Botev (Plovdiv) started the season 24/25 in the championship with a 3:1 success in their visit to Botev (Vratsa). Martin Sekulich scored two goals, Yanis Karabelov added another for the “canaries”, and Daniel Genov scored for the team from the northwest. Dušan Kerkez also made seven changes to the starting squad compared to the visit of Maribor.
There were no goals in the first half of the match at the Hristo Botev stadium in Vratsa. A cleaner situation opened up for the hosts as early as 2′, but Traore shot past Matvei Igonen’s goal. Three opportunities followed for the “canaries”. First, Alen Korošec’s shot in the 26th minute went over the goal, and five minutes later Christian Nwachukwu’s attempt was deflected by Barrios. In 42′, Nikola Iliev shot from close range but hit the crossbar.
At the beginning of the second half, the “yellow and black” were more effective and Martin Sekulic scored twice within three minutes, between 54′ and 57′. These were also the first goals of the Croatian in an official match of the new season, and in both cases the assists came from Nwachukwu. After an hour of football, Botev (Vratsa) managed to reduce its deficit through Daniel Genov, who scored for 1:2. In 77′ Yanis Karabeylov scored his debut goal of the campaign and made the final 3:1.
In the second round of the championship, on Sunday (July 28) at 9 p.m., Botev hosts Lokomotiv in the Plovdiv derby. Tickets for the match at the Hristo Botev Stadium are now on sale.
You can also buy your tickets for the Canaries’ next home game in the Europa League – against Panathinaikos on August 1st here.
Botev’s starting line-up: 32. Matvey Igonen; 4. Ehije Ukaku, 5. Joonas Tamm, 27. Diabate Siriki, 6. Andrei Yordanov; 28. Yanis Karabeylov, 88. Alen Korosec; 40. Christian Nwachukwu, 10. Ivelin Popov (C), 21. Nikola Iliev; 9. Martin Sekulic
