Neuer did not play outfield, but Miroslav Kirov did: FK Drenovets - OFK Tryavna 3-0 (1-0)

Wednesday, 7 April 2021, 5 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Drenovets Arena, Drenovets, Bulgaria, the 25th round of the Bulgarian Third League, North-West Group (Severozapadna Treta Liga).

FK Drenovets had no real problems in winning over last classified OFK Tryavna. The visitors seldom passed the halfway line during the entire game, which can be summarized as a continuous attack by FK Drenovets. However, the hosts were not very efficient and missed lots of opportunities, since the beginning of the match.

Hristian Iliev (FK Drenovets, in black and yellow) prepares to shoot and score the first goal of the game. Source: scene from YouTube broadcasting of the game by Ivo Ivanov

Luckily for FK Drenovets, after several missed chances, Hristian Iliev eventually scored with a shot from the centre of the box, after a corner: 1-0 (27').

After the goal, the match did not change at all, as OFK Tryavna seemed unable to attack, while they defended quite well, benefiting also from Drenovets players' obvious lack of inspiration. The hosts continued to attack, also in the second half, with no result on the score sheet.

While Tryavna defenders were quite heroic, the offensive part of the visitors was almost entirely missing. Tryavna players had issues even in keeping possession for more than just a few seconds, and the number of imprecise passes and balls lost to the opponents was impressive. The only visible "tactics" was to play long random balls, usually towards nobody, just to give the defense a few more seconds to breathe. The first Tryavna shot was in the 65th minute, the first (and only) shot on target was in the 85th minute, while their first (and only) corner came in the last minute of the game. In these circumstances, it is difficult to claim a good result.

However, the defense resisted well and the score was only 1-0 until the 80th minute. Well, it was a corner for Drenovets and OFK Tryavna made their only substitution in the game. Actually, they only had only one sub on the bench: goalkeeper Miroslav Kirov. He was sent in to replace Aleksandar Damyanov, although Damyanov did not have a medical problem. Bad timing: Kirov came in, and from that corner, Georgi Todorov succeeded to double the advantage for Drenovets, as he simply pushed the ball in: 2-0 (81'). A few minutes later, just after the only Tryavna shot on target, on the counterattack Ivaylo Andreev was fouled in the box, and Georgi Stoyanov executed and transformed the penalty: 3-0 (86'). OFK Tryavna played as if in ten men, because of Miroslav Kirov's forward position. Did he even touch the ball? It is a legitimate question, but it does not matter: while Neuer did not have the chance to play outfield, Miroslav Kirov had this chance and grabbed it. Luckily, it was near the end of the match, and Tryavna only received two goals, so the final score was 3-0.

The full match is available on YouTube.

Drenovets: Julian Veskov - Aleksandar Kirilov, Ivaylo Ivanov (cpt.), Lyudmil Ivanov, Kaloyan Tsvetkov, Yanek Kirilov (Georgi Todorov 46'), Georgi Stoyanov, Hristian Iliev (Kristian Iliev 87'), Angel Kaishev (Lyubomir Veselov 83'), Aleksandar Veselinov (Chavdar Aleksandrov 87'), Denis Dimitrov (Ivaylo Andreev 46'). Manager: Aleksandar Petrov.

Tryavna: Delyan Arabadzhiev - Daniel Totev, Stanislav Atanasov (cpt.), Vesko Karakolev, Tsanko Slavov, Radoslav Kosev - Tomislav Kolev, Aleksandar Damyanov (Miroslav Kirov 81'), Ivelin Georgiev - Martin Shirtev, Dimitar Mitev. Manager: Daniel Hristov.

Referee: Ivaylo Pavlov.

Yellow cards: Georgi Stoyanov 34', Georgi Todorov 57', Angel Kaishev 75' - Aleksandar Damyanov 70', Tomislav Kolev 72'.

In the next round, on Sunday, 11 April, FK Drenovets will play away at Spartak Pleven, while OFK Tryavna will only play on Monday, 12 April 2021, against Botev 2 Vratsa at home.

Full results, table and fixtures:

Round 25 (7 April 2021)

 

Levski 2020 Lom – Bdin 1923 Vidin 2-0

OFK Pavlikeni – Akademik Svishtov 2-0

Partizan Cherven Bryag – Parva Atomna Kozloduy 0-0

Botev 2 Vratsa – OFK Levski 2007 2-0

FK Drenovets – OFK Tryavna 3-0

Peshtera Galata – Spartak Pleven 1-2

OFK Lokomotiv Mezdra – FK Sevlievo 4-0

Yantra Polski Trambesh – Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo 3-2

Vihar Slavyanovo – Lokomotiv 1927 Dryanovo 2-0

 

Table

 

1	Levski 2020 Lom	25	19	6	0	63-9	63	Promotion to Vtora Liga
2	Vihar Slavyanovo	25	17	4	4	54-19	55
3	Yantra Polski Trambesh	25	15	5	5	50-28	50
4	FK Sevlievo	25	13	7	5	42-21	46
5	Botev 2 Vratsa	25	13	6	6	49-30	45
6	Spartak Pleven	25	14	2	9	50-26	44
7	Partizan Cherven Bryag	25	11	6	8	36-33	39
8	OFK Pavlikeni	25	10	8	7	29-19	38
9	OFK Lokomotiv Mezdra	25	11	4	10	37-26	37
10	Lokomotiv Dryanovo	25	10	3	12	43-48	33
11	FK Drenovets	25	8	8	9	39-47	32
12	Parva Atomna Kozloduy	25	7	5	13	29-39	26
13	OFK Levski 2007	24	6	7	11	27-31	25
14	Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo	25	6	5	14	30-45	23
15	Akademik Svishtov	25	6	4	15	29-48	22
16	Peshtera Galata	24	6	4	14	35-60	22
17	Bdin 1923 Vidin	25	4	6	15	18-74	18	Relegation to regional leagues
18	OFK Tryavna	25	2	2	21	17-74	8	Relegation to regional leagues

 

Round 26 (11-12 April 2021)

 

Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo – OFK Lokomotiv Mezdra

Bdin 1923 Vidin – Vihar Slavyanovo

Lokomotiv 1927 Dryanovo – Yantra Polski Trambesh

FK Sevlievo – Peshtera Galata

Spartak Pleven – FK Drenovets

OFK Levski 2007 – Partizan Cherven Bryag

Parva Atomna Kozloduy – OFK Pavlikeni

Akademik Svishtov – Levski 2020 Lom

OFK Tryavna – Botev 2 Vratsa