Hajduk Beat Thun, Dinamo Loses to NEC

Thun 0-1 Hajduk: Dalisson Strike Ends 32-Year Wait for a European Away Win

Hajduk travelled to Switzerland for matchday two of the Conference League league phase, a week after their opening-night win over Ajax. Garcia stuck with the same eleven that started that game. The tactical plan was clear from the first whistle: a high press and an attempt to make life uncomfortable for a Thun side playing at home.

It worked early. Hajduk had the bulk of the ball and kept the hosts pinned back, and the breakthrough came in the 17th. Nico Maier made a mistake in midfield, Dalisson pounced and drove towards the box, and his first effort was blocked. The rebound fell kindly, and he finished it off with the outside of his boot. Thun nearly hit back within minutes, Brighton Labeau getting in behind the Hajduk defence, but Toni Silić saved his effort, and Furkan Dursun fired wide from the follow-up. Hajduk responded and should have gone into the break with a bigger cushion. Šotiček tested Niklas Steffen from 20 metres in the 33rd, Fayad shot straight at the keeper two minutes later, and Bamba hit the post directly from a corner in the 37th.

The second half was a different story. Thun came out far more aggressively, giving the visiting defence plenty to deal with. Fabio Fehr dragged an effort wide in the 54th, and Nils Reichmuth shot straight at Silić four minutes later. However, Hajduk had the chance to kill the game in the 68th. Olivier Mambwa pushed Bamba over in the box, and Australian referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot. If that name is familiar, it’s because the Aussie was the main VAR referee in Croatia’s 2-1 loss to Portugal at this summer’s World Cup. Šego took responsibility and hit the penalty down the middle, where Steffen stood his ground and made a comfortable save.

Six minutes later, Thun produced an even worse miss. Labeau broke down the right and crossed into the Hajduk six-yard box, where Noah Christofferson was left with an empty goal from close range and somehow missed it. Dalisson had the last chance of the affair in the 92nd, hitting the bar from around 30 metres trying to lob Steffen, and Hajduk saw out the victory with great aerial presence from Hadžikadunić and Marešić.

Hajduk’s last away win in the main phase of a European competition came on September 28, 1994, when they beat Steaua 1-0 in the Champions League thanks to an Aljoša Asanović goal. That wait is now over after 32 years. Combined with the 2-1 win over Ajax, it takes Hajduk to six points from two games and a big step towards the knockout phase. The Conference League table after the two rounds sees Hajduk in 8th place.

Is This Really Hajduk?!?

Gonzalo Garcia has turned Hajduk into a complete, mature and tactically adaptable team. Put any Hajduk team from the last 10 or even 20 years into this schedule, and I doubt any one of them gets four out of four. This match against Thun was a real test for the Split side, and they passed it. It did take some poor finishing from the Swiss champions, but Hajduk ultimately deserved the win when you add it all up. This was also a much tougher game than the one vs. Ajax. Last week the Dutch side played perfectly into Hajduk’s press; tonight Thun turned the game into a long-ball fest and physical battle, just like they did against Dinamo, who failed to adapt to it back in July. The Split side adapted and defended well enough to get the win.

Hadžikadunić dominated the air, winning 7 aerial duels. Meanwhile, Del Moral was almost always in the correct positions to intercept or win second balls. The Spaniard has been instrumental to Garcia for a while now, but sadly the N.20 won’t be available for Hajduk’s next UECL match in Gibraltar due to accumulated yellow cards. This most likely means Leander Dendoncker will get a start vs. Lincoln Red Imps. But back to Hajduk as a whole. The last few minutes looked nervy, as we’re used to Hajduk crumbling and falling at the last moments of matches. But thanks to Garcia, and I can’t forget Robert Graf, the man who assembled this squad to a T, that didn’t happen at the Stockhorn Arena. It really looks like Hajduk have finally turned over a new leaf; everything is clicking perfectly right now. 10 wins out of the last 11 matches is an unreal run that Hajduk fans haven’t witnessed since 2009, if my quick research is correct.

The club is on the right path and just needs to continue like this until the first hiccup in form, which will inevitably come with this tough schedule. When that slump arrives, Garcia and the players will need to find new solutions, but I fully trust both to do so. A win in Gibraltar guarantees a knockout play-off spot, but there is absolutely no reason that Hajduk can’t go and win the other two games at Poljud vs Sint-Truidense and Nordsjælland to most likely lock in a top 8 spot. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Hajduk face Istra in Pula on Monday in the next HNL round, where Garcia will have to put up a more rotated side than he did against Varaždin.

Dinamo 4-2 NEC Nijmegen: Kovačević Hasn’t Learned Anything

I won’t be doing a match report for this one; otherwise, I’ll be here for several hours. Dinamo were definitely the better side attacking-wise than NEC, creating several chances but only putting away two, and you guessed it, Dion Drena Beljo scored both. Stojković had a couple of good balls, especially his pre-assist for the first goal and assist for the 2nd one, which didn’t count due to Beljo’s first shot being saved. But Dinamo’s new number 10 has been a shell of his past self so far this season, with only glimpses here and there. In this match, he often held onto the ball for too long, failing to keep it when pressed and also missed 2 top chances, one of which got cleared off the line as he lobbed Crettaz in the 19th minute.

Almena starting was also a shocking decision for many Dinamo fans, given that Dani Rodríguez has done more than enough to warrant a start in the last three matches. And it proved to be the wrong decision, as Rodríguez came on and immediately created chances down the right wing. But Dinamo’s main problem isn’t the attacking output, at least not while Beljo’s playing, but rather the defence. That weakness is most visible in midfield, as Stojković and Ivanušec, who are great in possession, offer very little when tasked with defending. This means Josip Mišić was left to cover the space between them and the defence by himself. And given that’s nothing new, we’ve seen these exact issues this season and last season when Dinamo got thrashed by Celta Vigo and Lille.

Kovačević was there for all those matches. Yet he still plays the same way. We can talk about Domínguez and McKenna being out of form, but they’re not being helped by their own manager, who’s failed to make Dinamo a defensively sound team or even make tweaks to accommodate the poor centre-back duo. The perfect comparison lies with Hajduk and Garcia — they were conceding for fun at the start of the season. But then, a few new faces came in, and most importantly, the manager tidied up the defensive transitions along with a good high press when needed. Kovačević hasn’t shown any kind of improvement; he’s just being carried by Beljo. Dinamo haven’t controlled a game from start to finish since the victory vs. Rudeš in August. And then again, that’s Rudeš.

As for NEC, they just made chaos on the pitch with their signature man-marking style that left massive gaps in their defences as soon as one player was beaten or caught off on the wrong foot. The ‘Modri’ had 2.63 xG, while the Dutch side had 1.39 xG. This really tells you the entire story of the match. Looking forward, Dinamo have a very tough schedule. Next up is Sunderland away, who are bottom of the Premier League but are unbeaten in the Europa League. After that, it’s Leverkusen (H), Rennes (A), AZ (A) and finally Sturm Graz (H). The chances for a Top 24 spot are low; I don’t think Dinamo are a slight favourite in any of these matches apart from Sturm. So they will need to step up their game massively if they don’t want to embarrass themselves and get knocked out of the league phase. But the only way I see that potentially happening is without Kovačević. A domestic double can’t give you this much credit; Boban has to act or hope for the miracle that Kovačević cooks up a new idea that will magically turn this Dinamo side good again.

But the current reality is that Dinamo have been regressing since the start of the season, being saved only by Dion Drena Beljo.