Results for Dec. 6-9, 2013
GNK DINAMO ZAGREB 4 – 1 NK OSIJEK
Dinamo have maintained their position at the top of the table after 4-1 beating of NK Osijek on Sunday.
Osijek’s scoring woes continue as they have trouble finding the back of the net, but Dinamo’s explosive offense did its job and tallied four goals on the night.
Alen Halilović was involved in the first goal when he sent in a corner kick that Junior Fernandes met with his head for the opening goal of the game in the ninth minute.
But Osijek was able to tie it up quickly thanks in part to a crucial mistake by goalkeeper, Oliver Zelenika.
Zelenika misplayed a simple ball in the air and let it slip right through his fingers and Marko Dugandžić was there to clean it up and tied the match in the 17th minute.
This did not phase the home side. Dinamo still maintained pressure and were able to score three more times before the matchećs end. Goals from Marcelo Brozović, Fatos Beqiraj, and a second goal from Fernandes all helped earn three points for the Modri.
Halilović was directly involved with the second goal of the game, and played well throughout the match.
The young midfielder sent in a pass to Beqiraj inside the penalty area who then laid the ball off to Brozović who buried it in the net.
This could be a turning point for the super-hyped wonder child. Halilović has seen not only a goal-scoring drought in his fledgling career, but he has not seen a lot of playing time for Dinamo this year either, only starting in four league matches in the season.
Halilović scored his first goal of the season against Hajduk Split on Wednesday in the 5-0 victory in the Croatian Cup, and also set up two goals on Sunday during his second consecutive start of the year.
The 17-year-old is still without a league goal this season, but will be given the chance to score on the European stage on Thursday when Dinamo welcomes Ludogorec Razgrad to Maksimir for the return leg in the Europa League group stages.
NK ZADAR 1 – 1 HNK HAJDUK SPLIT
Hakduk split dropped points in Zadar today despite gaining an early lead from defender Dino Mikanović’s fifth minute goal.
The goal was overshadowed though by Zadar keeper Mladen Matkovic being injured after colliding with Hajduk’s Giorgi Iluridze.
Matković fell hard to the ground and was unable to get up on his own, and after a ten minute pause of the game for medics to tend to him, he was taken off the field in an ambulance.
Thirty-year-old Tomislav Gluić took is place between the pipes in the 15th minute for his 69th appearance for Zadar, and was tested right away
Jean Evard Kouassi brought the ball down the field on a Hajduk counter attack and unleashed a shot on the fresh goalkeeper, but Gluić was there to make his first save of the game.
Zadar found some offensive pressure and challenged Lovre Kalinić who was in net for Hajduk. Kalinić was able to make several saves, but one slipped by him, but the judge ruled the goal offsides, and Hajduk remained in the lead.
The second half proved to be much more physical than the first 45 minutes. A total of 13 yellow cards were issued to 13 different players.
But perhaps the physicality paid off, for Zadar at least.
Zadar peppered Kalinić with shots during the final 15 minutes of the game. Near goals from Josip Tadić, Jure Jerbić, and Luka Begonja forced Kalinić to remain tough, and earned him the man of the match, but Mirko Hrgović was able to beat the keeper and become the hero for Zadar in the 81st minute.
The two Dalmatian clubs split the points, which leaves Hajduk three points behind first-placed Dinamo.
Hajduk and Zadar shared more than just points in the match. They also shared players – well, rather, players were the ones that shared a name.
It is rare to see two unrelated players with the same name face each other on the field but Josip Bašić entered the match for Zadar in the 79th minute ony to meet up with Hajduk’s Josip Bašić, who was already on the field for all 90 minutes.
Zadar’s Bašić recently turned 20 years old in September, and made his fifth appearance for his club today. Hajduk’s Bašić will turn 19 years old in March, and made his fifth appearance today as well.
HNK RIJEKA 2 – 0 NK HRVATSKI DRAGOVOLJAC
Rijeka and Hr. Dragovoljac played their make-up match on Wednesday after the initial match, which was played on a flooded Kantrida pitch, was cancelled after the first half due to a power outage at Kantrida on Nov. 9.
Rijeka was leading 1-0 prior to the power outage thanks to a goal from Dario Knežević, but that goal was nullified as the game started over on Wednesday.
The Volunteers kept the game close, but could not keep Rijeka quite forever.
Leon Benko ran the show and scored in the 72nd and 80th minute to win the match 2-0. Benko is leading the league in goals with 13, but is suspended for Rijeka’s match against Istra due to yellow card accumulation.
HNK RIJEKA 3 – 3 NK ISTRA 1961
An interesting match is always expected when these clubs play in the regional derby, but no one expected the six-goal thriller they played to on Sunday.
Rijeka is desperately trying to keep pace with the top of the table, but they have dropped several crucial points this season and they needed to ensure three points on Sunday.
But Istra has consistently been a tough team to beat, and certainly did not want to be defeated by their nearest Prva Liga opponent.
Rijeka was without their super scorer, Leon Benko, who was suspended this weekend due to yellow card accumulation. Former Lokomotiva and Dinamo standout, Andrej Kramarić started in his place, and it quickly paid off.
Kramarić found the back of the net in the fourth minute of the match. The forward took a hard shot from close range that hit goalkeeper Antonio Ježina in the hands, but he was unable to hang on to the ball, and it rolled into the goal. This would not be the last goalkeeping error in the match.
But Istra would not be out done.
Ante Batarelo scored a stunner only two minutes later that tied the match.
