HNL REPORT WEEK 8/KHL MEDVEŠČAK UPDATE

 

 

 

 

Results for September 14 – 16, 2012

 

GNK DINAMO ZAGREB 0 – 0 NK OSIJEK

 

 

 Photo:  gnkdinamo.hr

Dinamo drop points in a draw for the second time this year, this time to a stubborn team from Osijek who denied Dinamo a goal.

Both clubs picked up a point in the scoreless draw, but it was critical for Dinamo to take all three points as Slaven Belupo is breathing down their neck. After dropping two points from the match, the door is wide open for Slaven to take over at the top of the table.

Osijek arrived at Maksimir with one thing on their mind: Defense. Osijek coach, Stanko Mršić, was missing several regular starters for the team, but still fielded a side that relied heavily on defensive tactics. These tactics included a five man midfield and keeping eight men behind the ball at nearly all times, and a lone striker up top.

Osijek’s defensive form is time-tested this year. They have given up a league-low four goals this season and have five shutouts.

Dinamo on the other hand had something different planned. Coach Ante Čačić used this match to showcase his new talent. Čačić also experimented with the new players and looked to see who would be fit and ready for their Champions League group stage match on Tuesday against Porto.

The 21-year-old Chilean international, Bryan Carrasco, made his debut in the match on Friday. The Chilean, who is on loan to the club from Chilean Premiera Division club Audax Italiano, played 80 minutes as a midfielder and showed great potential. He was involved in several plays on the wing that lead to near goals. His speed and abilities have impressed spectators at the match.

Marcelo Brozović also made his debut for the club against Osijek. The 19-year-old midfielder and former Hrvatski Dragovoljac and Lokomotiva stand out entered the game in the second half as a defensive midfielder and helped Dinamo reach a scoreless draw.

The home team dominated the match, despite the outcome. With over 70% of the possession and the majority of shots in the match, Dinamo was surly expected to come out as victors. Luis Ibañez had a near goal from a free kick from outside the box, but just curled it over the net. Ivan Krstanović nearly sealed the game for the modri in the 86 minute, but his headed effort on net beat the keeper, but struck the crossbar and stayed out.

Dinamo: Kelava – Vida, Tonel, Šimunić, Ibanez – Calello, Alispahić (od 46. Brozović) – Carrasco (od 80. Peko), Sammir, Rukavina (od 66. Krstanović) – Čop

Osijek: Vargić – Ibriks, Vrgoč, Smoje, Aleksić – Novaković, Lešković, Kvržić, Zulim (od 75. Glavaš), Petrović (od 65. Mišić) – Miličević (od 61. Dugandžić)

 

 

 

 

 

 

NK INTER ZAPRESIC 1- 1 HNK HAJDUK SPLIT

 

 

Photo:  prvaliga.tportal.hr

Hajduk could not hold on to their early lead and are forced to split the points with Inter as the teams drew 1-1. Hajduk has still yet to capture three points since their star player, Ante Vukušić, left the club for Seri A. The club has also only been awarded two points in the last four matches.

The BiliI were left frustrated after the first 15 minutes of the match. Inter keeper, Krševan Santini, denied several chances from the visiting team that looked like sure goals. Franko Andrijašević had a fantastic attempt on goal that resulted from some cleaver play on top of the box, and Ivan Vuković had a point blank shot stopped by the keeper, and Andrijašević put the rebound over the crossbar.

The frustration did not last, as success was not too far away. In the 25th minute, Antonio Milić headed home a corner kick to put Hajduk on top.

The remainder of the first half was dominated by missed opportunities by Hajduk. Near misses and errant shots plagued the young split side, and kept the score at 1-0 going into the half.

Despite this being only the sixth point awarded to Inter this season, they proved to be a tough opponent and tied the match in the second half.

A long ball to Mislav Oršić in the 73rd minute led to him breaking past the defenders and sent the ball high above Goran Blažević and into the goal.

The Keramičari were given a boost of confidence with the goal and continued to play the rest of the second half with everything they had, keeping Hajduk on the edge of their seats. Several balls sent in to the box were cleared out by Hajduk, but the pressure was mounting.

The third and final minute of stoppage time was marked with a crucial call as an Inter player was clipped and went down in the box, and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot.

Tomislav Sarić stepped up to the spot to try and seal three points for his team, but his soft penalty shot met by the strong hands of Blažević and stayed out of the net.

“I can’t explain why are we were so timid entered the match. We had a weak entire first half. Hajduk was better and it would not have been undeserved if scored another one or two goals. The second half was different for us. Players showed a lot more desire, and I think we were better in second 45 minutes and deservedly equalized. Regardless of the penalty kick at the very end, I think that the result is just positive.” – Inter head coach, Borimir Perković

 

 

 

 

NK SLAVEN BELUPO 1 – 3 HNK RIJEKA

 

 

 Photo:  prvalige.tporta.hr/D.K.

