With a score of 2:0, Vitebsk footballers defeated Dnepr Mogilev in the first transitional match for a place in the top league
One can only marvel at the “wisdom” of the heads of the Belarusian Football Federation, who, apparently forgetting that we are not Egypt, have compiled the championship calendar in such a way that important playoff matches fell in December. It is clear that in such conditions it is difficult to show technical play: moral and volitional qualities come to the forefront, which our compatriots demonstrated. It is worth noting the staff of the Vitebsk CSK, who did everything in their power to ensure that the field was as prepared as possible for the competition, for which artificial turf heating was turned on a few days before.
Despite the winter cold, last Wednesday 4,000 devoted fans gathered in the stands, who actively supported their favorites throughout the match. It is no coincidence that at the post-match press conference, the head coach of Vitebsk, Sergey Vekhtev, noted “our 12th player – the spectators”.
And the first half of the match did not portend anything good for the hosts. Only the selflessness of the defenders saved our team from major troubles. The apogee was the 35th minute, when after the pressure of Mogilev residents it seemed that there was simply nowhere for the ball to go, except into the goal of
“Vitebsk”. However, incredibly, it ended up in the hands of our permanent goalkeeper Yuri Vasyutin.In the 2nd half, Vitebsk seemed to be replaced. Time and again they created dangerous moments at the goal of
"Dnepr". Once, Andrey Baranov's shot even shook the crossbar of the guests' goal.The key moment came in the 69th minute, when Vladislav Kosmynin, who had been flawless until then, punched the ball away from the Mogilev forward's head. According to the rules, this is a penalty and a yellow or even a red card for the defender. Fortunately, the referee of the match, Alexey Kulbakov, did not notice any obvious violation.
The hosts did not allow themselves any more such blunders, maximally intensifying the pressure on the Mogilev team's defenses. Azam Radzhabov, who played on the right flank of midfield and had gone through the Dynamo Kyiv academy, stood out particularly. During one of the attacks, taking advantage of the goalkeeper's mistake, Vladimir Shakov pushed the ball past him, which was then deflected into his own goal by a defender.
Despite the acceptable score,
"Vitebsk" did not retreat into defense, and its efforts were rewarded. Radzhabov himself initiated the combination, after which Artem Skitov made a cross into the guests' penalty area, where the team's veteran Andrey Baranov, receiving the ball, calmly shot into the opponents' goal. The score on the scoreboard did not change anymore.Today, the Vitebsk team faces a very tough return match in Mogilev. Its live broadcast will begin at 13:30 on the channel
"Belarus 5". We believe that our guys will have enough dedication, patience, and luck to return "Vitebsk" to the top league. The city with glorious sports traditions deserves it!One can only wonder
"wisdom" of the heads of the Belarusian Football Federation, who, apparently forgetting that we are not Egypt, compiled the championship calendar in such a way that important playoff matches fell in December. It is clear that in such conditions it is difficult to show technical play: moral and volitional qualities come to the fore, which our compatriots demonstrated. It is worth noting the workers of the Vitebsk Central Sports Complex, who did everything in their power to ensure that the field was maximally prepared for the competition, for which artificial turf heating was turned on a few days before.Despite the winter cold, 4,000 devoted fans gathered in the stands last Wednesday, who actively supported their favorites throughout the match. It is not for nothing that at the post-match press conference, the head coach of Vitebsk, Sergey Vekhtev, noted
"our 12th player – the spectators".And the first half of the match did not foreshadow anything good for the hosts. Only the selflessness of the defenders saved our team from major troubles. The apogee was the 35th minute, when after the Mogilev team's pressure, it seemed that the ball had nowhere to go but into the goal
"Vitebsk". However, incredibly, it ended up in the hands of our permanent goalkeeper Yuri Vasyutin.In the second half, the Vitebsk team seemed to be replaced. Time and again, they created dangerous moments at the goal
"Dnepr". Once, Andrey Barank's shot even shook the crossbar of the guests' goal.The key moment came in the 69th minute, when Vladislav Kosmynin, who had been faultless until then, stopped a Mogilev forward's header with his hand. According to the rules, this should have been a penalty and a yellow or even red card for the defender. Fortunately, the referee, Aleksey Kulbakov, did not notice any obvious violation.
The hosts did not allow themselves any more such blunders, maximally intensifying the pressure on the Mogilev team's defenses. Azam Radzhabov, who had trained at the Kyiv
"Dynamo", stood out particularly on the right flank of midfield. During one of the attacks, taking advantage of a goalkeeper's mistake, Vladimir Shakov pushed the ball past him, and it was then deflected into his own goal by a defender.Despite the acceptable score,
"Vitebsk" did not retreat into defense, and their efforts were rewarded. Radzhabov himself initiated a combination, after which Artyom Skitov made a cross into the visitors' penalty area, where the team's veteran, Andrey Barankov, received the ball and coolly fired it into the opponent's goal. The score on the scoreboard did not change further.Today, the Vitebsk team faces a very tough return match in Mogilev. Its live broadcast will begin at 13:30 on the channel
"Belarus 5". We believe that our guys will have enough dedication, patience, and luck to return "Vitebsk" to the top league. The city with glorious sporting traditions deserves it!Despite the winter cold, last Wednesday, 4,000 devoted fans gathered in the stands, actively supporting their favorites throughout the entire match. It was not in vain that at the post-match press conference, the head coach of Vitebsk, Sergey Vekhtev, noted
"our 12th player – the spectators".And the first half of the match did not bode well for the hosts. Only the selflessness of the defenders saved our team from major trouble. The culmination was the 35th minute, when after the pressure from Mogilev residents, it seemed that the ball had nowhere to go but into the goal of
"Vitebsk". However, miraculously, it ended up in the hands of our permanent goalkeeper Yuri Vasyutin.In the 2nd half, the Vitebsk players seemed to have been replaced. Time and again, they created dangerous moments at the goal of
"Dnepr". Once, Andrey Barank's shot even shook the crossbar of the guests' goal.The key moment came in the 69th minute, when Vladislav Kosmynin, who had been acting flawlessly until then, knocked the ball off the head of the Mogilev forward with his hand. According to the rules, this is a penalty and a yellow or even red card for the defender. Fortunately, the referee of the match, Alexey Kulbakov, did not notice any obvious violation.
The hosts did not allow themselves any more such blunders, maximally increasing the pressure on the Mogilev bastions. Azam Radzhabov, who had attended the Dynamo Kyiv school, stood out particularly on the right flank of midfield. During one of the attacks, taking advantage of the goalkeeper's mistake, Vladimir Shakov pushed the ball past him, which was then deflected into his own goal by a defender.
Despite the acceptable score,
"Vitebsk" did not go on the defensive, and its efforts were rewarded. The same Radzhabov started the combination, after which Artyom Skitov made a cross into the guests' penalty area, where the team's veteran Andrei Baranov, having received the ball, coolly shot into the opponents' goal. The score on the scoreboard did not change anymore.Today, the Vitebsk team awaits a very difficult return match in Mogilev. Its live broadcast will begin at 13:30 on the TV channel
"Belarus 5". We believe that our guys will have enough dedication, patience, and luck to return "Vitebsk" to the top league. The city with glorious sports traditions deserves it!Ales Byankov, "Vitebskiye Vesti"