Botev (Plovdiv) and Slavia finished in a 1:1 draw in a match from the 12th round of the First League. Armstrong Oko-Flex opened the score for the “Canaries“ in the 43rd minute, but Emil Stoev restored the tie in the 77th after a clever execution on the ground from a direct free kick, BTA reported.
The curious thing is that both teams scored with reduced squads, as first Nikola Iliev from Botev's team was sent off in the 18th minute for a second yellow and red card, respectively, and in the 68th minute the same happened with the defender of the “Whites” Martin Georgiev.
After the draw, both teams remain with 11 points each and share 12th position in the standings.
Before the first referee's signal, Ivaylo Videv, Nikolay Minkov and Todor Nedelev received special awards from the club's legends - Dimitar Mladenov, Kostadin Kostadinov and Petar Zekhtinski. For all three current players, this was an anniversary match with the “yellow-black“ team. Videv recorded his 50th match, for Minkov it was the 150th clash for Botev, and captain Todor Nedelev played his 300th match with the “canaries“ jersey.
In the eighth minute, the guests were the first to reach danger in front of the opponent's goal. Yanis Germush advanced on the left flank and combined with Kristiyan Balov, who feinted two defenders and found Ivan Minchev in the penalty area. The finishing shot of the captain of the “whites“, however, was saved by Daniel Naumov.
In the 18th minute, the hosts were left with one man less on the field. Nikola Iliev received a second yellow and a red card, respectively, after he was late in a duel with Germush and stepped on Slavia's central striker.
Five minutes later, Kristiyan Stoyanov shot dangerously from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball flew just over the crossbar. Shortly after, at the other goal, Levi Ntumba had to intervene on a tricky shot by Todor Nedelev from distance.
In the 39th minute, Ivan Minchev freed up space for a shot and aimed well into the lower left corner of Naumov, who, however, was careful and managed to knock it out for a corner.
Four minutes later, Botev took the lead. Armstrong Oko-Flex received a pass in the penalty area, where he fought off Martin Georgiev, feinted Diego Ferrareso and finished on the ground for 1:0. With this score, the break came.
Three minutes after the resumption of play in the second half, Ratko Dostanic's players could have equalized. The home team's defense did not navigate well when crossing from a corner and the ball fell to the feet of Yannis Germush, who, however, shot over the goal.
In the 57th minute, the "canaries" were in turn close to a second goal. The goal scorer Oko-Flex received from the left, found space for a shot and shot into the near corner, but the Slavia goalkeeper reacted and parried for a corner. After his performance, Ntumba showed brilliant reflexes and a header from Ivaylo Videv.
In the 65th minute, Daniel Naumov was in place for a strong long-range shot by Mohamed Doso.
Three minutes later, the numerical equality on the pitch was restored, after Martin Georgiev from Slavia's squad was also sent off for a second yellow card for a foul on Oko-Flex.
In the 77th minute, the “whites” came to an equalizer. Emil Stoev was accurate with a clever execution of a direct free kick on the ground, which caught Daniel Naumov unprepared – 1:1.
Until the end, both teams sought victory, but did not reach clear situations and so the match ended in a draw.