Results for October 5 – 7, 2012
NK SLAVEN BELUPO 1 – 4 GNK DINAMO ZAGREB
Photo: prvaliga.tportal.hr/D.S
Dinamo Zagreb defended their top spot in the league by traveling to Koprivnica and defeating Slaven Belupo 4-1 on a stormy Sunday night. Slaven has not beat Dinamo since September 2008.
A tremendous thunderstorm overshadowed the beginning of the match, but the players played though it despite heavy rain, frequent lightning and high winds.
The rain surly played a part in the flow of the game, as the field quickly became soaked. Players were slipping all over the field, including goal keeper Ivan Kelava who shanked a goal kick due to the wet ground.
The weather effect went both ways though, and Dinamo greatly benefited from it.
A free kick issued to to Dinamo in the fourth minute from nearly 20 yards out was taken by Luis Ibañez and sent into the box. Goalkeeper Silvio Rodić reached for it but it seemed to slip through his hands and the goal was credited to Josip Pivarić. The ruling was eventually changed to an own goal by Mario Gregurina.
Ibañez had a wonderful game, scoring a goal and setting up two others for his teammates. A great individual effort by El Lucho earned him the second goal of the game when after receiving a nice through ball, he split the defense and weaved his way into the box and was in all alone with the keeper, who he easily beat.
Meteas Delić cut the lead in half with a 44th minute goal. A cross to Dejan Glavica who received the ball in the ball in the box, laid off a fantastic back heel pass to Delić who blasted it by Kelava.
Sloppy defense from Slaven led to Ante Rukavina’s goal in the 58th minute, his second of the season.
The big story of the match was the appearance of 16-year-old Alen “The Next Messi” Halilović.
The young phenom was subbed into the game in the 85th minute for Rukavina. Halilović instantly made his presents known and took the ball down the line for a shot that just went wide of the goal.
Despite his age, his small size, and his strength, he sticks out on the field like a beacon. The boy has immense speed and is not afraid to show it off. In the 93rd minute, he and Fatos Beqiraj made a blazing run from one end of the field to the other. Halilović stayed on the wing and received a pass from Beqiraj and brought it in the box and easily chipped the sliding goalkeeper for his first goal of his professional career.
The young forward removed his jersey in celebration and also received his first yellow card of his career.
With his goal, Halilović became the youngest goal scorer in Croatian Prva Liga history. He is also the youngest goal scorer Dinamo Zagreb have ever had, taking the title from its previous holder, Mateo Kovačić.
Halilović spent eight minutes on the field and stole the show on Sunday night. Even coach Ante Čačić gave a big smile of satisfaction and pride when the teen scored.
“It really fills me special pleasure. Of course, a I am delighted that we were again in such a situation that were able to offer him a chance, and then it’s a pleasure to watch such a pearl of a game. Has already shown what a talent, and it is working to elevate,” Čačić said.
“Thanks to everyone for the congratulations, I’m very happy with everything! Especially Čačić. I thank coach and the club that gave me the chance to play for Dinamo, and hereby once again thank you and Beqiraj. It’s fantastic that he provide assistance to my first goal for Dinamo. It is a pleasure to play, and to progresses from day to day.” — Alen Halilović
Slaven Belupo: Rodić (od 34. Pelin) – Maras, Kokalović, Bubnjić – Gregurina, Batarelo (od 73. Brlek), Purić, Delić, Čanađija (od 46. Bušić) – Glavica, Vugrinec
Dinamo: Kelava – Vrsaljko, Puljić, Šimunić, Pivarić – Ademi, Brozović – Rukavina (od 85. Halilović), Kovačić (od 74. Beqiraj), Ibanez – Krstanović (od 65. Alispahić)
HNK HAJDUK SPLIT 4 – 0 HNK CIBALIA
Photo: prvaliga.tportal.hr/D.S
An easy day for Hajduk was brought on by not one, but two penalty kicks scored by Ivan Vuković, and goals scored by Mijo Caktaš and Antonio Milić.
Cibalia was unable to create any chances against the home side and only registered two shots on goal in the 90 minutes, which were easily saved by goalkeeper Goran Blazević. With only 11 points in 11 matches, Cibalia sit in 10th place on the table.
This was an important win for Hajduk. After a tough derby against Dinamo last week, the team had to come out with a fresh mentality and put the loss behind them.
Hajduk has not lost a home match this year and used that to their advantage.
“We have a lot of young players but we are playing at home and we will do our best to continue the series of good results at home. We do not have a super strong team that can guarantee victory in every subsequent game. So far we have played much better home than away, we dominated and we expect that it continues,” Hajduk coach Mišo Krstičević said.
