The Belarus Premier League was back with two games that were played this afternoon. In these matches, the two teams I picked to win both lost. The outcomes of these two games prove that soccer in Belarus is filled with parity.
In the first match, Gorodeya went on the road to defeat Energetyk-BGU (FC Zvezda-BGU Minsk) 1-0. Although Energetyk remained on the attack all match, Gorodeya scored on a clever counterattack in the 35th minute.
After a save by Gorodeya goalkeeper Igor Dovgyallo, he threw an outlet pass that skipped all the way past the halfway line to a streaking Gorodeya player along the left hand side. He was then able to put in a cross on the scrambled Energetyk defense to Andrei Sorokin, who kicked into the net for the only goal of the match. Gorodeya jumps up to second place and knocks Energetyk down to third place in the Belarus Premier League.
In the second match, Dinamo Minsk climbed out of their early season slump with a 2-0 victory over Neman Grodno. Both goals were scored in the second half. The first goal was scored on a header by Miha Goropevsek off of a cross in the 72nd minute. The last goal was scored in extra time on a breakaway goal by Evgeny Shikavka. Dinamo Minsk jumps up to 10th place, while Neman Grodno drops to 13th place in the Belarus Premier League.