By Yegor Glebov
Dinamo Minsk has lost to Turkey’s Trabzonspor in Brest, despite the support of around 8,000 fans. In the first half, Dinamo went on the attack yet failed to score. Meanwhile, Trabzonspor played aggressively, with several fouls. Igor Stasevich’s penalty kicks proved no threat to Turkish goalkeeper Onur Kivrak and, by the end of the first half, Trabzonspor’s Paulo Henrique had outwitted Alexander Sulima in goal.
After halftime, both sides were eager to score and Dinamo’s Lazar Veselinović had the best chance in the 57th minute. However, his angled shot hit the post. In the 74th minute, Dinamo’s Sergey Politevich made another attempt: saved by Onur Kivrak. By the final whistle, the result was unchanged except for Veselinović being sent off following a scuffle.
The disappointment follows Dinamo’s success in the previous round’s away match.
Meanwhile, FC Minsk played a home match against St. Johnstone: the bronze holder of the Scottish Championship. Sadly, they lost, letting through a single goal in the middle of the second half. Minsk’s first defeat in the present Europa League’s first round followed an exciting match in which Vadim Skripchenko’s trainees lost possession of the ball to the Scots early on. The 10th minute saw Minsk’s Nikita Bukatkin manage a shot at the net, without success, and midfielder Roman Vasilyuk proved himself the most active player on the Belarusian team, setting up numerous passes. Sadly, no goals were forthcoming and the Scots counterattacked, threatening goalie Vladimir Bushma. Eventually, in the 69th minute, St. Johnstone’s Steven McLean’s low shot into the corner of the net brought them the winning goal.
Minsk FC’s third round in the Europa League has also seen an away draw and a home win (over Maltese Valletta).
