LEVSKI (Sofia) won the Bulgarian football Super Cup on Sunday at Vasil Levski stadium after defeating "blood rivals" CSKA (Sofia) 3:1 on penalties, 1:1 in regular time.
Levski, last year's Cup winners, took a 1:0 lead with Elin Topuzakov's header late in the second half, but current champions CSKA bounced back and Janev leveled the scoring just eight minutes before the end of regular time.
It remained 1:1 after extra time, so it all came down to the penalty shoot out. Topuzakov, Daniel Borimirov and Igor Tomasic made no mistake from the spot for Levski, while Dimitar Telkiiski shot well wide of the goal. CSKA players could not keep their nerves cool and Janev, Emil Gargorov and Valentin Iliev couldn't beat keeper Georgi Petkov.
This was the third game between a Cup holder and a champion in the history of Bulgarian football. Last year Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) lifted the trophy, while back in 1989, CSKA won the first Super Cup match.
The game was even in the beginning of the first half, with most of the action taking place in midfield. It took both sides about 20 minutes to lift the tempo and find chances to score goals.
In the 24th minute Tiago Silva co-operated well with Yanev in the Levski penalty area, but the latter wasted too much time trying to place himself in a better position to shoot and the chance went begging.
The "Blues" responded with a fast counter attack but Borimirov's shot from 20 m went over the crossbar.
Stoiko Sakaliev and Gargorov on two more occasions failed to seriously trouble Petkov, while Milan Koprivarov could not find enough power in his shot to give Levski a halftime lead.
The second half was pretty much even too, but there were a lot more interesting situations in both penalty areas.
In the 50th minute Sakaliev got to the ball after a mess up in front of Petkov and fired a dangerous low shot from a narrow angle, but the Levski keeper managed to react on time and all CSKA could manage to gain was a corner kick. 
Ten minutes later it was time for "Reds" goalkeeper Evgeni Hmaruk to show his class. Valeri Domovchiiski attempted a tricky shot but the Moldovan player was right where he needed to be.
Levski opened the scoring after 76 minutes of play. Topuzakov was first to react to a Lucio Wagner corner and headed the ball past the helpless Hmaruk.
CSKA immediately bounced back and Yanev made it 1:1 in the 82nd minute. He was left unmarked in the penalty area, fired a low shot past Petkov and midfielder Richard Eromoigbe could not clear the ball from the goal line.
CSKA had the best opportunity to take a 2:1 lead in the sixth minute of the first period of extra time. Jordan Todorov cut in from the right flank and passed the ball on to Yanev, who shot well from around 12 m, but Petkov pulled out a brilliant reaction save.
Both teams had their chances before the end of extra time, but it all came down to the penalty shootout. Petkov was the hero for Levski, saving two of the shots from the spot and leading the "Blues" to Super Cup glory. 
There were some ugly scenes in the stadium beginning in the second half, when Levski fans and police forces entered into a brawl. A total of eight fans were arrested following the incident.
"We came out with victory in a game that was very important for us. It was a good match for Bulgarian standards. This is a perfect start for us in the new season. We will give our best to win the Cup and the title, because Levski has always had high goals," commented Stanimir Stoilov, head coach of Levski.
"The game ended in a draw," Miodrag Jesic, head coach of CSKA, said. "Levski did not win the match, but the penalties. We have far more important games ahead of us on the European scene. The new season starts next week, but I do not think that this loss will have a negative effect on the morale of our players."