League

Stryama
Spectators: 6740 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1740, VIP seats: 0) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Svetoslav Nikitov kicked off to start the match. In the 2nd match minute, Ботев Враца was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Zapryan Dimov to maneuver through the defense. Pencho Elkin acted impressively in front of the goal and made a superb save when he, in the 4th minute, took the ball on the long shot from Pavel Kisyov. After a defensive mix-up in FC Stryama's zone, Nikola Bozakov stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Bozhil Mandadzhiev came out of the goal and Nikola Bozakov tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Bozhil Mandadzhiev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Kaloyan Serafimov in the 13th minute of play. In the 14th minute, Stiliyan Mehandzhiyski hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. In the 19th minute, Sokol Pavlov got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. FC Stryama's Stiliyan Mehandzhiyski got his second yellow card of the match in the 20th minute. The referee ordered Stiliyan Mehandzhiyski off the ground. Stiliyan Mehandzhiyski hit a great freekick 20 minutes into the match. Bozhil Mandadzhiev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Miroslav Chachev, who was totally free with the ball in the 23rd minute. 27 minutes into the game, Radko Zlatkov cracked a shot to the right of the goalkeeper, 2-0. Pencho Elkin was not in position, and could only watch the ball fly in. The supporters of Ботев Враца booed when FC Stryama was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 30 match minutes in a wonderful position. Grozdan Kralchev didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 33 minutes, Kaloyan Serafimov made it 2-1 with a short kick to the right side. FC Stryama's Bozhil Mandadzhiev tried to save the shot but he was too slow in reacting to the shot. In the 36th minute Nikola Bozakov shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Bozhil Mandadzhiev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 43 played minutes FC Stryama got a freekick which was hit by Svetoslav Nikitov. After having played for 45 minutes, Sokol Pavlov managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Ботев Враца's supporters crossed their fingers, but Sokol Pavlov was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. 47 minutes into the game, Ботев Враца's Kaloyan Serafimov nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Bozhil Mandadzhiev made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 2-2. The score stood at 2-2 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Kaloyan Serafimov to strike the kick off in the second half. Pencho Elkin made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Radko Zlatkov in the 53rd minute of play. Kaloyan Serafimov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 55th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Miroslav Chachev recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 58th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. A collision led to Ботев Враца getting a freekick after 60 minutes play. Sokol Pavlov hit a great ball. If Sokol Pavlov had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 69th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Kaloyan Serafimov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 71st minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Bozhil Mandadzhiev showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Kaloyan Serafimov in the 77th minute of the match. 81 minutes into the match, FC Stryama's goalkeeper Bozhil Mandadzhiev had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Miroslav Chachev. FC Stryama's Bozhil Mandadzhiev played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kaloyan Serafimov in the 84th minute of play. Ognyan Gushterov might have been able to make a better finish in the 85th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Pencho Elkin. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Ognyan Gushterov ran back to his position shaking his head. With an all-out effort, Ботев Враца's Bozhil Mandadzhiev threw himself towards the right post 89 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Kaloyan Serafimov, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Ognyan Gushterov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 94th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Sokol Pavlov in the 97th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Bozhil Mandadzhiev prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Despite being the better team, Ботев Враца failed to find the winning goal and were forced to settle for a single point.