The 2nd round of the SuperSport HNL saw only 4 matches played, as Rijeka – Dinamo was postponed because both teams did not have enough days to rest between their European matches. On Saturday, Rudeš got demolished 1-6 by Osijek and Lokomotiva beat a wasteful Gorica 3-1. Sunday saw Varaždin beat Slaven 1-4 away from home and Hajduk drop a win in the final moments vs. Istra.

Rudeš 1-6 Osijek: Our Expectations Were Low But Holy…

Rudeš (4-4-1-1): Rogić – Unušić, Celjak, Stolnik, Curcio – Seitz, Živulić, Đorić, Sušak – Blagaić – Poldrugač

Osijek (4-1-4-1): Malenica – Jurišić, Jelenić, Kolarik, Mustafić – Vrbančić, Omerović, Bukvić, Ježić, Dolček – Leon

After narrowly losing to Rijeka, Rudeš came to their “home” stadium to play Osijek, and it was…not even close. Rudeš actually started the game well, spending a good amount of the opening 10 minutes in the final third. But as soon as Osijek got forward the first time in the 12th minute, Luka Vrbančić played through Armando Leon, who scored his first goal for Osijek.

And then the floodgates opened; Rudeš weren’t able to keep the ball, and Osijek kept pressing and pressing, and Leon got his brace in the 28th minute when he scored a header from a Nail Omerović cross. And right before half-time, Osijek got a quick double inside 3 minutes as Omerović scored both goals. 0-4 at the break.

The game calmed down in the 2nd half until the 65th minute, when Arnel Jakupović came on and, with one of his first touches of the game, scored a beautiful goal from outside the box. Nail Omerović eventually got his hat-trick in the 81st minute and made it 0-6. Rudeš got a goal back right after, as Lenny Ilečić scored a looping header over Malenica for the final 1-6 result.

Rudeš are…well bad. There’s no other way to put it. They have no players who’ve proven they’re good at the HNL level; okay at best. As I said last week, most of these players are from previously relegated sides. And unlike Vukovar last season, they don’t have a standout player who can make something happen. Vukovar had that in Robin Gonzalez and Jakov Puljić.

Osijek, on the other hand, have had a good start to the season, beating the two poorest sides, quality- and depth-wise. Still, this Osijek side is much better than last season’s, who wouldn’t have got a win against them. Bessone’s first real test is next weekend against Lokomotiva. Speaking of the Lokosi…

Lokomotiva 3-1 Gorica: Gorica Missing Chances, Lokosi Take Advantage (Again)

Lokomotiva (4-2-3-1): Posavec – Vešović, Triantafyllou, Jukić, Pajač – Katić, Subotić – Vuković, Vasilj, Sušak – Marić

Gorica (3-4-2-1): Matijaš – Perić, Filipović, Cvijanović – Braut, Čustović, Kavelj, Bogojević – Frigan, Pavičić – Mijić

Carević hasn’t gotten any new players, and the lack of quality showed once more. It was a bad start for the guests as Marko Pajač perfectly crossed the ball to Mirko Marić, who scored his first goal of the season for 1-0 in the 12th minute. I wouldn’t be surprised if Marić gets going as he did back in the day for Osijek; he has amazing players around him who can get the ball to him in his best areas.

But the Lokosi didn’t continue like that; Gorica took the ball and started getting chances. First, Filip Braut sent a volley over the goal from eight meters out. Then Bruno Bogojević was one-on-one with Josip Posavec, but the goalkeeper pulled off a nice leg save to keep it 1-0. Then 2-0. Pajač swung in a cross from a free-kick on the left side; a Gorica defender headed it, and the ball deflected off Ante Kavelj, who couldn’t react in time and turned it into his own net.

The second half was quiet for the first 15 minutes until Gorica got a counter in the 60th. Vrzić was all alone on the right-hand side of the box, pulled the ball back, and it looked like a bad pass as he missed everybody; Bogojević fixed that by taking a touch and smashing it home for 2-1.

And Patrik Mijić had an amazing chance to level the score just two minutes later. He was one-on-one with Posavec, but sent his shot into the near side netting. There were a few more chances here and there, but the final goal came from Lokomotiva as Noel Đurković got a neat little finish in the third minute of added time.

Lokomotiva continued punishing their opponents for missing clear chances; their defence is the only problem they have. The goalkeeper, midfield and attack are perfectly fine. But Nikica Jelavić’s teams always prioritise scoring goals and pressing high over defensive solidity, so it’s not surprising. Still, if they can fix that cohesion in defence, they’ll be on the level of Varaždin.

In contrast, Gorica are lacking everywhere. Mijić needs to start converting the chances he’s missed so far. Bogojević is their star player, who’s good, don’t get me wrong, but you need other players of the same or better quality. Carević can be happier with this performance than last week’s, but he is still begging the higher-ups to start spending as the transfer window gets closer to its end.

