Results for April 13-15, 2013
GNK DINAMO ZAGREB 2 – 0 NK INTER ZAPREŠIĆ
Second half goals by Said Husejinović and Marcelo Brozović wrapped up another win for Dinamo and sent them that much closer to an eighth consecutive Prva Liga tile.
It took nearly 50 minutes, but Dinamo found a way around the 10-men defense that Inter brought to Maksimir.
Husejinović entered the game in the 46th minute for Alen Halilović and was promptly set up by Josip Pivarić for the first goal of the game and his first ever goal with Dinamo.
“Of course I am very happy that I scored the first goal to pave the way to victory, but I was especially pleased because it was my first goal in Dinamo jersey,” Husejinović said.
Pivarić was also the supplier of the ball sent to Brozović for his first goal with the club.
It was very important for Zaprešić to gain three points in the game, but were unable to match the pressure and possession of the ball Dinamo held through the 90 minutes.
Zaprešić applied many of the same tactics that they used against Hajduk Split last week, violently trying to out muscle their opponents on the field. Fatos Beqiraj found himself flat on his back with a bloodied nose in the first half of play due to a flying elbow that caught him in the face, and Halilović was tended to by team medical staff before he was taken out of the game at half time.
The Modri were able to hang on and secured the victory that they were after. Dinamo was confident that they would take all three points, despite having been heavily effected by injuries the past few weeks.
Jerko Leko is the latest to miss playing time due to injury. He was announced to start in Sunday’s match, but was experiencing heel pain during warmups and was replaced by Tin Jedvaj, who fulfilled the role of a defensive-minded midfielder.
Josip Šimunić is expected to be healthy again by the end of the month, and Luis Ibañez will be returning in mid-May, but for the time being, the back line will consist of newcomer Lee Addy, and youngster Jozo Simunović, who have both been solid on all of their performances.
Dinamo will head to Vinkovci next week to face Cibalia in hopes of extending their lead at the top of the table.
Dinamo: Kelava – Vrsaljko, Šimunović, Addy, Pivarić – Jedvaj, Halilović (od 46. Husejinović, Sammir, Brozović (od 85. Brodić) – Beqiraj, Krstanović (od 46. Rukavina)
Inter: Delač – FIlipović, Herceg, Bagarić, Kramarić – Milardović, Vujcic, Hajradinović (od 75. Šimić) – Oršić (od 82. Čeliković), Mlinar (od 68. Šarić) – Budimir
Attendance: 2,000
HNK HAJDUK SPLIT 2 – 1 HNL CIBALIA
Hajduk were victorious in controversial fashion on Saturday as they defeated Cibalia 2-1 at Poljud.
The Bili returned to their usual second-place spot on the table after fighting for three points at home, and may have had a bit of help from the home-field advantage.
There was no doubt that Hajduk had the upper hand in the talent department, but Cibalia certainly was putting up a fight against the Croatian giants.
Hajduk pressured the Cibalia’s back line from the start of the match, but on the several occasions Mladen Matković was called upon, the keeper earned his keep and stopped several shots that seemed destined for the back of the net.
After 27 minutes of solid play by the visiting goalkeeper, he was unable to handle a rebound that was shot by Anton Maglica, and pushed the rebound to a waiting Mijo Čaktaš, who easily scored from close range. At second look, Čaktaš appeared to be in an offsides position, but it went unnoticed by the referee, and the goal would stand.
Cibalia was able to shake off the deficit and quickly respond with a goal of their own.
Petar Mišić attempted a shot on net, which Goran Blažević pushed aside, where former Hajduk player, Mladen Bartolović, gained control of the ball to tap it past Blažević.
At the start of the second half, Mišić was sent off after receiving his second yellow card. This opened the doors for Hajduk, who quickly responded with the game-wining goal by Ante Vuković.
Vuković met a free kick into the box with his head, and scored from about two yards out. When looking at this goal, it again appeared that Vuković was offsides, but the goal would stand, and Hajduk jumped Rijeka to regain sole possession of second place on the league table.
