Neman Grodno title hopes dented after 1-1 draw at Energetik-BGU

Neman Grodno's quest to win a first-ever Belarus Premier League title suffered a setback on Saturday when they were held to a 1-1 draw at Energetik-BGU.

Igor Kovalevich's men came into the game as the hottest of favourites - they were unbeaten in 11 outings, had not conceded a league goal in 779 minutes of play and had won seven out of their previous eight head-to-head meetings with Energetik, drawing the other.

However, the visitors fell behind on 12 minutes when an unmarked Aleksandr Svirepa headed in from a corner.

After that Neman struggled to find their fluency - Valery Zhukowski conjured up an equaliser at the start of the second half, but they couldn't find a winner and had to settle for a point in the end.

The result lifts Neman into second place in the table on 38 points from 20 matches, five behind Shakhtyor Soligorsk - but they do have a game in hand on the leaders.

Grodno will fall back to third later on Saturday, if BATE Borisov can beat relegation-threatened Gorodeya at home.

Energetik move up to 6th.