1. Ruthless Rukh have Energetik in an Eightsome Reel
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| "Hey Siri, Show me the face of a coaching supervisor whose team just lost eight goals" |
The surprise package from Minsk stayed in their traditional 3-5-2 formations but handed debuts to German Osnov at the back, coming in for the suspended Svirepa, and Mikhail Bashilov in midfield. Junior Atemeng was preferred to new loan singing Vladislav Mukhammedov up front.
Unfortunately, the game was a grandstanding disaster from the start for Energetik. Rukh had already come very close on a couple of occasions before Artem Konstevoy headed them in front on fourteen minutes; Osnov failing to cut out a cross, Sadovskiy, slightly out of position, flapping at the ball as it whistled across the face of goal, and Bashilov and Miroshnikov having a profound and nuanced debate on the meaning of existence between them, as Konstevoy sneaked in the gap between the goal-line philosophers to head home. This was bad enough, but things steadily just got..worse...and worse...and worse. By half-time, Rukh were four goals to the good. Evgeniy Shevchenko showed great strength to hold off the feeble challenge from Shkurdyuk to race into the area and drive a powerful shot past Sadovskiy for the goal of the half, turning almost with an astonished shrug to his team-mates. I don't think Rukh could believe how easy the game was for them.
The hope was for Energetik at half time that a few changes might enable the side to play for pride, at least, with the three points already long gone. Alas! Coach Eremchuk was so enraged with the poverty of what he was seeing before him that he had used all three substitutes by the fifty minute mark. Mukhammedov came on for his debut, replacing the consistently ineffective Atemeng; Sovpel also appeared for his by now traditional replacing of an out of sorts Umarov; debutant Bashilov was also withdrawn after a pretty horrendous, peripheral debut.
But, plus ça change. Rukh rattled in a further four by simply weathering Energetik's half-hearted and disjointed attacking efforts, and hitting marvellously on the counter. Konstevoy managed to complete a hat-trick as a deadening and unforeseeable humiliation was completed. A consolation for debutant Mukhammedov was barely noticed and not celebrated, other than by ironic cheers from the Molodechno locals.
When Energetik strode off the Borisov arena last weekend, having completed the double over BATE, they wouldn't have imagined that they would be destroyed so comprehensively in their next game. With such a young team unpredictable results can be expected, but even making allowances like these, this was nothing short of a disgraceful capitulation. The makeshift defence was torn hither and thither; the new midfield pairing of Bashilov (defensive midfield) with Nosko pushed further forward didn't work and both players didn't really appear to know what their role was; Mawatu, on whom much of the creativity in the team will now rest with, appeared only fitfully at the beginning of the second half; Yudchits barely touched the ball.
Credit must be given to the silver-shirted visitors for a golden performance. Coach Sedlev had really done his preparation on our team; relentless pressure in the middle of the park disrupted our new look midfield pairing, cut off supplies to the front two, and laid the platform for six different players to get their names on the score-sheet. I imagine the coach will have been sending a little message in the complex relationship between Rukh and Dynamo; with a little investment his team would be nailed on top four finishers. Even although they won't face such shambolic opposition every week, Rukh put down a marker for themselves today that may yet lay the foundations for a late rally into the leading positions in the table as the second half of the season unfolds. Kontsevoy, Dennis Grechikho and Chidi Osuwungu had stand out performances in Rukh's remarkable, ruthless display.
A result like this can demolish a season. Perhaps to put it into perspective, our head coach Vladimir Belyavskiy was absent today "for family reasons"- we hope it's nothing sinister in these pandemic times, and send him best wishes. We need our experienced figurehead back urgently after a result like this.
Fortunately, Energetik's next fixture- against struggling FC Minsk- offers a chance of early redemption. Stand in coach Eremchuk reflected after the game that the team had "played disgusting, to put it mildly" and promised wholesale changes for next weekend. Energetik's young squad will never have another more painful lesson in the highs and lows of football than in the experiential gap between the last two fixtures. Work must begin now to ensure this awful display doesn't undermine all the hard work that has been done up to now. Top three? Forget it. Anatoly Pavlovich's face in the stands told it's own story. So bad were we today, that we made the Slavia team from our last home game look like the Brazil 1970 World Cup winners by comparison. An embarrassing, sad and sobering afternoon for everyone associated with the club.
