By Dmitry Komashko
The key match against the relatively beatable Czech team (compared to such grands as Barcelona and Milan) saw a slashing defeat. Only Alexander Gutor (BATE’s goalkeeper) saved the situation, proving his strong ball-catching skills.
The home match for BATE kicked off at lightning speed, with Czech Vaclav Pilar shooting from the penalty area in the third minute. Our goalkeeper managed to save the shot and our squads then seemed equally matched for a while, with even the slightest mistake becoming important. At the end of the first half, the Czechs secured an opening goal, as Milan Petrzela passed from the right to Marek Bakos, who sent it cleanly into the net. Sadly, long ball throws by BATE’s Brazilian Renan Bressan and his partners failed to produce results and halftime saw Viktoria in the lead. The opposition came close to scoring again after the break, but Gutor was fast enough to save Petrzela’s shot. BATE then woke up, going on the attack, but lacked decisiveness. Both teams had excellent chances to score further but the score remained at 0:1.
At the after-match press conference, BATE coach Victor Goncharenko noted that his players were exhausted, as it is the end of the season. The same happened last year when the team sustained several losses. As for the club’s future prospects, after the home defeat against Viktoria, BATE needs to beat a top European club — Barcelona — in an away match, to enter the Europa League. Meanwhile, one round before the Champions League group round ends, Barcelona has secured first place within the group, having defeated Milan: 3:2. The closing matches of H Group are to be held on December 6th, with Barcelona playing BATE, and Viktoria facing Milan.
