BATE seal Belarusian title in style

FC BATE Borisov put the seal on their sixth consecutive Belarusian Premier League title thanks to a 4-2 home victory against FC Torpedo Zhodino.

Maksim Skavysh and Renan Bressan put BATE two ahead in the first ten minutes against Torpedo and, although Artem Solovei then reduced the deficit, Maksim Volodko swiftly made it 3-1 not long before half-time. Brazilian midfielder Bressan scored a fourth after the break to take his total for the season to ten, before Torpedo answered with Solovei's second.

The result gave Viktor Goncharenko's side their eighth crown overall thanks to an unassailable 12-point lead over second-placed FC Shakhtyor Soligorsk, who lost 3-2 at FC Dinamo Minsk. With four games remaining, BATE's superior head-to-head record ended the title suspense.

"That was one of our highest quality performances of the season," said BATE coach Goncharenko, whose side have now surpassed Dinamo Minsk's seven titles. "We were fresh enough thanks to our successful squad rotation. Of course, we could have played a better game defensively; however, I have to thank all the players for this victory and we will now set our sights higher for the future."