Belia 1 - 2 Popovchani (382584911)

Due to an all-day shower, 37778 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at EZERO ARENA. Soli Levi was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Damián Eiras and Fabio Bech. All of Blagoevgrad was shut down for the day, as fans of both clubs came to the derby. Belia started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Brossard - Georgiev, Slavov, Popski - Artymiuk, Kadej, Reinartz, Velkov, Bakken - Manolov, Milev.

Popovchani had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Toshev - Ameneiro, 睿方 (Ruifang), Gál - Billén, Panchev, Zhezhov, Stiliyanov, Darkov - Girginov, Jędrzejczak.

V. Panchev was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. Down the middle came B. Girginov, making a fantastic play that nearly had Popovchani take the lead after 20 minutes, but H. Brossard preserved the tie. I. Milev's speed was almost enough to give Belia a goal after 27 minutes, but his nice pass to S. Manolov was not taken care of properly. Belia's J. Bakken tried to break through in the middle repeatedly, but couldn't get past the visitors' defenders. Belia's I. Velkov got himself booked for a foul. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of Popovchani's B. Girginov after 34 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. S. Ameneiro received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 36 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 2. The Popovchani fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. 37 minutes in, Belia's B. Artymiuk received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. The teams went for the halftime break at 0 - 2. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Popovchani, with 55 percent of the ball.

P. Jędrzejczak came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over H. Brossard but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. The home side worked their way through the middle and almost got one back when M. Popski tried to sneak the ball past the keeper. D. Toshev was too alert for that! 78 minutes into the match, Belia's I. Milev collected a ball sent down the right and put it in the back of the net, narrowing the score to 1 - 2. Popovchani's S. Zhezhov was shown a yellow card after 82 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Popovchani had most of the ball, with 56 percent of possession.

Most important Belia player was S. Manolov. J. Bakken on the other hand, had a terrible day. Popovchani's top performer was clearly B. Girginov. On the other hand, K. Gál's play was disheartening. The match ends 1 - 2.