Hajduk: Blažević, Stojanović, Maglica (60. Kiš), Jozinović, Caktaš, Maloča-kapetan, Nižić, Vuković (90.+2 Pašalić), Lima, Sven Sušić, Kouassi (83. Milić)
Cibalia: Matković, Mišić, Matoš, Bartolović (74. Muženjak), Župarić-kapetan, Mitrović, Miloš, Filipović, Jurić (11. Pavličić), Vitaić (83. Dabro), Mazalović
Attendance: 5,000
RNK SPLIT 3 – 1 HNK RIJEKA
A flurry of late goals set in motion a heated race for the final European spot between RNK Split and Rijeka.
Rijeka arrived at Youth Park in Split on a four-game winning streak, and looked to continue the streak on the heels of Leon Benko’s recent form.
Split has made it nearly impossible for opposing teams to claim victory in their stadium. Split claim only three draws and a single loss – to their cross-town opponents – at home this entire season, winning every other match at Youth Park. The stadium has become a fortress for the team in the recent years.
The beginning of the match saw some very even play between the clubs. Every bit of offense was matched by a bit of offense by the other, and the game had a quick pace about it.
It wasn’t until the second half when Split’s offense finally made the difference in the match.
Their offense was lead by the skill of Henri Belle, who flourished in his time on the field on Friday.
Belle, who was recently injured and missed several games with his team, carried the ball nearly the full length of the field, and split the defenders and was quickly approaching the goal. Belle had a clear shot on net, but selflessly passed the ball passed the last defender to his teammate, Ante Rebić, who finished the play with a goal on a practically empty net.
Rijeka desperately tried to equalize, but the Crveni kept a close eye on Benko and Danijel Cesarec.
Rijeka seemed to equalize in the 77th minute when Beko struck a shot from long range and was denied by Andrija Vuković. Kris Jogan was there to clean up the rebound, but his goal was disallowed as he was ruled offsides. Replays suggest that he may have been onsides, but Rijeka remained scoreless.
Quickly following Rijeka’s near-goal, Josip Barišić scored in his debut for the club to make it 2-0. Only two minutes later, Benko was able to score his 15th goal of the season, extending his goal streak to five goals in his last five appearances.
The late goal for Rijeka gave them a glimmer of hope, but that hope was dashed when Ante Erceg scored a third goal for Split, and gained all three points for his club.
The race for second place has really been heating up. Teams such as Hajduk, Rijeka, Split, and Lokomotiva are all closely vying for second place and third place, and are all within as little as one point from each other. The season is far from over, but can Split and Rijeka pose a real threat to Hajduk?
SPLIT: Vuković, Glavina, Križanac-kapetan, Glumac, Vitaić, Baraban (88. Vidić), Erceg, Rebić (80. Pehar), Radotić, Paracki, Belle (71. Barišić)
RIJEKA: Mance, Škarabot, Knežević-kapetan, Alispahić (74. Čulina), Mujanović (83. Weitzer), Cesarec (74. Jogan), Kreilach, Benko, Mierzejewski, Marić, Jugović
Attendance: 1,400
NK LOKOMOTIVA 5 – 1 NK SLAVEN BELUPO
Five goals by Lokomotiva solidified a win for them against Slaven Belupo at Maksimir, and furthered them in their quest to take second place in the league.
In the midst of transfer rumors for the league’s leading scorer, Andrej Kramarić, the Lokosi asserted their dominance in the match.
The match was scoreless at half, but was injected with some life early at the restart when and own-goal was scored by Jurčina Pranjić to put the Lokosi up 1-0. Tomislav Barbarić doubled the lead only seven minutes later, and was quickly succeeded by Marko Pajca’s goal four minutes later. Another four minutes later, Kramarić scored his 17 of the season. Ivan Peko made it 5-0 in the 70th minute, and completely blew out Slaven.
Marco Barić scored a consolation goal in the 91st minute, but it proved to be useless as the whistle was blown instantly after, and the home team was awarded the three points.
“This is the highest quality game since I have been coach here with Locomotiva,” Coach Tomislav Ivković said. “Our main goal is to achieve a spot in Europe, everything else you do in the Cup is a bonus.”
Is Lokomotiva for real? Can the hang on and fight for a place in European play? Will their centennial season next year be marked by their first ever taste of Europe?
