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(adds quotes) SOFIA, Sept 6 - Second-half goals by Valeri
Bozhinov, Martin Petrov and substitute Dimitar Telkiiski gave
injury-hit Bulgaria a 3-0 win against Slovenia in their first
home Euro 2008 Group G qualifier on Wednesday. Bozhniov, playing his third match in four days after coming
as a substitute in their opening 2-2 draw away to Romania on
Saturday and then scoring 24 hours later for the under-21s, put
the hosts ahead in the 58th minute. The flamboyant Juventus striker gave keeper Borut Mavric no
chance with a superb left-foot shot from 18 metres and deserved
the standing ovation a minute later when he was substituted. "I was a bit tired today because of the matches in the
previous days but I wanted to play and I'm happy with victory,"
Bozhinov said. "We could've won by a larger margin but the most
important thing was that we've played very well." The lively Petrov made it 2-0 with his 14th goal for
Bulgaria 12 minutes later as his cross from the right deceived
Mavric who failed to hold on to the ball on his line. Substitute Telkiiski wrapped up the victory 10 minutes from
time with a well-taken shot from the edge of the penalty
area. Bulgaria coach Hristo Stoichkov, who watched from the stands
due to the touchline ban imposed by UEFA for misconduct, was
missing four key players including striker Dimitar Berbatov. There's enough time until our next qualifier against the
Netherlands and I hope then we'll be at full strength." Bulgaria host the Netherlands on October 7 in their next
qualifier. Bulgaria's other opponents in Group G are Romania,
Albania, Belarus and Luxembourg.
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