Croatian Football Enjoys Near-Perfect European Week

After Dinamo Zagreb’s massive 5-0 win over Kauno Žalgiris on Tuesday, ŽNK Hajduk Split played their first-ever game in Europe on Wednesday, facing and losing 3-2 to the slightly more experienced Austria Vienna. And on Thursday, Hajduk and Rijeka won their first legs vs. Žalgiris Vilnius and Ilves Tampere.

Hajduk Women Put Up a Fight in First-Ever European Match

Hajduk’s women’s side dominated the league last season and got their first-ever league title (and people say Hajduk struggles to win a title) and consequently qualified for the Women’s Champions League qualifiers. The draw put them up against Austrian champions Austria Vienna, who also secured their first league title in their history as they edged out St. Pölten to finish 1st. But this wasn’t the first European appearance for the team from Vienna, as they had finished second the season before and qualified for the UWCL.

And they almost qualified for the league stage in their first attempt, but lost out to Paris FC in the play-off round. But before the play-off, the Austrian side beat Glasgow City and FC Minsk. Then they dropped down to the newly formed Europa Cup, the 2nd-tier UEFA Women’s competition, where they made it all the way to the quarter-finals before eventually losing to Sparta Praha. I’m giving all of this context to show that the Austrian side had overwhelmingly more experience and seemingly more quality.

And that showed as Austria took the lead just 12 seconds into the match through Patricia Pfanner. And Modesta Uka doubled that lead just three minutes later. It looked like the match, and the occasion, were too much for the ‘Hajdučice’, and it continued as Pfanner made it 3-0 in the 18th minute. More chances came from the Austrian champions, but Hajduk were able to defend and start playing more with the ball. No real chances came, except for a good long-range effort from left winger Janja Čanjevac, who forced Jasmin Pal into a save.

Right before half-time, Hajduk pressed Austria Vienna; a poor pass was played back to Pal, and Čanjevac was first to the ball. She dribbled across the goalkeeper and made it 3-1. Right after the break, Hajduk got another goal back as Gia Kalaš was alone on the far post and met a great cross from the lively Čanjevac. Sadly, no equaliser came, but not due to a lack of trying. The Split women tried but to no avail, as Austria tightened their defence and stopped any attempt the Croatian champions made.

In the end, the result was expected, as I previously mentioned — the opponents just had more experience and were the favourites by a mile. The bookies had Austria winning at 1.05, or 1/20 for the fractional lovers. But the match proved to be much more equally contested after the worst start imaginable. It’s a loss that showed Hajduk can play at this level, and thankfully for them, they can continue their European run in the Europa Cup. For that to happen, they’ll have to beat ŽNK Mura on Saturday in Slovenia.

Hajduk Destroy Žalgiris and Rijeka Secures Narrow Win

Now to the men’s teams. The male counterparts were more fortunate with their opponents, as they got Lithuanian side Žalgiris Vilnius. Hajduk were the favourites coming into this first leg of the Conference League third qualifying round, and it showed right off the bat as the Split side got a penalty in the 5th minute. Michele Šego slotted the penalty down the middle for 0-1. But he wasn’t as accurate the second time around, as Hajduk got another penalty after a brilliant run and dribbling from Marin Šotiček in the 14th minute. Šego went left, the keeper went left, and Hajduk’s lead stayed at just one.

Then, seemingly, doubt once again crept into the home side, and the game became more even as Žalgiris found themselves in more attacking positions, settling after the rough start. In the 34th minute, Stanislav Bilenkyi played a through ball to his striker, Nikola Petković. Toni Silić, who was chosen as captain of Hajduk for this match, was first to the ball but was unable to catch it as it slipped under his hands, and the Serbian striker made it 1-1. The first half was set for a 1-1 result, but Šego had other ideas. A free-kick from almost the same position as the one vs. Pafos in Split, and again Šego masterfully put it away for 1-2.

Hajduk rode that high into the 2nd half as Adrion Pajaziti scored a beautiful curling shot for 1-3 in the 56th. Then Dalisson and Pukštas added their own goals for 1-4 and 1-5, in the 73rd and 75th respectively. The final result was settled in the 86th as former Hajduk midfielder Marko Capan did the same thing as Šego and scored a great free-kick for 2-5. Šotiček did score right at the end of the match, but it was disallowed for a tight offside.

Rijeka also won through a brilliant Niko Janković finish in the 16th minute of the match. Rijeka could’ve won by a lot more, and it would be exhausting if I had to write down all the saves Faris Krkalić made and the times Rijeka got close. The important thing is that all of the male sides won this week, and the female side of Hajduk proved they can play at this level and will hopefully cement that with a win on Saturday.

Match highlights for Hajduk – Žalgiris & Rijeka – Ilves