Belarus succumb to 1-2 friendly defeat against Turkey

The Belarusian national football team lost to the Turkish opponents 1-2 in the last friendly match in 2013.

The Belarusian squad included the following players: Alexander Gutor; Alexander Martynovich, Maksim Bordachyov, Oleg Veretilo (Edgar Olekhnovich, 67), Yegor Filipenko, Sergei Balanovich (Sergei Krivets, 83), Stanislav Dragun (Sergei Kislyak, 67), Timofei Kalachyov, Yan Tigorev (Ilya Aleksiyevich, 92), Alexander Hleb, Vitaly Rodionov (Anton Putilo, 76).

Both teams played carefully in the beginning of the match. The hosts were in control of the ball but did not create many opportunities in front of Alexander Gutor’s goal. The two goals in the first ten minutes (1-1) were against the general run of the game.

In the fifth minute Arda Turan crossed from the left hand side to Umut Bulut who was unmarked by the Belarusian defenders and converted the chance into a perfect shot into the left corner of the net. The next attack almost immediately came from the Belarusian side. Alexander Hleb ran down the right flank and crossed the ball into the box, Vitaly Rodionov beating Tolga Zengin.

The 1-1 scoreline remained unchanged until the last minutes of the game when Burak Yilmaz eventually put the hosts in command scoring a winning goal. His first shot was repelled by Alexander Gutor but the Turkish player sent home the rebound.

Belarus have taken on Turkey only in friendly matches. On 14 February 1996 Belarus lost 2-3 in Izmir, then won 2-1 in Denizli on 18 August 2004 and were held 2-2 in Minsk on 26 March 2008.

Belarus propped up the qualifying Group I table after finishing in fifth place.