Lida produced a statement performance to defeat Slavutych 4-0 in the Extraleague on Monday evening. The visitors, sitting eighth in the table, made no mistakes in a match that looked nothing like their meeting just two days earlier. Slavutych, third after eleven games, had their unbeaten home run brought to an abrupt halt.
And here's the thing — Slavutych had beaten Lida 3-0 on 10 October, so this wasn't some random upset. To be fair, Lida had some good wins recently, beating Mogilev 5-1 and 6-0 in succession, but beating Slavutych away at their place is different. They camped in the final third from the first whistle and Slavutych were second to everything.
The home side, nine wins from eleven matches, could not find any rhythm. Lida were clinical where it mattered, converting their chances while Slavutych looked disjointed. By then the match was effectively over, and the visitors held on grimly to see out the remaining time without giving anything away.
What this means for the table:
- Slavutych drop to third after 9 wins and 2 losses from 11 games
- Lida move up to eighth with 6 wins and 5 losses
- The gap between them narrows — Slavutych lead by 3 points
I had given Slavutych a home win with 70 per cent confidence, but this is where the match broke my prediction. Lida simply outplayed them in every department, and Slavutych had no answer. They have deeper squad problems to address now.
