Niva beat Vlna Pinsk 4-0 in the First League regular season on 26 September. It was a straightforward afternoon for the home side, who had already been sitting top of the table before this one.
And here's the thing about the opening half — nothing much happened in minute twenty, just a quiet spell that told you nothing. Then A. Susha picked up a yellow card at 21, and D. Galuza found the net at 30. To be fair, the visitors looked like they were going through the motions.
The second half started with a surprise: Susha was taken off at 46, and J. Oreshkevich went to the bench with a booking. Galuza struck again at 60, and Sedro came on for the visitors. By then the game was slipping away.
Gordeychuk made it 3-0 at 69, and the visitors began to panic with substitutions. Kuratnik and Kozel came on for Niva at 76, while Oreshkevich, Vlasov, Pampukha and Galuza were all replaced at 80. Three changes in ten minutes — they were looking for something.
Gordeychuk completed his brace at 90+3, and that was that. Prokopchuk and Leshkevich came on late, but the result was never in doubt. They had won a dangerous free-kick earlier in the season, and this was different — this was a statement.
Niva finished with four corners to three, one free-kick each, and no offsides. Both sides had zero red cards and zero goal kicks. The visitors took two throw-ins to Niva's three. The numbers don't tell the whole story.
Five points clear at the top now, and Vlna Pinsk drop further behind at 11th. The hosts had lost to Smorgon last week, but this felt like a different kind of response. Three or four moments decide a match, and Niva had all of them.
