By Vladimir Dmitriev
When the new season begins, the national champion will kick off at the newly-opened, super-modern stadium, the construction of which is almost complete. BATE was keen to defeat top rival FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk (topping the table for 139 days) -- especially having lost its past five matches. A win at home would have ensured its claiming of the 10th championship title. However, the Borisov players failed in their attempt.
The hosts took two powerful shots at Eduardas Kurskis’ net, thanks to Alexander Hleb concentrating on setting up passes for other players. Sergey Krivets turned both into goals, equalising the score set by Dmitry Osipenko. Sadly, Dmitry scored a third goal, bringing disappointment to BATE and their fans. Alexander Yermakovich, the Borisov head coach looked discouraged, but spoke with optimism, saying, “Our team has a tendency to play well all through a match but to leave a brief opening for its opponent, allowing it to score. We’ll work on this. As for the title: we need to wait. Our next match is against Zhodino, not far from Borisov. We invite all our fans to attend!”
