood in the derby when Abdulaye rose to power a header in off the bar and Dinamo were behind, how would they react to this latest setback?? Well, they reacted positively and on the half hour mark drew level when Kislyak saw his effort deflect into the far corner and was greeted with huge noise from the Dinamo supporters, and this competitive but fairly played contest was all square at the break. Dinamo hit the woodwork as they looked to try and find the lead, whilst Rukh missed a great chance themselves, and the longer the half went on you could sense the pressure that was building on the Dinamo players, they just had to win this game you felt, and the crowd were getting frustrated, as was the manager and the players, especially when they were turned down for a penalty, which saw talisman Milevski booked for his protests. Could they find a winner? Well with eighteen minutes remaining they were awarded a penalty when a header struck the hand of a Rukh defender, and Savitski scored to give Dinamo a priceless lead, it was huge for them and they had less than twenty minutes to see this one out. They more than saw this one out though as they blew their opponents apart in the final part of this contest, netting again with ten minutes to go when Savitski headed home for his second, and then Laptev fired a powerful effort at goal which saw the keeper allow the ball to squirm through his grasp and through his legs into the goal with four minutes to go. So, in the end they cruised to victory and it was a massive win for them, and it sees them rise five places into sixth spot and in striking distance of the European spots. Oh, and they are now two points above their city rivals who themselves slip to ninth and three places below after a disappointing end to this one. Will this turn Dinamo’s season around?? We shall see, but this result will certainly give them a lot of heart going forward
Round Eleven – Monday 1st June
Minsk 1 Slutsk 0
Round Eleven drew to a close on Monday and it saw the return of Minsk after a three week absence following their isolation period, and they were up against a Slutsk side who were looking to try and avoid a third defeat in their last four games. It started badly for the visitors as well as they gifted Minsk a fifth minute lead when they gave the ball away on the edge of their own penalty area and the hosts pounced, squaring to Khvashchinsky who slotted into the open net after the keeper had come and was left committed, and the visitors had the worst possible start. Minsk should of doubled their lead not long after but saw the keeper save after the hosts had broken the offside trap but after a sluggish start from Slutsk they controlled the remainder of the half and spurned three very good chances to level. Minsk then got to the break with a slender lead and after the break Slutsk somehow missed another decent opening, but after that it was Minsk who had most of the chances, catching the visitors with some good counter attacking play. The only thing missing from that play though was a second goal, and they spurned several chances to double their lead and make life more comfortable, and although Slutsk but some pressure on towards the end it was Minsk who grabbed the points on their return to action. It saw the hosts go above their City rivals Dinamo too whilst for the visitors it’s now one point from their last four outings as their poor run continues.
Here is how the table looks after the weekends action….
And here are next weekend’s fixtures…..
Round Twelve
Friday 5th June
Smolevichy STI Vs Gorodeya (4:30pm)
Saturday 6th June
Slutsk Vs Torpedo BelAZ (12pm)
Isloch Vs Ruh Brest (2pm)
Slavia Vs Neman Grodno (4pm)
Dinamo Brest Vs Minsk (6pm)
Sunday 7th June
Vitebsk Vs BATE (2pm)
Belshina Vs Dinamo Minsk (4pm)
Shakhtyor Vs Energetyk BGU (6pm)
That concludes this week’s blog, catch you next weekend with Round Twelve.
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