2024-04-12 20:48:42
“Botev” (South) achieved an important victory with 2:0 over its namesake from Vratsa in a match of the 29th round of the First League at its stadium in Plovdiv. With the three points won, the “canaries” increased their chances of a place in the top six.
Before the match, the “yellow and black” players came out with special jerseys with number 93. Thus they supported their teammate Georgi Nikolov, who has torn cruciate ligaments and meniscus and will not play until the end of the season.
In the 12th minute, Vrachani asked for a penalty on the grounds that the ball hit by Daniel Genov hit Nikolay Minkov’s hand. Judge Ivaylo Nenkov, however, considered that their claims were not well founded. Ten minutes later, the goalkeeper of the “Canaries” Hidayet Hankic kicked the leather ball after a shot by Miroslav Marinov.
Five minutes later, Ehije Ukaki came out alone against the opponent’s goalkeeper Krasimir Kostov, but was unable to find him. In the 33rd minute, Mohamed Brahimi from the “yellow and black” scored a goal, but the referee canceled it due to an ambush. The hosts took the lead in the 39th minute with a goal from Dylan Mertens, who made it 1-0 with a diagonal shot after an impressive break through the opponent’s defence. Seconds before the break, the players of “Botev” (Vr) asked for a penalty for a foul by James Eto’o against Brian Mendoza, but Ivaylo Nenkov decided that there was no reason to award it.
The second half started with pressure from the home team and in the 58th minute Mohamed Brahimi scored a goal, but the referee canceled it again due to fouls. Two minutes later, Clary Serber from the visitors headed dangerously, but the ball went out. In the 62nd minute, Konstantinos Baloyannis of the “Canaries” crossed from a corner, and his teammate Antonio Perera headed in to make it 2:0. In the 82nd minute, Dylan Mertens was replaced by Ivelin Popov, who did not start as a starter due to a virus. Until the end of the meeting, the “canaries” kept their lead and won the three points.