2. The Relegation Battle is Just Getting Started
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| Former Smolevichi coach Aleksandr Brazevich explains his resignation to the press. O Ye of little Faith! |
After last weekend's thrilling 3-3 draw between Smolevichi and injury / illness-ravaged Dynamo Brest, it looked for 72 hours as though they may not survive. Low wages and a lack of funds to ensure the club completed it's fixtures left an early resignation from the league looking likely. Admirable coach Aleksandar Brazevich, who had encouraged his young side to play without fear, always on the attack, left, along with many of the loanees and some of the more high profile players. Brazevich, in a mournful press conference on Tuesday, cast doubt on the ability of his former team to survive, stating that the club were paying lower end Pershaya Liga wages, to the dismay of much of the squad.
However the situation was to be turned around completely by the end of the week. Brazevich's assistant, 33 year old youth coach Aleksey Mikhailov, took the job on and made extensive use of his talk-until-you-have-an-ear-tumour mobile tarriff. Dynamo Minsk were particularly helpful, sending four of their young reserve squad to sluice out water from the sinking Smolevichi sloop, and gain valuable experience in the process. A hardened core of the old squad- most notably goal-of-the-season contender Aleksandr Dzighero, vowed to stay on and see out the season. With a visit from upper-mid table Isloch at home on Friday, a throaty crowd of locals packed into the little Ozerniy Stadium, rallying round their stricken favourites and trying to work out who was who from the new players.
For fifteen minutes the new-look team played a little like Andorra at home to a middle ranking team in a world cup qualifier, a Hungary or a Slovenia. Isloch, accordion ringing in their ears, attacked the portakabin end without any cutting edge, and left far too high a line which Smolevichi's very youthful forward line were able to exploit.
But Andorra can't call on a striking talent like Dinamo Minsk loanee Vladislav Lozhkin, who announced his presence in remarkable fashion. Astonishingly, he had the team that had just met one another two up at half time; the first goal a confident finish, rounding the goalkeeper after a delightful 1-2; the second would have been playing on Eurosport and Sky all weekend had Ronaldo or Gareth Bale notched it. Running onto a lofted ball at the left hand edge of the area, the young man, running parallel to goal, dinked past three or four challenges before pirouetting and driving the ball low to Hatkevich's right for the second. Smolevichi gave as good as they got in the second half, with Isloch's late consolation from a free kick coming when it no longer mattered. A 3-1 home win in this game was a hugely unexpected result, and showed that, despite their off-field financial problems, this small town club intend fighting very hard for their survival in the games that remain. I fancy other teams may take them a mite more seriously after watching these highlights.
No money troubles at backmarkers Belshina, but a change of gaffer. Dmitry Migas took the role on a caretaker basis after the departure of his former boss Eduard Gradoboyev at the beginning of last week, and the new manager effect bounced Belshina past an abject Torpedo Zhodino side on Saturday. Belshina were buoyed by the arrival of cult hero Dmitry Lebedev, an attacking midfielder from Krumkachy, in the week, and set about producing their most confident performance of the season.
Whilst their solitary previous win had come with a slice of luck and a virtuoso performance from ex-international Leonid Kovel in Molodechno, this triumph was much more of a team effort and relied much less on good fortune. Things began in typically ill-starred style for the home team when Torpedo's Kaplenko deflected a Lipe Veloso free kick past Kharitonovich with just six minutes on the clock. But, whilst Gradoboyev's Belshina may have foundered and sunk from such a blow, new-look Belshina took it as a challenge, equalising almost immediately. A surging Lebedev run and cross on the right was fired across goal and defended appallingly; Kovel was left unmarked to slide it home thanks to the visiting rearguard's carelessness. The ageing striker then, er, "used his experience" at the beginning of the second period to win a penalty converted by Sergei Glebko.
Torpedo had a chance to level, but Gabriel Ramos' spot kick was an embarrassment, clearing the bar. Belshina could have won by more in the end. Torpedo gaffer Yuri Puntus, who spends the games pacing his technical area like a nervous toby-jug, must have been thoroughly chaffed off with the below-par performance turned in by his side, and apologised after the game to the travelling support. A really strong team on paper, Torpedo always seem to be less than the sum of their parts.
Belshina's next game, away to gubbins village outfit Gorodeya, is now extremely significant in the relegation battle. As the two strugglers begin to recover and narrow the gap on the teams above them, so the pressure increases in matches involving teams from a now detached bottom five in the table. If Belshina, with playmaker Lebedev pulling the strings, can bring some sugar back from Haradzeya then a hugely unlikely great escape may just be on. Certainly the hapless village bus-parkers, potless Slutsk and Andre Razin's gruesomely dull FC Minsk side will all be more than concerned by the bottom two's recent upturn in form.
