HNL Week 24

Results for March 16-18, 2013

NK ISTRA 1961 0 – 0 GNK DINAMO ZAGREB

 

 

Dinamo played to a scoreless draw for the second week in a row on Saturday, when they headed to Pula to face a hot Istrian club.

Dinamo coach, Krunoslav Jurčić, was slightly disappointed in the result, as he was hoping to get a win for the club’s president Zdravko Mamić, who in the recent week, fell on “hard times.”

Several regulars for the Modri remained off the roster this weekend due to injury. Ivan Krstanović has been under close medical attention by club doctors due to what was thought to be a serious neck injury that was sustained last week in the draw against Osijek. Doctors now say that he will be ready to play in the coming weeks, but will require rest and a good deal of rehab before he will see the pitch again.

Duje Čop and Arijen Ademi did not train prior to the match due to injuries of their own, but Ademi was able to make an appearance against Istra, playing the entire 90 minutes.

The injuries experienced by Dinamo gave Jurčić a chance to give debuts to several players.

Youngsters Tin Jedvaj and Alen Halilović have seemed to solidify starting positions in the first 11, but newcomers Zvonko Pamić and Jozo Šimunović both got their first caps for Dinamo on Saturday.

Pamić made his debut in the 71st minute when he was subbed in for Halilović. Pamić’s debut was unique because he was able to come out in a blue jersey for the first time in front of his father, coach of Istra, Igor Pamić. His older brother, Alen Pamić, also plays for Istra, but is currently sidelined due to a heart condition.

The match was heavily dominated by Dinamo, controlling nearly 70 percent of the possession. Istra had a lackluster start, and spent nearly the entire match chasing the visiting team.

The second half was much the same. Goalkeeper Ivan Kelava had little to do in the 90 minutes, but Dinamo were unable to figure out how to beat Istra keeper, Andrej Prškalo.

Halilović had the best opportunity of the night when he took a heavy shot from distance and beat Prškalo, but was denied by the woodwork.

18-year-old Šimunović made his professional debut in the 90th minute of the game in front of 4,000 spectators. He came on for Fatos Beqiraj, but showed little in the short amount of time he was given.

With neither team scoring, the two sides split the points, and were satisfied with the result.

Istra 1961 : Prskalo, Zgrablić (od 46. Ottochian), Čagalj, Budicin, Milić, Blagojević, Anđelković, Obšivač, Bačelić-Grgić (od 63. Havojić), Aganović, Roce

Dinamo : Kelava, Šimunić, Ademi, Sammir, Vrsaljko, Jedvaj, Pivarić, Beqiraj (od 90. Šimunović), Halilović (od 71. Pamić), Rukavina (od 83. Ibanez), Brozović

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NK ZADAR 1 – 1 HNK HAJDUK SPLIT

It only too 27 seconds for Zadar to take the lead against the away side, Hajduk Split, on St. Patrick’s Day in Zadar.

Igor Banović received the ball from Antonio Mršić and quickly beat Lovre Kalinić for the opening goal, only seconds after kickoff.

Kalinić received the start in net on Sunday despite the controversy that surrounded the decision. Hajduk coach, Mišo Krstičević, met with fans prior to the match and explained to them the reasoning behind his decision.

“To me, Kalinić is the best young goalkeeper in Croatia. He should be given a chance to show what he can do,” Krstičević said.

Despite the early blemish, Hajduk was able to wake up and enter the game. Mijo Caktaš tied the game for his club in the 33rd minute with the help of defender, Danijel Stojanović.

The goal allowed Hajduk to enter the locker room at half on a positive note, and give them something to build upon in the second half.

After the restart of the match, It was all Hajduk. They learned their lesson in the first 45 minutes, and did not want to repeat the mistakes they made then.

The possession and chances were all controlled by the visiting team.

Ivan Vuković nearly had the go-ahead goal for the Bili, but his one-on-one opportunity with goalkeeper was stopped by the 29-year-old Tomo Gluić.

The 1-1 draw forced the teams to split the points amongst each other. With the single point, Hajduk has list the second pace position for he first time all year, and now sit tied for third with Rijeka, while Lokomotiva now own the second place position.

Hajduk was without many starting players due to injury. Mario Maloča, Goran Milović, Matej Jonjić, Ivo-Valentino Tomaš, Fiip Ozobić, Mirko Oremus, Antonio Milić, Anton Madlice, and Franko Andrijasović were all left off the roster on Sunday, and had to be replaced by young and inexperienced players.

“I’m glad we were able to play such a good match. The match for me was excellent, we had a number of opportunities. My guys deserve to be praised, and I am thrilled with them because some for the first time played an entire match,” Krstičević said after the match.

Zadar: Gluić, Vasilj (74. Heister), Sarić, Begonja, Buljat, Jerbić, Banović (62. Surać), Perica, Prahić, Mršić, Ljubović (20. Bilaver)

Hajduk: Kalinić, Stojanović (90. Elez), Milić, Vršajević, Plazonić, Jozinović, Caktaš, Vuković, Lima, Sušić (78. Jakoliš), Kouassi (90+1. Kiš),

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HNK CIBALIA 1 – 1 HNK RIJEKA

 

 

Cibalia’s woes have continues, this time at the hands of HNK Rijeka at home in Vinkovci.

