Belarus round-up: BATE and Shakhtyor impress

FC BATE Borisov and FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk were the big winners in the Belarussian First Division this week as they recorded 7-0 and 9-0 victories over FC Slavia Mozyr and FC Zvezda-VA-BGU Minsk respectively.

Two hat-tricks
There were 35 goals scored in the tenth round of fixtures played on Wednesday, and both BATE's Valeri Stripeikis and Shakhtyor's Vadim Boiko scored hat-tricks in convincing victories over the league's bottom two clubs.

Leaders victorious
Leaders FC Torpedo-SKA Minsk, meanwhile, recorded a 2-0 home victory over FC Darida Zhdanovichi with Sergei Kozak and Dmitri Chalei on target, while second-placed FC Gomel beat FC Naftan Novopolotsk by the same scoreline thanks to strikes from Gennadi Bliznyuk and Andrei Morozov.

Three in a row
FC Dinamo Minsk completed their third successive win when they came from behind to beat FC Torpedo Zhodino 3-1. Yuri Doroshkevich opened the scoring for Torpedo on 69 minutes but Nikolai Ryndyuk's double, on 72 and 80 minutes, and a goal from Igor Rozhkov clinched the victory for the hosts.

'Equal fight'
Dinamo coach Anatoli Baydechny admitted that his side had been made to work hard for the points. "It was very even and our opponents played very well and waited until we got tired," he said. "After their goal we changed things, we made substitutions and changed to three defenders and two defensive midfielders. We dominated the midfield and won the game in a ten-minute spell."

Lokomotiv joy
FC Lokomotiv Minsk recorded their first home victory of the season when they overcame the challenge of FC Belshina Bobruisk to emerge as 3-2 winners. Elsewhere, FC Dinamo Brest drew 1-1 with FC Dnepr-Transmash Mogilev, while FC Neman Grodno came from behind to beat FC Molodechno-2000 3-1.

Sunday action
The second bout of league action came on Sunday, when six postponed matches were played. Gomel, who have now not conceded a goal in their ten league games, played out a goalless draw with Dinamo Brest, while Torpedo-SKA beat Torpedo Zhodino 1-0 through a Vitali Ledenev goal. Dinamo Minsk secured a 2-0 away victory over city rivals Lokomotiv Minsk, Darida defeated Belshina by a single goal and Dnepr-Transmash beat Zvezda-VA-BGU by the same scoreline. Sunday's other match saw Neman draw 1-1 at home to Naftan.