It’s Back! HNL Week 20

The moment we have all been waiting for has come.  Croatia’s top football league has finally started back up and is kicked off Friday afternoon with a match between RNK Split and Istra 1961 in Split which finished in a 2-2 draw.

Split started the match off with a prime opportunity to snatch an early lead when Sokol Cikalleshi stepped up to take  a penalty shot from the spot, but was unable to beat the keeper.

Istra capitalized on the missed opportunity and  went up 2-0 in by the 48th thanks to two goals from Marin Matos.

Ivan Ibriks helped dig his team out of a two-goal deficit with his 76th minute goal that gave Split the spark of life they needed.

Goran Roce was brought off the bench, which turned out to be a fantastic tactical move by coach Zoran Vulic, who was at the helm of Split for the first time since he was released in the 2013 season.

Roce scored the tying goal in the 86th minute to avoid defeat at home, something Split has not experienced since August against Rijeka.

Coach Vulic was not disappointed in the result, stating it was “realistic” but Istra boss, Igor Pamic, was disappointed in his team’s performance in the final 15 minutes of the game, stating that individual errors and poor defense cost them the full three points.

Dinamo Zagreb was back in action on Saturday and hosted NK Lokomotiva on a frozen afternoon that threatened the match with snow but went on as scheduled and finished 2-1 in favor of the Modri.

Field crews spent much of the day yesterday shoveling large amounts of snow off the pitch and were able to keep conditions playable for the match.

Dinamo took an early lead in the 10th minute thanks to a goal from Arijan Ademi.

Ademi’s height of over six feet helped him easily reach a corner kick that was sent in by youngster newcomer, Ivan Fiolic.

Angelo Henriquez scored his seventh goal of the season in the 66th minute to double Dinamo’s lead when he connected with a cross sent in by Machado from the wing.

The Lokosi were able to get one goal by the Dinamo defense when Jan Dolezal scored in the 90th minute, but that was all Lokomotiva were able to do against the mighty Modri, who remain in first place.

Snow has blanketed much of the nation in the past several days and has taken its toll on the league’s schedule.

Hajduk Split and Rijeka were scheduled to face each other in Rijeka on Saturday, but due to road closures and weather, the match will be rescheduled to Sunday.

Despite the snow, all other matches seemed to have been cleared for tomorrow and will continue as scheduled.

More updates to come throughout the weekend.