No goals in the test between the Bulgarian U21 national team and Cyprus, which was played in Larnaca (Cyprus), BTA reported.
The match is part of the "Lions" preparation for the European qualifiers, which begin in the fall. On Tuesday, March 25, Alexander Dimitrov's selection will host Greece at the "Hristo Botev" stadium in Blagoevgrad.
Shortly before the end of the first half, Nikola Iliev took the ball in the center and immediately found Roberto Raichev on the left flank. The winger advanced and from about 20 meters seriously troubled the goalkeeper of the island state. The best opportunity for the opponent came soon after. A deep pass brought a Cypriot striker alone against Velizar Iliev, but the Bulgarian goalkeeper emerged the ultimate winner.
The Bulgarian team could have opened the scoring at the beginning of the second half after a cross from the left, but Borislav Rupanov failed to score. In the 70th minute, Nikola Iliev dribbled in front of the Cypriot penalty area and shot, but at the last moment a defender put his foot down and blocked it.
In the attack, the hosts also created tension in front of the Bulgarian goal after a ball was thrown from the right. Georgiou and Charalambous failed to score shots that would have made it difficult for the Bulgarian goalkeeper.
"The Lions" created a good opportunity in the 79th minute, with Chorbadzhiyski's shot going wide of the goal. Soon after, a serious inaccuracy in the Cypriot defense sent the ball to the feet of Preslav Bachev, who technically deflected it to Kubrat Jonashchi, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area was parried by the goalkeeper. By the end of the match, the hosts could have punished the Bulgarian defense twice in the last minutes, with defender Stilianu failing to hit the target from very close range.
Bulgaria's lineup: 12. Velizar Iliev, 4. Rosen Bozhinov, 5. Mihail Polendakov (71 - 2. Gabriel Zlatanov), 6. Martin Georgiev (71 - 3. Todor Pavlov), 15. Dimitar Papazov (71 - 14. Teodor Ivanov), 21. Petko Panayotov (61 - 13. Kubrat Jonashchi), 17. Berk Beihan (77 - 8. Antoine Stoyanov), 10. Nikola Iliev (77 - 22. Marto Boychev), 7. Roberto Raichev (61 - 20. Mert Durmuş), 19. Nikolay Zlatev (61 - 13. Georgi Chorbadzhiyski), 9. Borislav Rupanov (61 - 16. Preslav Bachev)