Slavutych vs Vitebsk

Vitebsk drew first blood inside the opening five minutes. Valery Sapozhnikov opened the scoring at 04:10 of the first period, converting after assists from Yevgeni Astankov and Nikita Bobryashov.

Slavutych responded early in the second period. Danila Kurkov equalised at 24:18, finishing a move set up by Vladlen Kibo and Dmitri Noskov to make it 1-1. But Vitebsk reclaimed the lead within three minutes — German Pirogovsky struck at 27:07 for his first of the night, restoring the visitors' advantage at 2-1.

Slavutych showed resilience. Ivan Kurdin levelled the scores at 33:50 with help from Maksim Polkin and Ivan Antonovsky, sending the teams into the second intermission locked at 2-2.

The third period produced no further goals, forcing overtime.

Overtime lasted just 2:35 before Pirogovsky struck again. Maxim Lemeshevsky set up the winner at 62:35, and Pirogovsky buried it to complete his brace and seal a 3-2 victory for Vitebsk. The goal was Pirogovsky's second of the contest and decided a back-and-forth affair that had seen three goals in a nine-minute span during the middle period.

German Pirogovsky (Vitebsk) — Two goals, including the overtime decider. The forward was the decisive difference in a tight contest, scoring at 27:07 and 62:35 to secure both of Vitebsk's leads.

Danila Kurkov (Slavutych) — Scored the equaliser at 24:18 that sparked Slavutych's response after falling behind early. His goal brought the home side level for the first time.

Ivan Kurdin (Slavutych) — Netted the 2-2 equaliser at 33:50, capping Slavutych's fightback from 2-1 down and ensuring the match went the distance.

The 12 prior meetings between these sides had produced an average of 4.67 goals per game, with over 2.5 goals landing in 92% of encounters. This contest followed that pattern — five goals inside regulation and overtime, though three arrived in the second-period flurry alone. Vitebsk's 10-2 head-to-head advantage (including this result) underscores their dominance in the fixture, but Slavutych have now taken them to overtime in recent meetings, suggesting the gap is narrowing.

Vitebsk strengthen their position in the Belarusian Cup group phase with this win, adding two points for the overtime victory. Slavutych, despite a spirited comeback from a first-period deficit, leave with one point and will look to build on the resilience they showed in fighting back twice.

A textbook overtime cup tie: Vitebsk struck early, Slavutych fought back twice, and Pirogovsky's double proved the difference. The result was tight but Vitebsk's quality in decisive moments — and their historical edge in this fixture — told the story.