3. Wretched BATE Stumble Again
BATE just can't come out of their recent slump. Tactically outwitted by Leonid Kuchuk, humiliated by Energetik, and now held to a draw by carefree Slavia Mozyr, who will feel they deserved more from yesterday's 1-1 draw at the Borisov arena. Factor in the highly controversial 2-2 home draw with Shahktyor Soligorsk, and Kirill Alshevsky's team have managed just two points from their last four home encounters- relegation form by any standard.
Slavia, boasting one of the Smolevhichi refuseniks Artem Barsukov in their starting line up, for an immediate debut, had a tough opening ten minutes or so but when the early goal didn't come self-belief began to fade visibly from the confidence-shot hosts. New Mozyrite Barsukov came closest to opening the scoring in the first half, with a dipping thirty yard cannonball crashing back down off the bar. Only Nikita Melnikov, rushing in for the re-bound, will be able to explain how he sliced the ball wide of goal with BATE's keeper helpless and stranded.
BATE had a similar Christmas-Bloopers-DVD miss not long into the second half. A wicked, dipping, in-swinging Stashevich corner found Maksym Skavysh unmarked at the far post, just beyond the six yard box. With goalkeeper Baranovski unable to do anything, Skavysh unaccountably headed the ball against the post and it bounced away to safety. If you were looking for a piece of video footage to sum up BATE in the last few weeks, that would be it.
With seventy minutes on the clock Slavia were looking comfortable and BATE, as they had been in the last three home games, ever more desperate. Finally they had they bit of luck that they so desperately needed, when a desperate low trundler was fired in by Evegeny Yablonski from the edge of the area was turned by goalkeeper Baranovski onto the base of the post. Alas! The ball bounced back, hit the luckless keeper on the back of the head, and trundled slowly in. BATE's under-pressure players piled on top of one another as though they had won the Champions' League- but celebrated far too soon.
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| Shevchenko: Tumbling Octopus |
There are rumours of problems in the BATE dressing room; with serially winning old stagers like Stashevich and Dragun less than impressed with some of the younger players and under-performing imports from the Balkans.Yevgeny Berezkin implied in an interview with the Tribuna football portal, that the coach was to blame for recent poor performances. On the park, the players seem locked in a permanent marathon anxiety-bingo binge.
With Shahktyor comfortably seeing off Gorodeya at Stroitel, they have real powerful momentum towards the title. Neman will also have a say, being only two points behind BATE with two games in hand. I suspect that failure to gain maximum points from their next two games against Rukh and FC Minsk may see Alshevsky's regime terminated much sooner than anyone had anticipated. Once serial winners like BATE lose the fear factor they have at home, change is needed.
This is a quality squad, albeit one in transition- but the coach is clearly not getting anything like enough out of them, nor has he inspired confidence in the group that he has a credible plan to win football matches. BATE play with a clogged, constipated fear of failure and are coming to expect not winning. The manager's Moyes-like postscript yesterday- "we lack implementation and luck"- doesn't even merit the label "feeble excuse".
4. Neman : No Flash in the Pan
Finally, and elsewhere, Neman Grodno came through unscathed on a damp night and on a greasy surface in Vitebsk. Sergei Yasinsky's side really are under-rated I feel, very difficult to break down, just perhaps lacking a good attacking midfielder / wing back. Brazilian attacker Diego Santos had a really good game, testing Dudar with an early free kick that the goalkeeper struggled to hold, and giving big upside-down man Andrei Vasilijev the run around in the first half at the back. Neman, however, finished the half strongly, and perhaps had the best chance of the game on the hour mark, when Jean-Morel Poé, their new signing from Smolevichi, had a powerful run and shot that was beaten away well by Soroko in the home goal. A draw was a fair result, and although scoreless the game between two good sides in difficult conditions was absorbing. Whilst Vitebsk may have ambitions to break into the top six by the end of the season, Neman will have much loftier targets than that. Tonight's hard-fought draw shows that they definitely have the boots for a serious title challenge, even if dimwitted headlines may discuss the end of their recent run of seven straight wins. Hard-fought points such as these are just as memorable as border derby wins, come the end of the season.
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| Igor Kovalevich's double album of mournful ballads "Vitebsk in the Rain" is now available on K-Tel |
Twitter: @jonblackwood
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