CSKA achieved a decisive 3-0 victory in their visit to Botev (Plovdiv) in a match from the 22nd round of the First Football League. Thibaut Vion, Marcelino Careasso and Jonathan Lindseth were accurate for the success of the “army“, who collected an asset of 32 points in eighth place in the standings. Dusan Kerkez's players remain without a win since the start of the spring part of the championship and with 41 points continue to share third position with the team from the Black Sea, which, however, has a game less, BTA reported.
Before the first referee's signal at the “Hristo Botev” stadium; the legend of the “canaries” Petar Zekhtinski presented Ivelin Popov with the award for “Footballer of Plovdiv“ for 2024.
The match started off well for the “reds“, who took the lead in the eighth minute. Stanislav Shopov crossed from a corner to the edge of the goal area, where Vion wedged himself between Jonas Tam and Jamal Amofa and headed in an unsalvageable effort to give his team the lead.
The hosts tried to respond ten minutes later. Samuel Akere received a pass from the left behind Thibaut Vion, but Lumbard Delova secured his teammate well and closed Botev's wing, whose shot from a small angle was saved by Ivan Dyulgerov.
In the 23rd minute, Alexander Tomas' players missed a clear opportunity for a second goal. James Eto'o sent a precise pass down the ground to set up Marcelino Careasso alone against Hans Christian Bernat, but Botev's Danish keeper showed excellent reflexes and blocked the Colombian's shot with his foot.
Exactly after half an hour of play, the “yellow-blacks“ cracked again in defense. Thibaut Vion was left to take over space with an individual raid in the opponent's half, then combined with Ioannis Pitas, who shot over the goal from an advantageous position.
In the 40th minute, the “reds“ Cypriot striker fired a tricky shot from about 25 meters, which went over the crossbar.
At the very end of the first half, Dyulgerov made two consecutive saves, after first catching a long-range shot by Ivelin Popov, and in the next attack he managed to reflect a tight shot by Karabelov, aimed at his lower right corner.
A minute after the start of the second half, the “army” doubled their lead. Ulaus Skarshem received a pass from the left into the penalty area, where he managed to fight off three opposing defenders and combined with the uncovered Marcelino Careasso, who beat Bernat from a few meters for 2:0.
Exactly after an hour of play, Alexander Tomas' players scored a third goal. Substitute Jonathan Lindseth was on target from close range, after Bernat had previously managed to parry successive shots by Careasso and Pitas.
In the 72nd minute, the post saved the “Canaries” from another goal in their own net. Skarshem received it on the left flank and returned it to Ilian Iliev, who, falling, intercepted it in the near corner, but the ball hit the right side post of Botev's goal.
In the 85th minute, another good combination on the left gave Aaron Iseka the opportunity to shoot from a good position, but his shot was weak and did not pose a problem for the home goalkeeper. In added time, Bernat also saved an accurate shot by Jonathan Lindseth. Thus, the match ended with a score of 3:0 in favor of CSKA.