Levski retain Bulgarian Cup

PFC Levski Sofia won the Bulgarian Cup for the 24th time with a 2-1 defeat of PFC Litex Lovech.

Levski on top
Defending the trophy they regained last season, Levski were on top from the start at the Vasil Levski national stadium in Sofia. Garba Lawal, Georgi Chilikov and Todor Kolev all went close early on, and Stoyan Stavrev in the Lovech goal made a fine save on 24 minutes from Chilikov. Lovech, already without key defender Rosen Kirilov then lost forward Hristo Yovov to an injury just before half-time, and the second period saw Levski take advantage of their superiority.

Decisive goals
Three minutes after the break, recently-introduced Levski substitute, Russian Konstantin Golovskoy, latched on to Todor Kolev's pass and chipped Stavrev to open the scoring. The score remained 1-0 until the 82nd minute, when Sasa Simonovic pounced at close range to double Levski's lead. Mourad Hdioud scored a late consolation for Lovech, but Levski had done enough to win.

'Heads held high'
After the game, Levski head coach Georgi Todorov, whose side were beaten to the league title by PFC CSKA Sofia at the weekend, said: "We are finishing the season with our heads held high, even though we failed to win the championship. This Bulgarian Cup is well deserved." Levski's total of 24 Cups is eight more than CKSA. The defeat was Lovech's second in their three finals, having previously lost in 1999 but won two years later.