The match started with Hajduk on top and that remained a constant through out the afternoon.
Several chances for Hajduk in the beginning gave a preview of what was to come. Cibalia was unable to match the speed and quickness that the home team possessed and spent much of the first 20 minutes chasing their opponents.
in the 22nd minute, a penalty was awarded after a clear foul in the box was called. Vuković put his team on the scoreboard with a hard drive right down the middle to beat the keeper.
A similar foul was committed in the 50th minute when Cibalia’s Marko Terzić tripped up Danijel Stojanović and a second penalty was awarded that Vuković slotted in past the keeper.
“I am delighted that the two goals, and also our game,” Vukusić said.
The domination from the home team continued when Caktaš hammered home a third goal in the 73rd minute. A poor clearance attempt by Cibalia gave Caktaš the perfect opportunity to score and took a shot off the volley that deflected off a defender and sailed into the net.
The fourth goal dribbled in off a header from Milić that was just out of the keeper’s reach.
Hajduk is now in a four-way tie for third place which also includes Osijek, Lokomotiva, and Rijeka, who all have 18 points.
Despite the win, Hajduk does have a problem it needs to deal with. It has been reported that police are investigating the transfer deal of Anas Sharbini to Al-Littihad earlier this year. An anonymous tip was sent to authorities stating issues with payments have not been resolved between the two clubs. Investigators are now searching for further leads in the case.
HNK Hajduk: Blažević, Vršajević, Maloča, Milović, Stojanović, Radošević, Milić, Oremuš, Andrijašević, Caktaš, Vuković
HNK Cibalia: Paradžiković, Mišić, Matoš, Muženjak, Bartolović, Župarić, Mitrović, Vitaić, Rugašević, Ćulić, Mazalović
HNK RIJEKA 2 – 1 NK ISTRA 1961
Photo: nkistra.hr
Rijeka stole three points from visiting Istra 1961 in the final minute of the game on Saturday when Niko Datković was in the right place at the right time and tapped home the winner.
The teams came out in front of 4,500 strong at Kantrida, including at least 200 Istra fans who made the short trip to watch the derby.
Both teams were vying for three points. If Rijeka won, they would be tied for third place, and Istra was desperate for three points to end their four game winless streak. It looked as if they were going to capture their first win since August, but Rijeka played until the final whistle and came out on top.
Datković was put in the spotlight in the 20th minute when he pulled down Sandi Križman in the box. Stipe Bačelić-Grgić stepped up and put the ensuing kick in to make the score 1-0.
Istra coach, Igor Pamić, would spend the rest of the match watching from the stands. In the 35 minute, he picked up a ball that rolled out of bounds, and refused to give it to Rijeka midfielder, Josip Brezovec, to throw it in. Pamić was immediately ejected and escorted off the field.
Danijel Cesarec would tie the game just before the half with a goal from a long cross from the right that he cleanly brought down and shot through traffic to get the goal.
The second half was controlled by the home team. Rijeka hammered Istra keeper, Andrej Prskalo, but couldn’t find the back of the net. Several chances left the fans on the edge of their seats, but the score remained tied.
A 90th minute corner kick is what brought victory for Rijeka. Datković redeemed himself from his earlier penalty and put in the winner with a header from in front of the goal.
“I’m very pleased, and we opened the game well. There was a lot of mutual nervousness, Istria was leading, but we have arrived at the right time to draw. Ultimately I think we deserved to win.” — Rijeka coach, Elvis Scoria
Rijeka: Lisjak, Datković, Knežević, Neretljak, Mujanović, Brezovec, Weitzer (od 58. Močinić), Kreilach, Čaval (od 77. Miloš), Benko (od 58. Mutombo), Cesarec
Istra 1961: Prskalo, Zgrablić, Čagalj, Budicin, Milić, Jugović, Anđelković (od 63. Jerković), Ottochian (od 64. Prgomet), Bačelić-Grgić (od 78. Prelčec), Roce, Križman
NK OSIJEK 2 – 2 RNK SPLIT
Photo: prvaliga.tportal.hr/D.S.
RNK Split fought hard and scored two unanswered goals for a come-from-behind draw against Osijek in the Garden City.
Osijek dominated the match out of the gates. The threatened early in the game when in the first minute, a free kick from outside the box dipped down and forced Split keeper, Andrija Vuković to make an awkward save that resulted in a corner kick that also almost led to a goal as well.
Only one minute later, a long free kick led to Osijek’s first goal off a header from Marko Lešcović. Lešcovicć followed the long kick well and flicked it in with the back of his head to make it 1-0.
Only 10 minutes later, Osijek doubled the score when Ivan Miličević powered a shot in the top corner from 10 yards away.
