The Bulgarian under-21 national team won its third match in a row of the UERO 2017 qualifying campaign after beating Armenia with 2:0 in Stara Zagora at “Beroe” stadium.
From the beginning of the game Antoni Zdravkov`s players had superior ball possession and tried to overcome the strong Armenian defence with various multipass combinations.
In the 20th minute Milen Gamkov shot from 25 meters but the ball went over the bar.
Nine minutes later Antonio Vutov tried his luck with a diagonal shot but the Armenian goalkeeper Anatoli Aivazov saved.
In the end of the first half Hristo Popadiyn made a fine run by the right side and crossed in to the penalty area where Minchev headed the ball but missed the target.
During the second half the situation on the pitch didn`t change. The Armenian players continued to play very defensively deep inside their own half and relied solely on counterattacks. Even though the Bulgarian players remained focused on their goal, they kept on searching for gaps in the opposition`s defence and finally opened the scoring in the 68th minute.
The substitute Despodov crossed from the right side and after a mistake in the Armenian defence, Kristyan Malinov was in the right place and netted the ball for 1:0.
Two minutes later Minchev had an efford on goal but Aivazov saved.
In the 81th minute Despodov made his second assist of the game. He crossed from the left side and after a misunderstanding between a defender and the goalkeeper, Minchev doubled Bulgaria`s lead.
Shortly after that the guests organized a counterattack. Gor Malakyan shot from long distance but Kitanov made a fine save.
In the final minutes of the game Aleksander Vasilev had the chance to score for 3:0 but his shot went wide.
In the rest of the games in Group 5, Romania beat Luxembourg with 1:0 as guest and Denmark and Wales finished 0:0.
After this victory Bulgaria went to the top of the group with 9 points and superior goal difference then Romania which also has 9 points. Wales occupies third place with 7 points. Denmark is fourth with 1 point. The teams of Armenia and Luxembourg are without a point.
Yellow cards: Poghosyan, Vutov, Manucharyan, Terziev
BULGARIA: 1. Georgi Kitanov, 4. Miki Orachev, 5. Plamen Galabov, 6. Hristo Popadiyn, 10. Georgi Minchev, 14. Radoslav Terziev, 15. Kristiyan Malinov (82 min. – Yanis Karabelyov), 18. Milen Gamakov (C), 19. Aleksander Vasilev, 20. Antonio Vutov (64 min. – Kiril Despodov), 21. Radoslav Tsonev (72 min. – Nikola Kolev)
Head coach: Antoni Zdravkov
Armenia: 1. Anatoli Aivazov, Aram Sahkhnazaryan, 5. Artur Kartashyan (71 min. – Razmik Hakobyan), 6. Armen Manucharyan, 7. Karen Harutyunyan (79 min. – Sargis Shahinyan), 9. Gor Malakyan, 10. Ghukas Poghosyan ( 60 min. – Petros Avetisyan), 16. Robert Hakobyan, 18. Alik Arakelyan, 22. Artur Miranyan, 23. Artem Simonyan (C)
Head coach: Artak Oseyan
Department "Public Relations and Media"
