Plovdiv, Bulgaria: The senior coach of Botev (Plovdiv) was pleased with the behaviour and performance of his footballers, who won decisively 6:0 and defeated Lokomotiv (Sofia).
The home team dominated the visitors, scoring six goals at Hristo Botev Stadium. Coach Dushan Kerkez was stunned and very happy with his team’s performance. The Yellow-boys scored 3-3 goals in each half.
Here is the list of goals scored by the players during the first League match played between Botev Plovdiv and Lokomotiv (Sofia).
Antone Baroan (1-0) 5′
Samuel Akere (2-0) 12′
Ivelin Popov (3-0) 45+1′
Umeh Emmanuel (4-0) 57′
Antone Baroan (5-0) 66′
Samuel Akere (6-0) 78′
Antoine Baroane became the most profitable foreigner in Botev’s club’s history with 26 goals. With his two goals yesterday, he surpassed the Brazilians Joao Paulo with 25 and Fernando Viana with 24 hits.
The skipper Ivelin Popov completed his 600 matches in the career with style by scoring in the extra time given before the first half whistle (45+1 minute), tripling the lead by 3-0.
Here are the first words of the Bosnian after the victory: “We did not expect to score so many goals. The most important thing to me is winning. The team behaved professionally from beginning to end”.
“The performances of these players in the last two weeks give great hope for the future. It looks like it, but there is a lot of hard work behind it all. “Scoring, I hope we keep scoring, but I also hope to be better at defending,” the specialist continued”.
Botev’s senior coach expressed that the team has a weak period in defence, but yesterday, they managed to outrun Locomotiv easily.
He said, ” I wish my colleague Doncic all the best in the future. I hope my team will continue to work the same way. Without hard work, talent is meaningless. For me and my staff, we have done an excellent job.
“I want to congratulate Ivelin Popov on his birthday – he is a true leader of the team. The more he plays, the better for Bulgarian football,” Kerkez added.
Appreciating the fan’s support, Coach Kerkez expressed his gratitude to the Canaries fans by saying, ” “The fans are fantastic. Nothing to say about them. They always believe in us. Although this match was played at a time not very conducive to football, they were behind us again.
“We will work hard and try to win the fight mainly for them. The derby is a different game. First, we need to calm down after this victory and prepare in the best way,” said the senior coach before the city derby with Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) in the next round.