Osijek players tried to take advantage of the momentum they had built and the fact that the players for Split could not get themselves organized. Several more close chances were taken by the home side. Lešcović made a bid for his second goal of the match, but smashed the ball against the crossbar.
The second half was a little different. Split, who looked utterly lost at the beginning of the match, were now starting to control the pace and possession of the game. Turns out that all Split needed was to put on some offensive pressure.
The visitors passed the ball around the box and waited for an opening to strike. In the 66th minute, Ante Vitaić drilled a low shot from outside the box to finally put his team on the scoreboard. Only four minutes later, Ante Rebić tied the game for the Crveni with a simple shot pass the keeper after receiving a great through ball into the box.
Osijek join three other teams in a four way tie for third place in the league, while Split are one point behind them.
NK LOKOMOTIVA 2 – 1 NK ZADAR
Photo: nklokomotiva.hr
Andrej Kramarić was the hero for the Lokosi, scoring in the 93rd minute of the match to take all three points form Zadar.
The game at Maksimir saw a crowd of 400 people, but that did not stop the match from being an interesting one.
Zadar’s Josip Ivančić opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Lokomotiva’s defense looked uninterested in the match and watched the Zadar attack close in on their goal and score.
Zadar has had a rough season so far and would have greatly benefited from three points on Saturday.
After a poor firs half, the Lokosi began to play to their full potential. After a few attacks in the second half, the home team finally tied the match in the 70th minute with a goal from Karlo Bručić. Bručić’s goal sparked the needed inspiration for Lokomotiva to play harder. They controlled the remaining 20 minutes and played to the final whistle.
Kramarić came through in the end and scored from the edge of the penalty area. It was Kramarić’s seventh goal of the season.
“We slept through the first half. We agreed that we will play a high pressing skill on the last line of Zadar, quite the opposite happened. Towards the end of the first half, we felt relieved. In the second half we have, thanks to changes, begun to look how we should from the beginning. I would like to congratulate my team because they showed great character and will to reverse the negative result by halftime. We achieved a tremendously important victory. I’d congratulate Zadar on the big fight.” Lokomotiva coach Tomislav Ivković
NK ZAGREB 1 – 1 NK INTER ZAPREŠIĆ
The boys from Kranjčevičeva Street earned their fifth point of the season after drawing against Inter at home. The Poets once again found themselves down by a goal in the 26 minute that was scored by Inter’s captain, Tomislav Sarić. Zagreb composed themselves and stayed focus on their target. In the second half, the team tied the game from a goal by 22-year-old Besart Abdurahimi. This marks Zagreb’s third non-losing game, and their second draw of the season.
GRAZ 99’ers 5 – 4 (SO)KHL MEDVEŠČAK
UPC VIENNACAPITALS 2 -0 MEDVEŠČAK
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The Bears got their first away point this week on Friday when they lost a thriller in a shootout to Graz 99’ers in Austria. The point the earned was enough to move into sixth place, a head of Red Bull Salzburg.
The game against Gratz was a game made for hockey fans. A fast paced, goal filled, hard fought, and rough match full of excitement as well as the debut of Buffalo Sabers’ assistant captain Thomas Vanek was more than enough to catch the attention of fans.
The first period ended scoreless, but the second period was lit up by six goals.
An early second period blow for the Bears may have been disheartening when Graz scored a shorthanded goal, but Medvescak didn’t miss a beat. David Brine scored a power play goal to tie the game, and only seconds later, Kyle Greentree scored his ninth goal of the season to take the lead.
The lead was short lived as only one minute later, Graz scored two quick goals of their own. Tom Vanek scored on his debut, making the fans from his home country of Austria erupt in cheers. The NHLer is currently playing on Graz during the lockout of the NHL.
At the end of the period, Greentree scored another goal to put his team in the lead, but it was tied again by the end of the game.
After a scoreless overtime period, the game went into a shootout where Gratz came on top to get both points. The Bears were awarded one, but played like the wanted more.
The Bears got received a loss on Sunday against Vienna. Their special teams proved to be the problem as they gave up one power play goal in the first period, and gave up a shorthanded goal in the second. Despite the loss, the Bears remain in sixth place.
He has got one nasty left foot. And his speed is just killer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bgFWnZpqO4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=becwfakK4EY
Yep, classic left footer on all his goals and dribbles, which makes him even better seeing as lefties are a defenders and goalkeepers worst nightmare
@Colin,
Got the video. For some reason it did not play but working now.
@Colin, Thanks for the article. Great reporting on HNL.
Do you have the video of the goal by the Halilovic?
@ Colin:
Is Dinamo’s new Wunderkid a lefty?
Colin O’Haravić je kralj!