League Play-Off

Topolovitsa
Spectators: 34 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Topolovitsa's Yulian Ekimov started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Manol Shehtov hit a great freekick 5 minutes into the match. Tunkovo's goalkeeper couldn't reach when Yulian Ekimov 8 minutes into the game got a good kick on the ball which found its way into goal just inside left pole. 1-0. Tunkovo's Kostadin Mundrov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Yulian Ekimov in the 12th minute of play. Kostadin Mundrov made a fantastic save in the 17th minute, when Lyudmil Savev sent off a good shot on target. 19 minutes into the match, Topolovitsa's goal looked a bit too open when Valeri Hadzhiolov came free, but Volodya Gramchev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Sokol Baliev's late challenge caught a Tunkovo's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Sokol Baliev helped the player get up and apologised. In the 22nd minute, Zhecho Tupankov hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Yulian Ekimov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 26th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When the match had been going on for 32 minutes, Topolovitsa's Radan Viktorov got an opportunity to shoot a penalty. He stayed cool and waited for the goalkeeper to move, before he confidently shot the ball into the goal, to the left of Kostadin Mundrov. After a rather tough play, Topolovitsa's Momchil Mihaylov got a free kick in the 35th minute. Lyudmil Savev could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 42nd minute of the match, but Kostadin Mundrov made a huge save. When Stanyo Vúrbenov fell near the penalty area in the 43rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Tunkovo's protests and gave Stanyo Vúrbenov a yellow card for diving instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lyudmil Savev got free with Kostadin Mundrov in the 44th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. The crowd rose to their feet as Yulian Ekimov kicked a wonderful shot that went in to the left of a diving Kostadin Mundrov. That made the score 3-0 in the 47 minute of play. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 3-0 at half-time.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Nesho Natzkov to strike the kick off in the second half. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Manol Shehtov during the 53rd minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After a rather tough play, Tunkovo's Manol Shehtov got a free kick in the 54th minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nesho Natzkov in the 58th minute of play forced Topolovitsa's goalkeeper Volodya Gramchev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After having played for 60 minutes, Nesho Natzkov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Tunkovo's supporters crossed their fingers, but Nesho Natzkov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Tunkovo's Nesho Natzkov got a good chance for a goal in the 61st minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. In the 68th minute, Valeri Hadzhiolov left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Tunkovo fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 3-1. Kostadin Mundrov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Yulian Ekimov in the 71st minute of the match. Volodya Gramchev made a fantastic save in the 74th minute, when Valeri Hadzhiolov sent off a good shot on target. After 76 played minutes Topolovitsa got a freekick which was hit by Zhecho Tupankov. Evgeni Boyov's late challenge caught a Topolovitsa's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Evgeni Boyov helped the player get up and apologised. The supporters of Topolovitsa booed when Tunkovo was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 78 match minutes in a wonderful position. Evgeni Boyov didn't get a good kick on the ball. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Lyudmil Savev in the 79th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Kostadin Mundrov saved Tunkovo from getting behind. An unexpectedly hard shot by Nesho Natzkov in the 81st minute of play forced Topolovitsa's goalkeeper Volodya Gramchev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Nesho Natzkov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 84th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Lyudmil Savev sent away a hard shot on goal in the 93rd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After some careless play in the Tunkovo defense, Lyudmil Savev kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Kostadin Mundrov. The Tunkovo fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Kostadin Mundrov should have stopped the shot.