Bulgaria round-up: Defeat costs CSKA dear

PFC CSKA Sofia's championship hopes were all but extinguished with a 2-1 defeat away to PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv on Saturday.

CSKA floored in Plovdiv
Goals from Slavcho Pavlov and Danail Backhov saw Plovdiv take a 2-0 lead and although Vladimir Manchev's second-half strike ensured a fraught finale, Plovdiv stood firm to register the victory that sees them move level on points with CSKA, albeit ten points adrift of leaders PFC Levski Sofia.

Levski show no mercy 
Levski retained top spot ahead of the second phase of the championship with a 4-1 demolition of PFC Spartak Pleven at the Gueorgui Asparuhov stadium. Martin Kushev stole the show with a stunning hat-trick, while Peter Kabat also helped himself to a goal. Emil Todorov grabbed a consolation for the visitors.

Beroe earn a draw
In Stara Zagora, rock-bottom PFC Beroe secured a much-needed point with a battling 1-1 draw against PFC Lokomotiv Sofia. Issa Al-Hassan broke the deadlock two minutes before the break, only for Doncho Donev to capitalise on poor Beroe defending to grab an equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

Joy for Slavia
PFC Slavia Sofia moved to within touching distance of a top-six spot after their 3-1 defeat of PFC Chernomorets Burgas. Rade Todorovich opened the hosts' account in the 12th minute and the lead was doubled by Asen Karaslavov following a goalmouth scramble.

Mutafov on target
Slavia took their foot off the gas and allowed Kostasin Dzhambazov to pull one back from the penalty spot after Emil Angelov was felled in the area. This spurred Slavia back into action, however, and Dimitar Mutafov restored their two-goal lead after an hour's play with a powerful shot from distance.

Success for Cherno More
PFC Cherno More tasted success for the first time this year with a 3-1 win over PFC Marek. Victory was all the more impressive considering the fact that the home side fell behind to Ivailo Kirilov's eight-minute strike. The lead lasted just four minutes, though, as Kristiyan Dobrev headed Cherno level before Aleksei Dionisiev and Daniel Atanasov made the points safe.

Litex stumble at home
Stoicho Sakaliev scored the only goal of the game from the spot as PFC Neftochimik saw off PFC Belasitsa, while PFC Litex Lovech stumbled at home to PFC Spartak Varna. The visitors took the lead through Valentin Stanchev's angled drive before Stefan Yurukov restored parity with 14 minutes remaining.