Lokomotiva – Hajduk (1-1)
It’s becoming a common theme in the HNL season. Hajduk can beat the “big boys”, but then they give it right back against mid-table clubs. It happened again Friday night in Zagreb as Hajduk played out a 1-1 draw versus NK Lokomotiva. The ‘Lokosi’ opened up the scoring in the 25′ when Silvio Goričan headed home an uncontested header from the middle of the box. It should have been Goričan’s second goal of the match, however, Hajduk’s Ivan Lučič made a stone-cold save on him in the first five minutes of the match. There should have been more goals but both goalies were on their A-game. Hajduk would equalize in the 75′ when Livaja would head down a ball in the box to Benrahou for a left-footed shot that would tie the game. There was tons of action in this match and Hajduk will be disappointed with the draw, but they could have easily lost this game.
Dinamo vs. Rudeš (1-0)
Dinamo narrowly avoid repeating the same mistakes as both Hajduk and Rijeka by edging out Rudeš in a 1-0 victory on Saturday. The underdog mentality that took over this weekend was almost captured by Rudeš after falling short to their ‘rivals’ in Zagreb. Rudeš held their back line strong until the 76′ minute when Sandro Kulenović pushed Dinamo over the finish line, he scored the goal by tapping in a header that was sent in his direction by Takuro Kaneko. Saturday’s win sees Dinamo become the lone winner out of all the clubs currently in the Top-5. Notably, Kaneko the Japanese midfielder that Dinamo secured on loan from J-League side Hokkaido Sapporo has played a huge role in Dinamo’s games as of late. He currently has the second most assists the league (Behind Toni Fruk of Rijeka) with five so far this season. In Dinamo’s last three matches Kaneko has contributed to at least one goal in each match, in this time span he has picked up one goal and three assists. Dinamo’s narrow win which seemed embarrassing at the time now seems very crucial, with Rijeka and Hajduk dropping points Dinamo now rises to second place in the HNL. Dinamo are now breathing down Hajduk’s neck as they sit seven points behind Hajduk with two games in hand. If Dinamo can grab all six-points with their two matches in hand the title race is surely back on.
Gorica vs. Istra (0-0)
Gorica and Istra settle for a goalless draw between both sides on Saturday. Disaster struck Gorica early when defender Krešmir Krizmanić was shown red for a reckless challenge in the first three minutes of the game. Krizmanić received the red after an error that gave Istra a 1v1 opportunity with the Gorica keeper. Instead, Krizmanić took out the Istra attacker just outside the box and received a red card for a professional last man foul. Despite this major setback Gorica persevered and held onto a draw. This sees Gorica hold onto their status as the only team yet to lose at home this season. Despite the fact that Gorica did hold onto their perfect home record Istra did not make it easy for Gorica. In the match Istra recorded 26 total shots in comparison to Gorica’s 4, of those shots only 5 were on target for Istra and 0 for Gorica. The Goričani remain in the top four with their draw on Saturday, this keeps them three points away from 5th place Osijek who have been underperforming this season. Should Gorica keep their home record up they very well could be the first team outside the traditional top four to claim a top four spot since Lokomotiva in the 2019/20 season.
Rijeka vs. Slaven (2-4)
Rijeka fall in a shock match to Slaven Belupo on Sunday at the Rujevica. Despite dominating the possession in the match and creating far more chances Rijeka are crushed at home to a clinical Slaven side. Slaven created four shots on goal in total in the match and scored off of every single one. Despite statistically being the ‘weaker’ side Slaven never were trailing in the match. Slaven had in fact extended their lead to 3-0 and 4-1 at two separate points maintaining for a while a three goal cushion. Even though Rijeka had by all accounts a sub-par match they were still able to snag two goals to make the game somewhat competitive. Franjo Ivanović was key to both of those goals. Ivanović scored Rijeka’s first goal to bring them game closer at 3-1 and recorded an assist 10 minutes later to keep the game at a two goal distance at 4-2. Slaven now sit 6th place in the league, the highest spot they’ve held yet this season. With the bottom half teams all within striking distance of each other (except Rudeš) wins like Slaven’s could be what separates a club from 6th or 9th. Whether Slaven continue to climb the table or sink back to the bottom, Sunday’s massive win against Rijeka on the road will certainly be a high point for this years campaign.
Varaždin vs. Osijek (2-2)
Osijek yet again struggle to find their footing this season after yet another missed opportunity of points. A late minute winner from Slavko Bralić sees Osijek draw Varaždin 2-2 in Varaždin on Sunday. Osijek seemed to look promising in the opening stages of the match grabbing an early lead from Ramon Mierez in the 13th minute of play. However, after that the Osijek attack seemingly turned off, eventually resulting at a 1-1 draw at the end of the first half. Varaždin earned a penalty after a handball call in the box. Igor Postonjski netted the penalty and brought the game level. In ironic fashion former Osijek midfielder, Marin Pilj gave Varaždin the lead over Osijek in the 69th minute. Slavko Bralić however ruined Pilj’s moment by saving Osijek in the dying minutes of the match with an equalizer in the 92nd minute of the game. While Bralić was able to save Osijek in the match it seems less likely as each game passes that Osijek can save their season. There is no secret that the Osijek fans are angry with the current status of their club. The phrase “Uprava Odlazi” or “Management Leave” has trended among Osijek supporters. This stems from a distrust and anger at the current board and ownership of the club. This saying mounted lots of pressure on the board and may be a major reason why controversial Sports Director Ivica Kulešević was removed earlier this season alongside former manager Stjepan Tomas. Osijek fans were hopeful for the future when Osijek Manager legend Zoran Zekić returned to the club in late October. He started off hot with three wins in a row, but now his side have yet to win in their last six matches. It seems that unless a major change occurs Zekić may have a bumpy road ahead of him in the upcoming months in Osijek
Hajduk got robbed by the refs, should have had two clear penalties and got neither. The VAR was supposed to make things better but it’s just lead to even more manipulation of results.
Football and it’s archaic rules sometimes make games really tedious to watch. To have referees that get to decide how much stoppage time is allocated at the end of a half is ludicrous. They should just have 30 or 35 minute half’s where when the ball goes out, there’s a free kick, a corner, an injury (players rolling around on the ground faking an injury just to waste time is infuriating) or whatever other stoppage the clock is stopped the same goes for substitutions. You would still get the same amount of actual play without the bullshit. It’s one of the few sports that has such an antiquated system of time keeping. That needs to change to make it both fairer and more entertaining.
I watched the match and 1 -1 was a fair result. Yes, you are correct Hajduk dropping points against mid table teams which could prove to be costly at the end of the season. Big match next weekend against Dinamo in Zagreb.