The marquee matchup for the week lived up to its hype as Rijeka down Slaven in Koprivnicia with a score of 3-1.

Slaven have been extremely impressive this season, winning six games and losing two, but could not capitalize on Dinamo dropping two points this week and take over first place.

Rijeka have been less than stellar for the first part of the season, but have certainly begun to turn things around. Not getting their first win until the fourth week –against NK Zagreb with a score of 1-0 — and not getting a win again until beating Hajduk two weeks ago, the season looked bleak. But recent form has suggested that the boys from Kantrida are starting to gel and are turning into the top team that many believed they would be this year. Defeating Hajduk and then Slaven at their own home is no easy task, but their path to the top of the table gets even rougher next week as Dinamo visit on Saturday.

Slaven now sits two points out of first place behind Dinamo after both teams failed to get a win this week.

Last year at this same time, Dinamo sat clear atop first place with a five point lead, but Slaven has kept it closer and more competitive this year.

Slaven started the match not looking like the team they have been all year. It was difficult to understand why, but it was quite clear early on that Rijeka was just outplaying the team from Slaven.

Outplaying their opponent payed off early. In the 16th minute, Danijel Cesarec scored his first goal on his debut for Rijeka. Cesarec recieved a low hard cross from the left side and held off his defender to reach out and hit it in the goal off the volley from 12 yards out. The 29-year-old Slovanski Brod native has had spells with Sparta Prague and most recently Maccabi Haifa.

Leon Benko doubled their score just seconds before the half with a venomous header that keeper Silvio Rodić had no chance of getting to.

The restart of the second half saw instant action from Slaven. A free kick was awarded to the home side 25 yards away from goal. 37-year-old veteran, Davor Vugrenec, stepped up and put a curling Ronaldo-esque beauty over the wall and into the upper left corner of the net. Vugrenec gave more of a sigh of relief than a celebration after scoring his goal.

Slaven tried hard the rest of the half to equalize, but Rijeka was just too tough, and as the match aged, Rijeka’s defense grew and Slaven was unable to penetrate it to overtake first place in the HNL.

The third Rijeka goal came from a quick counter my Rijeka that caught the Slaven defense completely off guard and left Rodić out to dry as Ivan Močinić easily beat him to finish the match 3-1.

“The first half was our best so far with the exact idea of how to play. We brought dangerous counter-attacks and we beat a great team that Ferenčina brings out the best in.” Rijeka coach, Elvis Scoria “Congratulations on your victory, Rijeka. They have capitalized on their chances, we did not. A lot our players didn’t have their head in the game. We gave up two goals from set pieces, and we knew that we were stronger than Rijeka. We have ourselves to blame for defeat.” Slaven Belupo coach, Roy Ferenčina

Slaven Belupo: Rodić – Barić, Kokalović, Grgić (Delić 46′), Maras – Batarelo (Bušić 46′), Gregurina – Glavica, Čanađija, Bubnjić – Vuginec

Rijeka: Lisjak – Datković, Knežević, Neretljak – Čulina, Kreilach, Brezovec, Weitzer (Močinić 67′), Čaval – Cesarec, Benko

 

 

 

 

 

 

HNK CIBALIA 3 – 2 NK LOKOMOTIVA

 

 

 Photo:  prvaliga.tportal.hr/D.K.

An exciting match that ended with a photo finish left a lasting impression on the fans in Cibalia as their team won the match with a last ditch effort on goal.

The Lokosi struck first when Andrej Kramarić scored in the 32nd minute, but their lead was short lived when Mladen Bartolović equalized 10 minutes later.

Both teams were fighting hard for the three points, as no one would be satisfied with a draw.

The deadlock was broken by Tomislav Mazalović off a brilliant corner kick in the 66th minute to put the home team up. Lokomotiva was desperate to score and worked the ball through the maze of the Cibalia defense.

Late in the game, a penalty was awarded in the box to Lokomotiva’s advantage, and unlike Bartolović, who missed a penalty on the other side of the field to extend his team’s lead, Kramarić was cool and composed and tied the game in the 84th minute.

In what looked to be a match that would end in a draw, Mazalović turned out to be the hero and scored on Cibalia’s last shot of the match to win it at home. The win marked Cibalia’s second win in a row and second win overall in the season.

