Spartak Pleven crushed OFK Tryavna in the last match of the season, 9-1

Sunday, 30 May 2021, 6 pm local time (3 pm UTC), Pleven Stadium, Pleven, Bulgaria, 34th (last) round of the Bulgarian Third League, North-West Group (Severozapadna Treta Liga).

This nightmarish season for OFK Tryavna have finally ended, not without another humiliating defeat, 9-1 away at Spartak Pleven. The score was quite normal, 3-1, until the 72nd minute, when goals started to flow, and with six goals in the last 18 minutes, Spartak Pleven achieved a clear win and a sort of revenge for the surprising result in autumn, when Tryavna succeeded to win, 2-1, unexpectedly, right before the winter break. These were their last points in this competition, as they managed to lose all the games in the second half of the season.

At 9-1, there is not much to be said. The fact that Spartak Pleven used many reserves and juniors, and still achieved such a win, says everything.  It was 3-0 at half time, by goals of Aleksandar Mladenov (9'), Andrian Dimitrov (13') and Pavel Petkov (27'). Strangely, OFK Tryavna started better in the second half, and even scored, by sub Denis Dachev (64'). The final minutes belonged to the home side, who scored by means of Andrian Dimitrov (72' and 87', three goals in all, adding the goal in the first half), Miroslav Antonov (77' and 85') and Aleksandar Lambev (83' and 86'). It was like a goal-scoring competition.

Spartak Pleven: Valentin Galev - Damyan Damyanov, Borislav Ivanov, Aleksandar Lambev, Lubomir Hristakiev, Ivo Ivanov (Dilyan Ignatov 65'), Pavel Petkov, Aleksandar Mladenov, Asen Medvedev, Andrian Dimitrov, Miroslav Antonov. Manager: Krassimir Bislimov.

OFK Tryavna: Miroslav Kirov (cpt.) - Radoslav Kosev, Oktay Azisov, Tsanko Slavov, Hussein Veisov, Georgi Atanasov, Stanislav Atanasov, Ivelin Georgiev, Aleksandar Damyanov, Daniel Totev (Denis Dachev 46'), Martin Shirtev. Manager: Daniel Hristov.

Referee: Georgi Ananiev.

Yellow cards: Pavel Petkov 68', Dilyan Ignatov 71' - Stanislav Atanasov 51', Denis Dachev 68', Martin Shirtev 69', Oktay Azisov 80'.

OFK Tryavna have been relegated again to the Gabrovo County (Oblast) League, after six years (2015 - 2021) spent in the Third League, classifying in the lower half of the table. The last time they dropped, in 2014, they were able to win the Gabrovo County League in 2014-2015 and to come back after just one year. The situation seems more complicated now, as the club passes through a crisis. Hopefully, the local authorities, and the club managers will find the right solutions for a quick comeback to the Third League.

There were no other surprises in the last round. Levski 2020 Lom won even their last match, away at second classified Vihar Slavyanovo. In the lower part of the table, Peshtera Galata won their match, but so did Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo and Bdin 1923 Vidin. As a consequence, the second relegated team would be Peshtera Galata, if any. Some websites consider only OFK Tryavna as surely relegated, while Peshtera Galata is above the relegation line. The situation in Bulgarian football is so complicated, and there are so many possible changes before the beginning of the next season, that it is impossible to predict what would happen.

Full results and final table:

Round 34 (29-30 May 2021)

 

Vihar Slavyanovo – Levski 2020 Lom 0-2

Lokomotiv 1927 Dryanovo – Akademik Svishtov 3-1

Peshtera Galata – Botev 2 Vratsa 2-1

Bdin 1923 Vidin – FK Drenovets 3-1

OFK Lokomotiv Mezdra – Partizan Cherven Bryag 2-1

Yantra Polski Trambesh – OFK Pavlikeni 4-0

Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo – Parva Atomna Kozloduy 3-0

FK Sevlievo – OFK Levski 2007 1-0

Spartak Pleven – OFK Tryavna 9-1

 

Table

 

1	Levski 2020 Lom	34	28	6	0	86-11	90	Promoted to Vtora Liga
2	Vihar Slavyanovo	34	22	6	6	67-29	72
3	Yantra Polski Trambesh	34	20	6	8	67-38	66
4	FK Sevlievo	34	18	7	9	55-30	61
5	Spartak Pleven	34	19	3	12	76-34	60	[1]
6	Botev 2 Vratsa	34	18	6	10	67-44	60	[1]
7	Partizan Cherven Bryag	34	15	8	11	47-42	53
8	OFK Pavlikeni	34	14	8	12	41-35	50
9	Lokomotiv Dryanovo	34	15	4	15	59-58	49	[2]
10	FK Drenovets	34	13	10	11	55-55	49	[2]
11	OFK Lokomotiv Mezdra	34	14	4	16	46-48	46
12	Akademik Svishtov	34	10	5	19	41-60	35
13	OFK Levski 2007	34	8	10	16	36-45	34
14	Parva Atomna Kozloduy	34	9	6	19	38-63	33	[3]
15	Bdin 1923 Vidin	34	8	9	17	35-84	33	[3]
16	Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo	34	9	5	20	45-62	32	[4]
17	Peshtera Galata	34	9	5	20	48-82	32	[4]Relegated to regional leagues
18	OFK Tryavna	34	2	2	30	21-110	8	Relegated to regional leagues

 

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[1] Spartak Pleven ahead of Botev 2 Vratsa on points in head-to-head matches: Spartak Pleven 6p, Botev 2 Vratsa 0p.