Rijeka took home all three points, leaving Cibalia in the dust, in 10th place, sitting in the relegation zone. Saturday was the first time in four years that Rijeka was able to take all three points from Cibalia. It was also the first time Rijeka has won in Vinkovci since July of 2006.

Cibalia had their chances, and made for an exciting and even first half. Petar Mišić had the first opportunity on goal for Cibalia, but was only inches off target and struck the post with his shot. Cibalia again hit the post in the 28th minute, and were unable to hit the back of the net.

Leon Benko turned out to be the hero for Rijeka when he scored his 17th minute goal.

Despite the abysmal field conditions, Benko was able to put in his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Rijeka are now tied for third place on points with Hajduk Split, but sit one spot behind them in goal difference.

Cibalia : Matković, Mišić, Matoš, Bartolović (79. Čorić), Župarić, Mitrović, Filipović (67. Koledić), Vitaić, Rugašević, Terzić, Mazalović (79. Puljić)

Rijeka : Mance, Škarabot, Knežević, Datković, Alispahić (60. Mujanović), Cesarec (86. Močinić), Kreilach, Benko, Merzejewski, Marić, Brezovec,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NK ZAGREB 2 – 4 NK LOKOMOTIVA

 

 

Zagreb showed a resilient effort against their across-town opponents on Saturday after going down 2-0, but were unable to keep up with Lokomotiva, as they scored two more goals to take three points, and advance to second place in the standings for the first time this season.

The Poet’s coach Ćiro Blažević is still confident that his team can remain in the league next season.

“Though we will be hard, I’m still convinced that we found the game to stay in the league,” Blažević said. “Our quality has been far greater [than before], and we were able to improve.”

After a 12th minute goal by Marko Pjaca, and a 44th minute goal by Domagoj Antolić, Zagreb decided to respond right back in quick succession.

Ivan Čurjurić scored a goal of his own a minute later to send his team into the locker room at halftime with something to build upon.

Entering the second half, Zagreb kept playing hard and scored another goal in the 50th minute, this time from Besart Abdurahimi.

The score did not last long however, as Karlo Bručić responded instantly, and Antolić followed suit with his second of the day.

Zagreb showed that they do have the ability to fight for goals. After going 2-0 down, they came back to tie it up, albeit for a brief time. This club shows glimmers of hope every so often, and surely, that is what keeps Čiro’s confidence in his club.

NKZ go on to face Hajduk at Poljud next week, followed by a visit from reigning champions Dinamo.

Zagreb beat Dinamo last time the were at Kranjčevičeva, and are looking to do it again in two weeks.

Zagreb: Livaković, Djengoue, Medić, Šovšić, Nadarević (40. Handžić), Abdurahimi, Kolinger, Štiglec, Ćurjurić, Štrok (70. Jelić), Graf

Lokomotiva Picak, Mrzljak (18.Maleš), Musa, Barbarić, Mesarić, Antolić (58. Martinac), Bručić, Boras, Situm, Pjaca, Trebotić (79. Chago)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NK SLAVEN BELUPO 0 – 0 NK OSIJEK

 

 

Roman Sović made his debut as coach for Slaven Belupo in what was a lackluster affair.

Roy Ferenčina left his duties as coach after last week, and Sović, the former sporting director for the club, stepped up to sit at the help of the team.

Neither team showed any real passion during the match. Neither team had any real scoring opportunities either. At the end, both coaches agreed that a 0-0 draw was fair and well deserved.

“Taking into account what the team showed on the field, this is the most realistic outcome,” Sović said.

“I agree, a draw is the fairest result. I congratulate the players of both teams for their effort, and the fact that fans have come to the stadium despite the cold weather,” Osijek coach, Stanko Mršić, said.

Both teams went home with one point, leaving Slaven in sixth place and Osijek three points behind them in seventh.

Slaven Belupo: Rodić, Pilipović (75. Barić), Kokalović, Jugović, Brlek, Šaban (70. Jelavić), Delić, Purić, Rak (81. Glavica), Geng, Pranjić

Osijek: Mikulić, Kurtović, Pušić, Blatnjak, Perošević (66. Glavaš), Lešković, Ibriks, Pongračić (90+1. Krstanović), Kvržić (89. Zulin), Smoje, Leko

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NK INTER ZAPRESIC 0 – 0 RNK SPLIT

 

Rajko Magić debuted in his first game as coach for Inter, and earned them a draw to continue their eight-game winless run.

In an unspectacular match, both teams had several attempts on goal, but none that were good enough to make it on the score sheet.

Nikolas Pokrivać had a chance to put Inter up by a goal, but was denied by Split keeper, Andrija Vuković.

The teams split the points and Split missed a big opportunity to jump to third place with Hajduk and Rijeka. Instead, they settled for one point and rest in fifth place, and Inter sits in 12th.

Inter Zapresic : Delač, Čeliković, Bagarić, Budimir, Mlinar (46. Vujcic), Herceg, Filipović, Oršić, Hajradinović (67. Bosec), Milardović, Pokrivač

Split: Vuković, Križanac, Vidić (71. Galović), Baraban, Erceg, Rebić (69. Bagarić), Radotić, Paracki, Marčić, Hrgović, Belle (82. Obilinović)