Wed Apr 30 14:14:17 2008

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CSKA Sofia clinches Bulgarian title

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Plovdiv, Bulgaria (Sports Network) - CSKA Sofia clinched its 31st Bulgarian league title on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over Botev.

The match was played behind closed doors because Botev, which was the home team, was serving a two-match ban for crowd violence.

The win gave CSKA a 13-point lead on second-place and two-time defending champions Levski Sofia with just three matches to play. Levski lost 2-1 to Chernomorets on Wednesday.

CSKA's Brazilian striker Nei continued his good run of play by scoring twice in the first half. He scored the opening goal 25 minutes into the game after a nice cross from midfielder Florentin Petre, but Botev was back on level terms seven minutes later after a penalty kick from Georgi Hristov, who took his league-leading total to 18 with the goal.

However, the visitors went back in front before the half as Petre drew a foul inside the area and Nei converted from the spot.

Petre then secured the result with a great individual run that culminated with a powerful shot from outside the box in the 85th minute, giving CSKA its first title since the 2004-05 season.