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Belarusian soccer champions earn another Champions League point

Belarusian champions BATE Barysaw earned their second point in the Champions League group stages after securing a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Zenit St.Petersburg on Tuesday, BelaPAN said.

BATE substitute midfielder Pavel Nyakhaychyk put the Belarusian side in front in the 52nd minute, while the UEFA Cup winners managed to level the score only 10 minutes from time despite a host of chances.

BATE, who held giants Juventus to a 2-2 draw in Minsk on September 30, currently remain third in their group, below the Italian club and Real Madrid but above Zenit who have only one point.

While talking to reporters after the game, BATE coach Viktar Hancharenka described the draw as a fair result despite multiple scoring opportunities wasted by Zenit.

“I have repeatedly said that we and the entire country and Barysaw may be proud of this team,” he said. “We were initially treated as obvious underdogs, they said that we would earn zero points from six games. But we have proved that we are ready today to fight giants as equals. We have forced Zenit to play at full throttle and show all of their trump cards.”

The two teams face each other again in Minsk on November 5.