Marked for Matvey Susha
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market25 Sep 2028
Only the photograph left for Matvey Susha
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Susha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Naftan the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Tkatsevich, and the manager let it.
Match23 Sep 2028
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Belshina defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
5.49 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Marked 9.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Marked 8.95 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match16 Sep 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Nikita Kostomarov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Naftan.
Squad18 Sep 2028
The manager makes an example of Aldiiar Ältaev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Artem Vrublevskiy and Naftan agree another 3 years.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market18 Sep 2028
The Matvey Susha conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Belshina will make the call about Matvey Susha this week. Naftan have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Sep 2028
A one-man rearguard from Artem Krent
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Naftan have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Latykhov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market11 Sep 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Naftan will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Sep 2028
Paublo Jara hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Naftan can pretend not to have heard.
Market4 Sep 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Naftan they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad4 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match2 Sep 2028
Three points for Naftan, 1‑0 the final word against Minsk in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.38, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Aug 2028
Naftan say no — this time
The offer from Bumprom Gomel for Matvey Susha was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Aug 2028
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market28 Aug 2028
Gomel are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Naftan will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Alexey Dayneko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Aug 2028
9 matches without a win for Naftan
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Naftan are no longer polite ones.
Market21 Aug 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Naftan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Aug 2028
Vitebsk left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market21 Aug 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Naftan will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Egor Shashko, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Shots: 4, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Every debut is a small story about the future: Artur Zablotskiy, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Naftan's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Naftan has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market14 Aug 2028
Naftan say no — this time
The offer from Gomel for Vladislav Myzgin was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gleb Sereda and Naftan agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match12 Aug 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market14 Aug 2028
Add another name to the list: Minsk have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Matvey Susha. The answer from Naftan has not changed — yet.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Jul 2028
6 matches without a win for Naftan
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Naftan are no longer polite ones.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Naftan may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market31 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 45 days on the sidelines for Gleb Sereda, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Naftan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market31 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Antonis Papakanellos was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Naftan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Matvey Susha gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Naftan
Golden Mafwenta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Matvey Susha knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matvey Susha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad29 Nov 2027
The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Nikita Kostomarov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad29 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Matvey Pritsker
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artur Dresmanis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Baranovichi the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Baranovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom15 Nov 2027
The numbers do not look good at Baranovichi
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
38 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Oct 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Naftan can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anatoliy Sannikov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Sep 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Baranovichi they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Denis Shpakovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Jun 2027
Still nobody has beaten Baranovichi
The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad28 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Baranovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Svidinskiy, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.65 on the card, and the Baranovichi support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
The one thing Matvey Susha could not do
Shots: 13, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Yulian Iliev is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.24 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match26 Jun 2027
Point won or two lost for Baranovichi?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Orsha? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Baranovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fedor Lebedev, and the manager let it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
36 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.66 on the card, and the Baranovichi support went home talking about one name.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The numbers do not look good at Baranovichi
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Shots: 15. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matvey Svidinskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Match27 Mar 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Orsha will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Baranovichi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Denis Shpakovskiy was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages eat 216% of everything Baranovichi earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match20 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Martin Artyukh. 1‑0 against Lokomotiv Gomel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aleksandar Buchkov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Baranovichi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Naftan
Shola Ogundana was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Dmitriy Sibilev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Naftan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market1 Mar 2027
10 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad1 Mar 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Naftan has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market1 Mar 2027
Naftan spent the window trying to move Alexandr Alexandrovich on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Naftan
José Acosta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market22 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Naftan have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Artem Drabatovich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Feb 2027
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad1 Feb 2027
José Acosta in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Naftan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Naftan have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Naftan
José Acosta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Acosta, and the manager let it.