The team of Botev (Plovdiv) took only one point from their visit to Slavia. The match from the XXIII round of the First League ended 2:2 and was played at the “Alexander Shalamanov” stadium in the capital.
The beginning of the match began with an advantage for the Botevists. In the 5th minute, Ehie Ukaki made the first accurate shot towards the goal of Slavia. He shot, but could not make it difficult for Svetoslav Vutsov. Minutes later, an 11-meter free kick followed in favor of the “Whites” – Ehije Ukaki played with his hand in the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty to Slavia. Behind the ball was Tony Tasev, who scored in Matvei Igonen’s goal.
In the 20th minute, a good switch on the wing by Samuel Akere found Atanas Chernev who played with a head, but Slavia guard Svetoslav Vutsov cleared. The search for a goal continued in the remaining minutes of the first half. James Eto’o made a cross in Slavia’s penalty area, but Sekulic and Ukaki failed to take advantage of it.
Until the end of the first half, there was no shortage of chances in front of both goals, but the score remained 1:0 in favour of Slavia.
The second 45 minutes at the Alexander Shalamanov Stadium started in the best possible way for Dusan Kerkez’s team. In the 47th minute, the captain Ivelin Popov recorded another assist on his account after – he found in a wonderful way the invading Yanis Karabelov who headed into the goal of his former team – This was also the reason why he did not celebrate the goal.
Slavia regained the lead after Toni Tasev scored for the second time in the match. He shot from the edge of the penalty area, followed by a ricochet and the ball entered the goal of Matvei Igonen for 2:1.
The tempo in the following minutes dropped, and Duşan Kerkez made changes in his composition. After 8 months of absence and treatment of a serious injury, the fast-footed winger Mohamed Brahimi is back in action with the “yellow and black” shirt.
In the 76th minute of the match, Dylan Mertens, who came from the bench, hit the crossbar after a good break on the left side of the wing and a measured shot.
Minutes before the end of regular time, the “canaries” restored the tie. Dylan Mertens was brought down in a corridor by Antonio Perera in the penalty area. He advanced into the penalty area and found Georgi Nikolov, who was on speed and scored on a half-empty goal for 2:2.
Until the end of the match, Botev was definitely looking for the third goal and the 3 points in the match. Faustas was dropped by Slavia’s defense. He rushed into the penalty area, but when he tried to combine with a teammate, he made a mistake and the ball hit Svetoslav Vutsov.
At the very end of the match, Slavia was down a man after Erol Dost’s red card.
After today’s draw, Botev remains in 8th place in the temporary ranking of the efbet League with an asset of 33 points. In the next round, Botev faces Ludogorets in the derby of the 24th round of the First League. The match is on Sunday (10.03) at the “Hristo Botev” stadium from 17:45.
STARTING SQUAD: 32. Matvei Igonen, 4. Ehije Ukaki (79′ – 7. Mohamed Brahimi), 9. Martin Sekulic (72′ – 93. Georgi Nikolov), 10. Ivelin Popov – К, 15. James Eto’o, 16. Samuel Akere, 19. Antoine Conte, 20. Antonio Perera, 28. Yanis Karabelyov (72′ – 6. Dylan mertens), 38. Konstantinos Balogiannis (85′ – 14. Faustas Steponavičius), 79. Atanas Chernev
RESERVES: 22. Daniel Kaiser, 6. Dylan Mertens, 7. Mohamed Brahimi, 14. Faustas Steponavičius, 17. Nikolay Minkov, 18. Dimitar Papazov, 30. Lachezar Baltanov, 42. Ivaylo Videv 93. Georgi Nikolov
