HNL Week 13: Only 7 Goals Are Scored, Hajduk Are Held to a Frustrating Draw at Poljud, Osijek Skim by Dragovoljac

HNL’s matchday 13 contests have been a bit of a snoozefest, unless you’re into great defensive displays. Every single team in the league had trouble finding the back of the net this week, however, they were all great at shutting down their opponents. A shout out to some of the goalkeepers this week is deserved as Ivan Čović, Marko Malenica, Zvonimir Šubarić, Dominik Kotarski, Ivan Lučić and Martin Zlomislić were fantastic and are part of the reason for their teams’ defensive success. Dominik Livaković continues his unimpressive streak as he records 0 saves and 1 high claim all match.

HNK Šibenik 1-1 NK Slaven Belupo

Relegation-fighting Slaven Belupo (who’s only victory all season came in matchday 1 against Dinamo) faced mid-table Šibenik on matchday 13. At the 10 minute mark, Jakoliš strikes an exciting ball from a difficult angle, but Ivan Čović makes a solid stop. Fast forward 7 minutes, a hot Antonio Marin shoots the ball straight into defensive midfielder Mario Marina’s hand. After a long 5 minute review, it is deemed a penalty kick, and Marin Jakoliš slots it in with style. A minute after the start of the second half, Jakoliš made his presence known yet again with a smart run and powerful shot, unfortunately aimed directly at the keeper’s gloves. Just two minutes later, it’s Arijan Brković’s turn to test the opposing keeper as he drives a curler from the corner of the box, but yet another save is made keeping this contest at 1-0. At the 68th, Šibenik’s captain, Mario Ćurić, receives a golden opportunity to double his side’s lead, but the ball is denied by the woodwork. At the 79th minute, Slaven got one of the most exciting chances of the game, threading a few passes resulting in a dribble and a shot, all in Šibenik’s box, but the kerfuffle results in nada for the Farmaceuti. And off the very next corner, a head connects with the ball, but another fantastic Lovre Rogić save denies Slaven once more. Three minutes later however, Slaven finally got their equalizer off an almost identical corner as the previous one, the score was now 1 to 1. The clock runs out and the two teams share the spoils at Stadion Šubićevac.

CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Marin Jakoliš (1 goal, 3/4 long balls, 2 shots on target, hit woodwork once, 5/6 ground duels won)

NK Osijek 1-0 NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac

After a relatively quiet start to the match, Ramon Mierez gets the first chance of the game, hitting the ball with an outside swing resulting in little power. His scoring woes continue. At the 32nd, Mierez strikes the ball once again directly into Zvonimir Šubarić’s chest. At the 40th, Osijek had yet another opportunity to score with a decent Fiolić run, but he placed the ball wide and we found ourselves still at a deadlock. With seconds to spare until the halftime whistle, a nicely placed cross finds itself in the box and Osijek’s Mihret Topčagić rings the ball against the crossbar. Osijek continues to dominate but are unable to have much finishing product, until the 71st minute when Darko Nejašmić heads the corner down to the feet of Mihael Žaper, and he taps it in for the game-winning goal. 

CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Petar Bočkaj (3 tackles, 5/8 duels won, 99 touches, 7 key passes, 9/16 crosses, 2/2 dribbles)

HNK Hajduk Split 0-0 HNK Gorica

A crucial game for Hajduk as they look to finally break into the top 3 spots in the league, and their opponent is 6th place HNK Gorica. At the 9 minute mark, a well-directed cross finds itself on Marko Livaja’s head, who rings it against the post. At the 26th, Biuk creates an excellent turnover and feeds Livaja in the box, but young keeper Dominik Kotarski makes another solid stop. Only 3 minutes later, Vatreni legend Dario Melnjak has the chance of the game on a one-on-one versus Kotarski, but Hajduk are yet again denied. The match is a defensive masterclass from Hajduk, not even allowing a single shot on target, but their offensive engine has been slow. At the 90’+3, a low ball into the box finds Melnjak at exactly 5 feet from the goal, and he touches it over the net. A deadlock in Poljud is the final result and Hajduk are denied a spot in the top three for another week. A shoutout to Stipe Biuk for one of his best performances all season that unfortunately ended without his name on the scoresheet. The young winger finally looked lively and tracked back defensively. He had 6 tackles (the most out of any player throughout the match), 3 key passes, and 1 big chance created.

CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Dominik Kotarski (5 saves inside the box, 3 high claims, 1 punch, 52 touches)

GNK Dinamo Zagreb 1-1 NK Istra 1961

Dinamo Zagreb is looking towards first place in the league with a win versus Istra, and the action starts just minutes into the match when 26 year old Komnen Andrić finds himself one-on-one with keeper Ivan Lučić, who stops it with the tip of his foot. At the 14th, Martin Baturina puts himself into a good position but heads the ball wide off a Sadegh Moharrami cross. Dinamo get their closest chance so far in the 24th when a beautiful corner from Marko Bulat is headed by Perić and finds itself on the goalline before Lucic secures it. Five minutes later, Baturina shows off his wicked shot and sends a bullet in from dozens of feet away, but once again is denied by the Austrian goalkeeper. At the 60th, Dinamo coach Damir Krznar makes a rather puzzling substitution as he subs out arguably his two best players of the match so far in Marko Bulat and Martin Baturina. The result? Istra took a 1-0 lead in Maksimir from 19 year old talent Dion Drena Beljo. The 6 foot 5 striker found himself in a good position off a Luka Marin through ball to sink it past Dominik Livaković, who will not record a single save in this contest. Beljo now has 7 G/A in 768 minutes (or 8.5 games) of play. And just when Istra thought they could escape matchday 13 with a shocking 3 points versus the reigning champions, Luka Ivanušec whips a cross into the box that finds 6 foot 6 center-back Dino Perić. And the 3rd match out of 4 so far ends in a draw. 

CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Ivan Lučić (8 saves, 4 inside the box, 2 high claims, 2/2 ground duels won)

NK Lokomotiva Zagreb 0-2 HNK Rijeka

Top of the table Rijeka visit Kranjčevičeva in their matchup against a renewed Lokomotiva squad, much stronger than the one from last season. For the first 45 minutes, both sides enjoyed opportunities in a relatively even matchup and it wasn’t until injury time before the end of the first half that Robert Murić, from a free kick, sent a wicked curler into the corner of the net. In the 58th, Rijeka faced two beautiful opportunities to score within the box, both miraculously saved by Dinamo loanee, Ivan Nevistić. Three minutes later, Lukas Kačavenda showed off his footwork and incredible pace in a great run by the entire Rijeka defence and midfield, but his shot fired over the bar. This proved rather unfortunate as Rijeka made Kačavenda pay for his missed chance, by putting the ball in the back of Nevistić’s net three minutes afterwards. At the 68th, Kačavenda looks to bounce back with a nice cross that finds his teammate’s head, but it is directed right at the keeper’s chest. Rijeka clinched another victory and remain top of the table after matchday 13.

CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Lukas Kačavenda (85% pass accuracy, 3 key passes, 2/2 crosses, 2 shots, 3/3 dribbles, 6/9 ground duels won, 2 tackles)