Varaždin 4-1 Slaven: Ivan Canjuga Show

Slaven Belupo (4-3-3): Sentić – Krušelj, Kovačić, Cvetko, Urata – Adeshina, Crepulja, Jonsson – Mitrović, Nestorovski, Banovec

Varaždin (4-2-3-1): Silić – Maglica, Mladenovski, Škaričić, Sikošek – Marina, Canjuga – Latković, Mamić, Tavares – Mamut

Varaždin started this match on the front foot; in the first 20 or so minutes, the guests had six shots, most of them coming from Aleksa Latković, who was letting it fly on sight. Slaven couldn’t contain Šafarić’s men, and eventually the first goal came in the 26th minute. Sikošek played through a brilliant ball to Ivan Canjuga, who finished it nicely.

And just a minute and a half later, it was 0-2. Sikošek played a similar pass to Luka Mamić from the halfway line; Sentić went out, and Mamić got a touch first and went around the goalkeeper for an easy open net. The goal was initially called off due to offside, but a quick VAR review showed that wasn’t the case.

Nonetheless, Varaždin didn’t stop, and Latković’s nonstop shooting eventually paid off as he scored a beautiful goal from a tough angle on the right-hand side of the box. Hit the bottom far corner perfectly. And it was 3-0 at the break. Gregurina made two changes heading into the second half, one of which was Marko Dabro, who brought a bit of life to the home side, forcing the Varaždin defence to do some work for the first time.

In the 71st minute, Nestorovski found Urata in the box, who headed the ball back into the middle of the box, where Dabro controlled it with a delicate first touch and slipped it through to an open Nestorovski, who made it 1-3. Slaven thought they were back in it, for just seven minutes. Substitute Matej Vuk got the ball on the wing, pulled it back for Canjuga, who RIFLED it past Sentić to finish off the game.

With that goal, Canjuga now has 2 goals and 3 assists in the first four matches of the season for Varaždin. Building on last season’s brilliant 3rd-place finish, the team has been mostly unchanged for the last 2 years, and it shows how good consistency can be.

Slaven, on the other hand, have a good attack on paper that would’ve struck fear into every team…three years ago. It’s an ok team, but they’ll need somebody to seriously step up from Dabro, Mitrović, Grgić or Nestorovski. The Macedonian, less so; he’s the most consistent from these named, but at his age he can’t carry a team as he did at Inter Zaprešić, for example.

Hajduk 2-2 Istra: Hajduk Drop a Win Right at the End

Hajduk (4-2-3-1): Silić – Hodak, Marešić, Hoorenbeeck, Hrgović – Sigur, Pajaziti – Bamba, Pukštas, Šotiček – Šego

Istra (4-2-3-1): Kolić – Hrvatin, Nasraoui, Miettinen, Šepić – Albarracin, Doumbia – Frederiksen, Šaranić, Žužić – Jaganjac

Hajduk started the match well, having all of the possession but no real chances until the 15th minute, when Rokas Pukštas jumped highest, as he usually does, and gave his side the lead from a corner. ‘Bili’ continued their domination without any good chances; the closest they got was almost a worldie of a goal from Šimun Hrgović, who tried a fantastic shot from 20 or so meters out, but it was just wide.

Then Istra got a free-kick in a good position; Emil Frederiksen’s shot was straight at the wall, but luckily for him it deflected and caught Toni Silić on the wrong foot, who stood helplessly watching the ball go into the goal for 1-1. Right at the start of the second half, Ivan Šaranić almost scored just seconds into it as he shot from the top of the box but hit the crossbar.

In the 64th minute, Silić got first to the ball after a cross but fumbled it; thankfully for him and Hajduk, Istra were unable to score from his mistake. Marko Livaja produced a bit of footballing magic minutes later after coming on, but his volley hit the wrong side of the net. Hajduk were pressing and pressing for a winner and seemed to have got it in the 84th, as Šutalo’s shot was saved by Kolić only to fall to an open Livaja, who easily put it away for 2-1. All Hajduk had to do now was stay calm and keep the ball…

In the 89th minute, Van Hoorenbeeck and Jaganjac jumped for a cross; the Belgian very clearly elbowed the BiH striker in the head, but the referee and VAR stayed quiet…But in the end, it didn’t matter much result-wise, as Istra equalised in the final moments thanks to Jaganjac, who shielded the ball in the box and got it off to Dukan Ahmeti, intentional or not, who wasn’t marked or followed by anybody in Hajduk’s defence. Another result that Hajduk have thrown away.

That final play is really bad from Hajduk’s defence; Jaganjac held up the ball with Hoorenbeeck on his back, and nobody came to help. Pajaziti and Pukštas (who was amazing all game) stood right in front of it and didn’t bother to close a path to the middle of the box, which Jaganjac found for Ahmeti. Istra can definitely feel lucky with this result, but it was deserved considering the non-penalty call, as Hajduk didn’t create many clear-cut chances despite having much more of the ball. First point of the season for both clubs.