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FK Mazenskai wins Mordvanian football league for first time
By Milan Barancek
Published: Fein 14, 1587


FK Mazenskai player Matej Korik after scoring the 1-2 against GKS Wojek.


Wojek, Republic of Mordvania - FK Mazenskai became the fifth club to win the Mordvanian Premier League after defeating GKS Wojek on matchday 33, one week before the end of the season. The day before NK Slovograd was able to defeat NK Visnja (0-1) putting pressure on the Mazenskai club, but this only postponed FK Mazenskai to proclaim victory for merely 24 hours.

Avdy Puskar scored the first goal for FK Mazenskai in a penalty kick, but the home team GKS Wojek was able to equalize the match three minutes later (on minute 38), in a goal in which FK Mazenskai goalkeeper Alanas Galauné could have probably done more. The first half ended 1-1, a result which had required FK Mazenskai to win the last match against bottom team Amsberg FC.

GKS Wojek, 9th in the classification before the start of the matchday, is well-known in Mordvania for its young talented players and its possesion football, but the local team -managed this season by Florinthian manager Andrew Higgins- offered resistance during the second half with a defensive but aggressive formation. However, striker Matej Korik was able to score the 1-2 at minute 72 after the ball bounced on his left knee deflected by the GKS Wojek goalkeeper.

Korik was able to score the final 1-3 -his 21th goal this season- shortly before the end of the match in a fast counter-attack. Korik, 26, has completed his best season, after a promising but uneven career prone with injuries. He signed for FK Mazenskai in 1584, playing for NK Dzen on loan for the 1585-1586 season, in which he scored 12 goals.

Although not exactly an underdrog club, FK Mazenskai league title has been described by former manager Eugen Karosas as "a turning point in Mordvanian football history". FK Mazenskai is one of the nine clubs which has been consistently in every Mordvanian Premier League season and permanently on the top 10, but it was rarely a contender against bigger clubs such as NK Slovograd, NK Brezedina, Slovograd 1566, or even ND Seznica. Its the second title for FK Mazenskai since 1579, when FK Mazenskai defeated FK Mestarka in the Republican Cup final.

FK Mazenskai is the most popular in the eastern town of the same name, in which a majority of ethnic Bunesgan live. FK Mazenskai hooligans, known as Riteriai ("the Knights") are well-known for their use of Bunesgan nationalist symbols and slogans (and also violent incidents with fans of other Mordvanian clubs). However, since 1584 the club is owned by Marija Vaznek, an ethnic-Mordvanian billonaire businesswoman whose father was a well-known politician from the Mordvanian Republican Party.

Oslanburgan manager Borge Hedegaard, who was signed by FK Mazenskai after Bojan Pengov -who managed the club from 1582 to 1586 announced he was leaving the club and signing for ND Seznica- was seen as an uninspired choice by some fans as he lacked any experience in Mordvanian football. Hedegaard, however, has become the first foreign manager to win the Mordvanian Premier League since 1577-1578, when Vallish manager Raymond Brandeis won his fourth title for NK Brezedina.

Favourite and more powerful clubs such as NK Slovograd, NK Brezedina, and Slovograd 1566 have all failed to match FK Mazenskai's consistency across the season, despite the Mazenskai club saw considerably reduced its margin over last year's champions NK Slovograd, after FK Mazenskai suffered a number of bad results in recent weeks. Yet Hedegaard's team showed enough psychological strength to win the title, playing pacy, direct, counter-attacking football - not always attractive but effective enough to bring joy to the eastern town.

Hedegaard hopes to becomes the third manager to win the "double championship" (as it is known winning the Mordvanian Premier League and the Republican Cup the same season), as FK Mazenskai will play the Republican Cup final against NK Brezedina in two weeks. The final will be a rematch from the last season, when NK Brezedina defeated FK Mazenskai 1-0. NK Brezedina, which has ended third this season -currently eight points behind FK Mazenskai before the final league match- aims to become the first Mordvanian club to win the Republican Cup for third time in a row.