Slavutych — Baranavichy: 8:4, Extraliga

Slavutych took on Baranavichy in the Extraleague on Tuesday evening, and the visitors came away with a 8:4 victory. We had backed the hosts to win, confidence at 77 per cent, but the match went another way. And here's the thing — it wasn't that Baranavichy outplayed them. It was that Slavutych gave the ball away and hit them on the break.

Four games in, both sides sit on zero points, which means the table says nothing yet. Pass over that. What matters is the run each team had before this. Baranavichy lost their last three by a point — 4:7, 4:5, 2:3 — but they beat Yuunost Minsk 5:1 back in August. Slavutych had mixed results: a win against Brest, then three losses in a row ending 1:2 against Zhlobin.

The scoreline is what stands out. Eight goals for Slavutych against four for Baranavichy, and the visitors still came out on top. To be fair, the hosts were camped in the final third for long spells, but the finishing wasn't sharp enough. Baranavichy, by then, were ruthless in transition.

What it means for the standings is that both teams remain level on points after four matches. A win takes Baranavichy off the bottom, even if the gap is still theoretical. Slavutych drop further from any realistic target. The history between them adds an edge, but this was just another day in a league where three or four moments decide everything.