Minsk II came from behind to beat Slonim 3-2 in the First League's eighteenth round on Thursday evening. V. Malyutin scored twice for the visitors, but a second-half red card for V. Ganchuk forced them to defend with ten men. The result moves Slonim closer to mid-table stability while Minsk II continue their push away from danger.
Slonim started brightly and took the lead through A. Bulychev in the seventh minute. The home side looked comfortable pushing forward until Malyutin pulled one back just six minutes later. By the twenty-second minute he had doubled his tally and turned the momentum, sending the crowd into a nervous silence. Malyutin paid for a sloppy opening, but his movement in the box proved decisive.
The game shifted at the halfway stage when Ganchuk received a red card in the fifty-sixth minute. Slonim sensed blood and earned a penalty in the sixty-third minute, which I. Bondarenko converted to level the scores. There is unrest in the dressing room when you concede from a spot-kick after losing a man, and Minsk II had to dig deep. One mistake ends it, and they nearly paid for it.
Two minutes after the penalty, M. Kalinchenko restored Minsk II's advantage with a sharp strike. The visitors had played the second half a man up and now had to hold on for dear life. Slonim threw bodies forward but could not find an equaliser, and Minsk II saw the game out. Kalinchenko went for the jugular when it mattered most.
Minsk II earned five corners to Slonim's four, but the stat sheet tells only part of the story. The visitors collected five yellow cards including Malyutin's booking in the fifty-ninth minute, while the hosts showed more restraint with just one card for V. Zholudov. Seven substitutions were made across the second half as both managers tried to change the game.
Slonim sit sixth with 39 points from 23 games, while Minsk II remain twelfth on 29 points. The hosts lost their last outing 2-0 to Osipovichi, but Minsk II have won three of their past five matches. This result keeps both sides in touch with their respective targets, though the gap between them remains wide.