“In the first half, we were better, and obviously dominated. I’m glad that Cibalia is slowly rising, in this encounter they deserved the victory and I congratulate them. This season was are playing much better football than last year and I hope it will continue. I believe that next season, when the league has only 10 teams, the game will be even better.” –Lokomotiva coach, Tomislav Ivković

Lokomotiva: Lovrić; Boras (od 46. Samateh), Barbarić, Mesarić, Musa; Mrzljak; Zakarić (od 61. Trebotić), Antolić, Pavičić (od 71. Šitum), Bručić; Kramarić.   

Cibalia: Paradžiković; Matoš, Mitrović, Župarić, Rugašević; Vitaić, Mazalović; Terzić (od 61. Ćorić), Muženjak (od 83. Jonjić), Mišić (od 86. Tokić); Bartolović.

 

 

 

 

 

RNK SPLIT 3 – 1 NK ZADAR

 

Photo:  rnksplit.hr

Split continue their winning ways at home as they defeat NK Zadar 3-1 and remain undefeated at their own stadium.

Looking back to last season, Split has won 10 consecutive home matches, dating back to March 17, 2012 when they tied Varaždin 2-2, and they are unbeaten at home dating back to November 18, 2011 when they lost 3-0 to Dinamo. That is a streak of 13 unbeaten home matches.

Though the crveni had several scoring chances in the first half, both teams entered the locker rooms with a scoreless tie at half, but Ante Erceg changed that in the 63rd minute and teammate Mate Pehar doubled the score two minutes later.

Split was awarded a somewhat controversial penalty in the 70th minute and Ante Vitaić easily put it in.

Luka Begonja scored a late consolation goal for the visitors, but Zadar still left with no points from the match and remain in 11th place with only four points. Split comfortably sit in third place, five points behind first.

“I think we played very well and the players have confirmed what we have been doing in recent days on the mini preparations. Already in the first half, we had a lot of chances, but we couldn’t score, but then we hit with the entry of Erceg, who confirmed his quality. We deserved the win.” — Split coach Tonči Bašić Split:

Split:  Vuković, Vidić, Vitaić, Radotić (od 85. Glumac), Pehar, Vojnović, Paracki, Galović, Bagarić (od 60. Erceg), Hrgović, Belle (od 73. Baraban)

Zadar: Gluić, Bilaver, Vasilj, Sarić, Ivančić, Jerbić, Banović (od 80. Heister), Bilen, Prahić, Mršić, Župan (od 55. Begonja)

 

 

 

 

NK ISTRA 1961 0 – 0 NK ZAGREB

 

 

 Photo: nk-istra.hr

Luka Bonačić’s debut with Zagreb was considered a great success. His new club were awarded their first point of the season after drawing Istra in Pula 0-0. After seven straight losses, Zagreb earned their point by playing a tough defensive game in hostile territory.

Zagreb’s dense defensive tactics kept Istra frustrated all match as they failed to to register a single shot on goal.

Istra coach, Igor Pamić, said he was still pleased with his team as the tried hard, but could not find the right passes to get an opportunity to score.

Istra 1961: Prskalo, Sušić, Čagalj, Budicin, Milić, Pamić, Linić (od 78. Blagojević), Ottochian (od 76. Havojić), Prelčec (od 59. Bačelić Grgić), Prgomet, Križman.

Zagreb: Livaković, Pelaić, Nadarević, Pavlović, Štiglec, Šovšić, Djengoue (od 67. Oršulić), Štrok, Abdurahimi (od 66. Bevab), Dedić, Medić (od 31. Mitrović).

 

 

Croatia’s KHL Medveščak Zagreb played their third and fourth games of the season against Olimpija Ljubljana and UPS Vienna Capitals on September 14 and 16 respectively.

The first match against Olimpija was won by the visitors with a score of 3-2. Olimpija went up 3-0 over Zagreb before the home team tried to mount a comeback in the third period.

Tom Zenoški opened the scoring for Zagreb shortly after a power play midway through the third period and gave the team life. Croatian American Adam Naglich followed suit soon after, but just wasn’t enough to earn a victory. Despite outshooting their opponents 44-31, the Bears could not find the tying goal.

In an intensely impressive display, the Pula Arena astounded onlookers and players. The arena, built between 27 BC and 68 AD held the battle of the modern Gladiators as the two hockey teams battled it out for 60 minutes.

Over 7,000 fans are able to fit in the Roman theater for both games and were both sold out. Grandstands were constructed for fans to sit on or fans could also sit on the original Roman stone seats.

Medveščak was able to take two points from the second game at Pula Arena, beating Vienna 4-1 with goals from Canadians Kyle Greentree, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers and Calgary Flames, and David Brine, formerly of the Florida Panthers, and Croatians Saša Martinović, and Zenoški. The Bears currently sit at the middle of the table and have a match against EC-KAK on Friday.