VARNA (Interstat) — Cherno More scored twice inside the first 26 minutes and made that early lead stand in a 2-0 home victory over Septemvri Sofia at Stadion Ticha in Varna. Georgi Lazarov put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute, and Vasil Panayotov added the second in the 26th. Septemvri Sofia never found a reply and finished with no goals, while Cherno More kept the visitors off the scoreboard through the second half. The home side’s two first-half goals proved enough on a afternoon when the visitors could not turn their possession into a goal.

The match’s decisive stretch came early. Lazarov’s opener gave Cherno More a lead it never surrendered, and Panayotov’s finish made the advantage 2-0 before the half-hour mark. Septemvri Sofia tried to regroup after conceding twice, but the visitors could not produce a goal, and Cherno More maintained its shape and protected the two-goal cushion. The match produced no further scoring after Panayotov’s 26th-minute goal, leaving Cherno More to manage the closing stages with a comfortable margin.

Yellow cards were frequent. Cherno More’s Bounaas was booked in the 29th minute, and Atanasov followed in the 35th. Septemvri Sofia’s Hristov was cautioned in first-half stoppage time, and Ivanov Vladimir was booked in the 57th. Cherno More’s Tombak received a yellow card in the 73rd, Kerchev was booked in the 82nd, and Septemvri Sofia’s Ferreira was cautioned in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time. In the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, Septemvri Sofia’s Liberal was sent off with a red card. The late dismissal left the visitors with 10 men and closed a difficult match in which they trailed throughout after the 15th minute.

Substitutions began for Septemvri Sofia in the 37th minute with Pedro Igor. The visitors then made two changes at halftime through Penchev and Ozornwafor, added Iliev in the 67th minute and brought on Onasci in the 79th. Cherno More made two changes in the 76th minute with Sidney and Barandas, used Teles in the 85th and replaced Panayotov in the 90th. The changes did not alter the scoreline, and Cherno More saw out the victory after taking control with two early goals.

The result left Septemvri Sofia with 0 wins and 2 losses in this competition and 0 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw across all competitions. Cherno More moved to 1 win and 1 loss in this competition and 3 wins and 3 losses across all competitions. Septemvri Sofia entered after a 2-1 loss at Lok. Gorna, a 3-2 home loss to Dunav Ruse and a 0-0 draw at Botev Plovdiv. Cherno More had lost 1-0 at home to Lok. Plovdiv, won 3-0 at Marek, lost 2-0 at home to Levski Sofia, lost 5-0 at Ludogorets and beaten Dunav Ruse 1-0 at home. The visitors remained without a win in their recent run, while the hosts added another result to their overall campaign.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cherno More 1, Septemvri Sofia 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cherno More with a 95.7 percent probability to win. Cherno More had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 2.5.