[2] Lokomotiv 1927 Dryanovo ahead of FK Drenovets on goal difference in head-to-head matches: Lokomotiv 1927 Dryanovo – FK Drenovets 4-3.

[3] Parva Atomna Kozloduy ahead of Bdin 1923 Vidin on away goals in head-to-head matches: Parva Atomna Kozloduy 2 away goals, Bdin Vidin 1 away goal.

[4] Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo ahead of Peshtera Galata on goal difference in head-to-head matches: Etar 2 Veliko Tarnovo – Peshtera Galata 7-5.

Fayoum SC win 2-1 away at Qena and consolidate their position in the upper half of the table

Saturday, 29 May 2021, 4 pm local time (2 pm UTC), Qena Stadium, Qena, Egypt, the 24th round of the Egyptian Second Division, Group A.

Under new manager Saad Farouk, Fayoum SC have regained their strength and continue their positive run with a deserved 2-1 win away at Qena. Qena is in an exactly opposite position, as they lost four matches in a row and are now getting dangerously close to the relegation area.

The two captains and the referees, before the start of the match. Mostafa Gaber ”Dida”, Fayoum's goalkeeper and captain (in black) was again one of the best in the field. Source: Fayoum Club Facebook page

Before the game, Fayoum SC players wore white shirts with the image of their late president Ali Massoud printed on them. 

Fayoum SC field players wearing white shirts in memory of the late club president Ali Masoud. Source: alfawd.news

After this moment, Fayoum SC players changed to their usual away kits, with light blue shirts.

 There was a minute of silence in the memory of the late Fayoum president Ali Masoud. Source: Fayoum SC Facebook page

Fayoum had an excellent game, dominating most of the time, creating many chances and pressing in the opposite half. They took the lead after a free kick on the right side: Mohamed Adel Gomaa crossed into the box, and Hamad Al Hanbali headed the ball in: 0-1 (24'). The home side succeeded to equalize right before the break, after another set piece: the ball was sent in the box, and Abdullah Dominic eventually scored with a spectacular execution: 1-1 (44').

In the second half, the match was played mostly the same. The visitors were more active and willing to find the winning goal. The goal came after a throw from the right side, the ball was then headed on the back towards the center of the box, and Karim Al Shafei, coming from behind, was able to get the right shot to send it in: 1-2 (67').

In contrast to what happened in the first half, Fayoum SC handled well the end of the match, denying Qena any chance of an equalizer.

Fayoum SC starting XI: Mostafa Gaber "Dida" - Ali Abo Elela, Mahmoud Kamal "Schmeichel", Ahmed Jamal, Mohamed Adel Gomaa - Ahmed Hassan, Hamad Al Hanbali, Karim Al Shafei, Mahmoud Abd Elsalam Abu "Gresha" - Abdullah Magdy, Anas Muhammad "Shendy". Manager: Saad Farouk.

With this win, Fayoum consolidate their position in the upper half of the table and far from the relegation troubles with six rounds to go. Their next match will be at home, against Media, on Tuesday, the 1st of June.

The situation became complicated at the top of the table, where leaders Eastern Company lost again, this time away to Aluminium, their main opponents for the first spot leading to the Premier League. The gap between these two teams decreased from 7 points to just one point in two rounds. El Minya are also very close, so it looks like the end of the season would be much more intense than once thought. The same is true in the lower part of the table, where only Tahta seems to have surrendered, while all the other teams have chances to avoid relegation.

Results, table and fixtures:

Round 24 (29 May 2021)

 

KIMA Aswan – Asyut Cement 2-3

Asyut Petroleum – El Minya 0-1

Sohag – Shaban Qena 0-0

Telephonat – M.S. Samasta 0-0

Aluminium – Eastern Company 2-1

Media – Beni Suef 2-1

Dayrout – Tahta 1-0

Qena – Fayoum 1-2

 

Table

 

1	Eastern Company	24	14	6	4	35-23	48	Promotion to the Premier League
2	Aluminium	24	14	5	5	33-19	47
3	El Minya	24	12	9	3	28-16	45
4	Media	24	10	10	4	31-20	40
5	Beni Suef	24	11	7	6	26-21	40
6	Dayrout	24	9	8	7	41-33	35
7	Fayoum	24	8	8	8	23-21	32
8	Sohag	24	7	9	8	17-17	30
9	Asyut Petroleum	24	6	11	7	16-17	29
10	Qena	24	7	7	10	20-26	28
11	Telephonat	24	6	9	9	16-18	27
12	M.S. Samasta	24	5	10	9	17-22	25
13	Shaban Qena	24	5	9	10	15-22	24	Relegation to the Third Division
14	Asyut Cement	24	5	8	11	24-33	23	Relegation to the Third Division
15	KIMA Aswan	24	4	10	10	17-28	22	Relegation to the Third Division
16	Tahta	24	3	6	15	23-46	15	Relegation to the Third Division

 

In case that two or more teams are equal on points, the main ranking criteria are the results of the head-to-head matches.

 

Round 25 (1 June 2021)

 

Tahta – KIMA Aswan

Asyut Cement – Asyut Petroleum

El Minya – Sohag

Shaban Qena – Telephonat

M.S. Samasta – Aluminium

Fayoum – Media

Beni Suef – Dayrout

Eastern Company – Qena