Bulgaria round-up: CSKA held at last
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Article summary
Runaway leaders PFC CSKA Sofia had their winning run cut short by a 1-1 draw with PFC Spartak Varna.
Article body
Bulgarian Premier League runaway leaders PFC CSKA Sofia dropped their first points of the season as they drew 1-1 at PFC Spartak Varna.
Petrov leveller
CSKA's 13-match winning run looked set to continue when Emil Gargorov put them ahead in the 17th minute. But in the 61st minute Anastas Petrov crossed into the CSKA area and Plamen Krumov earned the home side a deserved point.
Chilikov again
Chasers PFC Levski Sofia closed the gap from eight points to six with a 1-0 home win against PFC Cherno More Varna. Georgi Chilikov's 16th goal in 14 games did the damage.
Todorov opener
PFC Litex Lovech remain third after a 3-0 win against PFC Dobrudzha Dobrich. Bulgaria Under-19 international Anatoli Todorov opened the scoring in the 19th minute before Zhivko Zhelev and Tiago Silva completed the victory in the second half.
Penev volley
PFC Naftex Burgas moved up to sixth after defeating PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv 2-0 at home. The deadlock was not broken until the 71st minute, when defender Veselin Penev scored with a beautiful volley - and Anton Spasov doubled the advantage six minutes from time.
Pitoska's immediate impact
Elsewhere, Blagoy Georgiev was on target for PFC Slavia Sofia only to see new signing Toni Pitoska earn PFC Marek Dupnitsa a draw with a 77th-minute equaliser. PFC Rilski Sportist Samokov recorded their first win - a 2-0 home triumph against PFC Lokomotiv Sofia and PFC Botev Plovdiv drew 0-0 with PFC Chernomorets Burgas.
