Lokomotiv (Sofia) secured a place in the 1/8 finals of the Bulgarian Cup tournament, after achieving a complete turnaround with 2:1 in their visit to Vihren in Sandanski.
The match started under the control of the capital's “railroad players“, who had more possession of the ball, but had difficulty reaching clear goal opportunities in front of Alexander Mihaylov's goal. In the 11th minute, Adil Tawi slipped into a promising position on the left flank. The hosts responded quickly in the 16th minute, when their first more dangerous attack hit the post, and immediately afterwards, goalkeeper Alexander Lyubenov had to make a key save.
Lokomotiv continued to press and in the 24th minute, Mark-Emilio Papazov shot dangerously from distance. Shortly after, Mihaylov shone with an excellent save after a header by Erol Dost.
Despite the pressure from the visitors, Vihren struck in the 29th minute. In a quick counterattack, Mario Ivov crossed into the penalty area, where the ball ricocheted treacherously off Bozhidar Katsarov's head and flew into Lyubenov's net for 1:0.
Lyuboslav Penev's team came out transformed after the break and naturally equalized in the 56th minute. Niklas Penev made an excellent parallel pass to the goal line, and Erol Dost was in the right place to send the ball into the net for 1:1.
The hosts responded with a powerful shot by Aykut Ramadan from the edge of the penalty area, which was, however, caught by Lyubenov.
The sharper and more aggressive play of the Sofia team gave the final result in the 79th minute. Substitute Spas Delev made a precise assist to Ryan Bidunga, who scored the winning goal from close range for 2:1 and sealed Lokomotiv's advancement in the tournament.