Bartelo was given ample time to set himself up on top of the box and let out a shot that curled around several defenders and beat Ivan Vargić on the far post.
But there was no time for a celebration as Rijeka answered right back only a minute later.
The match was not only marked by the goal-scoring frenzy, but also by goalkeeping errors – on both sides.
Kramarić would go to score his second goal of the game in the seventh minute, again hitting Ježina in the hands with the ball, but still beating the struggling Istrian goalkeeper.
Not to be outdone by his counterpart, Ivan Vargić made the game’s biggest blunder in the 24th minute.
Vargić received a pass from defender Ivan Tomečak but instead of quickly clearing the ball, Vargić hung on to it for too long and sent the clearance right into the body of Petar Franjić. The ball bounced to the goal and struck the post, but Franjić was there to follow up his “shot” and tapped the ball into the net.
The half finished with the score tied at two, and both teams had a lot of regrouping to do in their locker rooms.
There was little action until the 70th Rijeka was awarded a penalty after Ivan Graf took down Ivan Krstanović in the box. Kramarić stepped up to the penalty spot to try and cap off his hat trick, but Ježina was there to make the big save, which would prove to be crucial in their chance for victory.
Istra was able to take the lead for a short while late in the match with Mario Babić’s 83rd minute goal, but Kramarić was finally able to get his hat trick when he scored only one minute later to tie the match at 3-3.
The teams deservedly split the points, but that leaves Rijeka now six points behind Dinamo Zagreb for first place.
HRVATSKI DRAGOVOLJAC 1 – 3 NK LOKOMOTIVA
Hr. Dragovoljac have not beaten Lokomotiva since 2008 when both teams were playing in the Druga Liga, and that would not change on Saturday.
Two goals from Marko Pjaca and one from Damir Šovšić were what got the Lokosi three points and put them in fourth place on the league table.
Danijel Zlatar scored for the Volunteers in the 49th minute to briefly tie the match up, but Šovšić’s 54th minute goal struck down any hope the Volunteers had in coming out victorious.
The Volunteers remain at the bottom of the table, 31 points out of first place. There is certainly hope for them to stay in the top flight of Croatian football, as they are only two points out of ninth place, and there is plenty of time for them to climb out of the league basement.
RNK SPLIT 0 – 0 NK SLAVEN BELUPO
Slaven and Split played to a keeper’s duel on Friday and ended the match 0-0 thanks to some outstanding goalkeeping performances by Slaven’s Tomislav Pelin and Split’s Danijel Zagorac.
Pelin was named man of the match for his several impressive saves on the likes of Mate Bilić and Henri Belle
Split dominated possession, but Slaven did a fine job on defense and stopped most of their attacks before they could become any sort of scoring chance.
This marks Split’s eighth consecutive undefeated match, but more surprisingly, Slaven has only lost one of their last 13 matches (all competitions) and all 13 matches have been under the control of Mladen Frančić.
Frančić took the reigns at Slaven in September, and has since only lost one match after publicly promising to turn Slaven around in “one month”.
I say Dinamo wins the HNL by 8-10 points. I don’t see Hajduk or my beloved Rijeka keeping pace.
@Bobby where did you hear that croatia is going to play in chicago??
“Mogu se tako ponašati u svetom dresu.” Pretty much says it all there. Classy kid. Looks like he’s 12 in that pic with the braces though haha.
Halilovic acts like a little bitch and here’s what class act Mateo Kovacic said when he was at Dinamo
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/uzorni-kapetan–kad-je-guzva-na-terenu-mateo-skida-dinamov-dres—ne-mogu-u–frku–u-svetom-dresu–/969451/
What Halilovic really needs, is for his Tata to take out the Kaiš and give him a whipping.
They need to sell Halilovic this January.
If it’s Dinamo that is at fault for this tension, then he’ll be far away from them and not have to worry anymore.
If it’s Halilovic that is at fault, then he will get a wakeup call from the foreign club’s manager as they won’t put up with this nonsense.
@ Bobby V and Colin
Halilovic didn’t like being subbed out. So he had a temper tantrum and threw his little blue mittens.
He’s a good prospect. And the media needs to reduce their expectations to take pressure off the lad. While Alen needs to calm down.
http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/Actualidad_Primer_Equipo_en/1386281036843/noticia/Noticia/_It_is_important_for_Real_Madrid_to_be_well_represented_at_the_World_Cup_.htm
Some WC interviews with Modric and Madrid.
@Bobby V. – Haven’t heard anything about that. You have a link? He just turned 17. He’s a kid who was thrown into the spot light and has not lived up to any expectations. He’s pretty much the perfect storm to be a headcase. Hope he grows up and not only matures, but ups his game on the field. He can be as crazy and whiny as he wants as long as he plays well in the game.
Ya Dinamo has the title locked up…fuck that…I hope they think that!!!
What’s the story with Halilovic throwing his gloves down in afit of anger and storming off the field in a recent match?
His father is handling his situation all wrong and is feeding into his already young/selfish/unstable attitude. What a shame.
Halilovic and Kovacic are miles apart in the way they handle themselves – extreme opposites – and only 2 years apart.
Halilovic is already becoming the next typical Balkan headcase.
If Croatia comes to Chicago, I can already picture the Serbs turnin out in large numbers to Soldier Field to try and fuck with us. You can bet on it.
Bravo Dinamo.
Hajduk with the choke job.
Rijeka losing points last weekend too.
Looks like the HNL title is slipping away. Oh well. Maybe next year.