LOKOMOTIVA: Picak, Barbarić, Mesarić-kapetan, Antolić, Maleš (68. Martinac), Bručić, Boras, Chago (46. Trebotić), Šitum (64. Peko), Pjaca, Kramarić,
SLAVEN BELUPO: Rodić, Pilipović, Jugović, Glavica, Barić, Delić (62. Rak), Vugrinec, Purić (83. Brlek), Pranjić, Maras-kapetan, Batarelo (57. Gregurina),
Attendance: 500
NK OSIJEK 1 – 0 NK ZADAR
Zoran Kvržić not only ended Osijek’s seven-game losing streak, he ended their seven-game goalless streak.
In the 22nd minute, Antonio Perosević found Kvržić in the penalty area and passed him the ball. Krvžić lifted the ball into the top corner, scoring what could be considered the biggest goal for Osijek this season.
The club’s abysmal play came right after the restart of the season after the winter break. Osijek and Dinamo played a make-up game on February 10 in Osijke where Osijek came out victorious, and scored their last goal until this Saturday.
Their goal drought coincided with the departure of striker Ivan Miličević. Miličević made the journey to the North American Soccer League, the United States’ second tier of professional soccer, where he joined the 2012/13 regular season champions, San Antonio. Miličević was an important key in Osijek’s scoring arsenal, but without him, it is proving tough for Osijek to be the team the were several months ago.
OSIJEK: Mikulić, Pavić, Kurtović, Pušić, Blatnjak (72. Pongračić, 90.Jakovljević), Perošević, Lešković (86. Lukić), Ibriks, Kvržić, Smoje-kapetan, Leko
ZADAR: Gluić-kapetan, Vasilj (75. Gržan), Sarić, Con, Ivančić, Begonja, Banović (58. Tokić), Perica, Prahić, Ljubović, Mršić,
Attendance: 3,000
NK ISTRA 1961 0 – 0 NK ZAGREB
NK Istra remain unbeaten at home in the past six matches, but were unable to gain the whole three points when Zagreb visited them on Saturday.
The single point for Zagreb will be put to use in their efforts to stay in the top flight next season.
ISTRA 1961: Ježina, Milić, Budicin-kapetan, Anđelković (88. Hadžić), Obšivač, Križman, Roce (25. Bačelić-Grgić), Chung, Havojić (67. Ottochian), Aganović, Blagojević,
ZAGREB: Livaković, Djengoue, Kovačić, Jurendić (90. Štiglec), Medić, Šovšić, Bevab, Abdurahimi, Kolinger, Handžić (46. Ćurjurić), Graf
Attendance: 2,500
Ah, thanks for that bit of info. I completely forgot to mention that. He played about five minutes of the game, but didn’t see him too much. Pretty cool he got to play. These players are getting younger and younger. Makes me wonder what I’m doing with myself at 23 years old, ya kno?
I wouldn’t say Halilovic is playing “poorly as of late,” but he certainly isn’t producing like we would all like him to. But he does have some of the best footwork and ball control on any field. He’s moving around players and making them fall down trying to stop him. His moves are just outstanding! Still have realy high hopes for him. I’d like to see him take on a little bit more of an offensive role sometime, but for now, he’s lying pretty deep in the midfield.
Also, Josip Pivaric coontinues to impress me. With is speed and ball control, he will be producing a lot more in the next few years. He’s 24, but still getting better.
Also, that Dinamo game marked the senior debut of Fran Brodic. The forward became the youngest player ever to play for Dinamo. Even younger than Halilovic–who’s been playing poorly of late. So move over Alen, looks like you got some competition. And Brodic might even become a bigger talent than Halilovic.
Brodic is diminutive for “Boat,” like “little Boat.” It’s a cute name. Let’s hope this little boat has plenty of horsepower ’cause we sure as hell are gonna need it.
For those interested, Milicevic played about 60 minutes this week for San Antonio against Tampa Bay, and had several chances on goal, but could not score. His teammate, and former Hajduk player and Croatian international, Luka Vucko, played the full 90 minutes, and nearly had a goal in the first half.
I will be trying to set up an interview with both of them on June 15 when they come here to play Tampa Bay. If there is anything you would like me to ask them, just let me know by then.