Ludogorets missed a complete comeback against Rakow

Ludogorets and Poland’s Rakow Czestochowa finished 2–2 in an entertaining friendly match, played in the presence of the “Eagles’” owner, Kiril Domuschiev.

The Polish side earned the right to take a penalty after, in the 4th minute, Jonatan Braut Brunes broke behind the back of Idan Nahmias. The Rakow striker was tripped by Hendrik Bonmann, and the referee pointed to the spot. The penalty was converted by Jonatan Braut Brunes himself in the 5th minute. Rakow took a 2–0 lead in the 42nd minute. Hendrik Bonmann passed to Pedro Naressi, who was beaten to the ball by Marko Bulat. He won possession and then found himself one-on-one with Bonmann, making no mistake in finishing.

After an hour of play, Bernard Tekpetey came on and made a very strong impact. It was Tekpetey who won a penalty, which he converted himself to make it 1–2 in the 79th minute.

Just a few seconds later, Tekpetey once again demonstrated his class. He broke down the left flank, beat a Raków player, then shot from a tight angle, but his effort was blocked. Tekpetey then passed to Stanislav Ivanov, who equalized from close range.

Ludogorets could have completed a full comeback in the 87th minute. Ivaylo Chochev passed to new signing Vinícius Nogueira, who crossed into Rakow’s penalty area, where Nikolay Nikolov headed the ball. It deflected off the body of Mateusz Maschadło, but the Polish team’s goalkeeper made the save. For Nogueira, these were his debut minutes in a Ludogorets shirt following his transfer from Valerenga.

The match against Rakow was Ludogorets’ final test in Turkey. Next week, the team visits Rangers in a match from the seventh round of the Europa League.