The Bulgarian under-21 national team lost against Denmark U21 with 0:1 its fifth game of the EURO 2017 qualifying campaign.
The game was played in Allborg at “Aalborg” stadium infront of 2877 spectators.
During the first half the game was equivalent and there were no goalscoring opportunities. The hosts tried few shots from long distance, but Zohore, Hjulsager and Christensen missed the target.
The only shot on target came in the 18th minute when Zohore took a free-kick but Kitanov saved.
For Bulgaria Gamakov had an effort on goal in the 12th minute but the ball went wide.
In the 35th minute Denmark`s defence made a serious mistake. Frederik Holst headed the ball to the goalkeeper, but Aleksander Vasilev reached it first and tried a chip shot, but missed the target.
Two minutes later Kenneth Zohore made a fine run by the left side. Radoslav Terziev tried to stop him but he could not get him blocked and the striker shot from close range but the ball stopped outside the net.
During the second half Denmark had superior ball possession and tried to pressure its opponent into making a mistake but the Bulgarian players defended really well in front of the goal and managed to keep the ball out of their net.
In the 56th minute Kiril Despodov substituted Antonio Vutov.
In the 62nd minute after a double pass between Zohore and Andersen, the last one made a ground through ball and found Børsting into the penalty area but Kitanov saved his shot.
Just two minutes later the host created another good goalscoring opportunity. Andrew Hjulsager passed across the box to Zohore who missed the ball. Børsting reached it and returned it to Andersen who tried a shot but missed the target.
Then on the 71th minute the hosts opened the scoring. After a multipass combination, Hjulsager took the ball between four defenders and found the net with a shot from 16 meters.
Just a minute later Andersen could have made it 2:0 but hit the left post.
The Bulgarian players reacted immediately and organized two good attacks. They came close to equalizing through Radoslav Tsonev, but his shot was saved by Jeppe Højbjerg.
Four minutes later Miki Orachev crossed the ball to Kristiyan Malinov but his header went just wide.
In 81 minutes, Bulgaria`s coach Antoni Zdravkov made a double shift. Dimitar Velkovski replaced Radoslav Tsonev and Nikola Kolev appeared in Aleksandar Vasilev`s place
To the end of the game Bulgaria`s players tried to impose pressure and to equalize, but didn`t manage to create a goalscoring opportunity and the match ended 1:0.
In the other match of our group, Armenia and Luxembourg finished 1:1.
Despite the defeat, Bulgaria remains on the top of Group 5 with 9 points from 5 matches. Romania is second with nine from four. Wales is third with 7 points after 3 games. Denmark is fourth with four points from two games. The teams of Luxembourg and Armenia are in the last two positions with just one point after four matches.
Yellow cards: Galabov, Terziev, Børsting
BULGARIA: 1. Georgi Kitanov, 4. Miki Orachev, 5. Plamen Galabov, 6. Hristo Popadiyn, 10. Georgi Minchev, 14. Radoslav Terziev, 15. Kristyan Malinov, 18. Milen Gamakov - c., 19. Alexander Vasilev, (83 min. - Nikola Kolev), 20. Antonio Vutov (57 min. - Kiril Despodov), 21. Radoslav Tsonev (82 min. - Dimitar Velkovski)
Head coach: Antoni Zdravkov
Denmark: 1. Jeppe Højbjerg, 2 Frederik Holst, 3 Andreas Christensen, 4. Patrick Banggaard, 5. Jakob Blåbjerg, 6. Andreas Maxsø, 7. Andrew Hjulsager (78 min. - Emiliano Hansen), 8. Lasse Vigen Christensen – c., 9. Kenneth Zohore (89 min. Marcus Mathiasen), 11. Lucas Andersen (83 min. - Mathias Greve), 17. Frederik Børsting
Head coach: Niels Frederiksen
Referee: Adam Farkas (Hungary)
Assistant referees: Istvan Albert (Hungary), Oszkar Lemon (Hungary)
Fourth official: Peter Solymosi (Hungary)
Stadium: “Aalborg”, city Aalborg
Spectators: 2877
Department "Public Relations and Media"
