HNL Week 3: Varaždin, Osijek Continue To Win!

The third round of the SuperSport HNL was another good weekend filled with goals, fewer than before but with some dramatic games. Dinamo, Istra, Osijek, and Varaždin all won their home games, whilst Hajduk beat Gorica at the death away from home before a big first leg in the Conference League play-off on Thursday. So, let’s get into the games.

Dinamo 4-0 Rudeš: Rock, Paper, Beljo

Dinamo (4-2-3-1): Nevistić – Tabinas, Galešić, Radeljić, Goda – Mišić, Zajc – Topić, Kačavenda, Hoxha – Beljo

Rudeš (3-4-2-1): Rogić – Curcio, Stolnik, Unušić – Sušak, Skoko, Fernandes, Kolega – Poldrugač, Blagaić – Vukić

The game started off as predicted; Dinamo immediately started getting chance after chance. Lovre Rogić did well to pull off a great save in the 4th minute. However, just three minutes later, Dion Drena Beljo delivered a beautiful bicycle kick to make it 1-0. Unreal technique from last season’s top goalscorer, who’s continuing the same path this time as well.

The game then calmed down a little bit; Dinamo obviously weren’t going at 100% as they have a big first leg in the Champions League play-off on Tuesday vs. Viking. But even with a rotated squad and not going at 100%, Dinamo got a second in the 39th as Lukas Kačavenda netted his 4th goal for the ‘Modri’ and his first in the HNL this season. And that’s how the game went into the break.

In the 60th minute, Fran Topić played a quick one-two with Beljo, and he was set to be one-on-one with Rogić, but Ante Sušak pulled him down and consequently got a red card. The penalty was converted by Beljo for his 4th HNL goal in two matches. A minute and a half later, Mudražija assisted Arber Hoxha for the final 4-0.

Result just as expected, maybe a bit low-scoring, but that’s because Dinamo didn’t push themselves much and conserved energy for the play-off. Rudeš looked…ok? at times, that is, but it’s not anything to boast about.

Istra 3-0 Slaven: Žužić’s First Goal and Jaganjac Dominant

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

Slaven Belupo (4-2-3-1): Sentić – Krušelj, Kutleša, Kovačić, Cvetko – Bosak, Crepulja – Mitrović, Dabro, Banovec – Nestorovski

Well, this game got off to a quick start. In the 3rd minute, Frederiksen found Nik Škafar Žužić running in behind the defence and played him through. 17-year-old Filip Kutleša tried to stop his opposite colleague, but Žužić fell to the ground, and the Slaven defender got sent off just two and a half minutes into his first-ever HNL start.

With that red, Kutleša became the second-youngest player ever sent off in HNL history. The Slaven Belupo defender was shown a red card at just 17 years, 5 months and 29 days old. Only Mislav Oršić was younger when he was sent off for Inter Zaprešić in 2009 (thanks to Ofenziva Portal for the stat!).

But, in my view, it looks like the young Žužić hit himself and then went down. We’ll see what the commission has to say about that soon. Anyways, back to the game. It took 13 minutes for Istra to get into the lead with a man advantage as Ivan Šaranić assisted Nik Škafar Žužić, who became the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the HNL! It wasn’t as beautiful as his wrongly disallowed goal vs. Lokomotiva (said by the commission themselves), but a goal is a goal.

In the 33rd minute, Šaranić once again found himself with a brilliant opportunity to score his first for the ‘Zeleno-Žuti’, but his first-time volley from 10 meters sailed well over the crossbar. But he would get his 3rd assist just moments later as he passed the ball to Hamza Jaganjac, who got past his defender with a great first touch and made it 2-0.

The third and final goal came in the 55th minute as Frederiksen found Jaganjac with a brilliant pass, who finished clinically. Istra had many more chances, but Slaven’s defence did enough to make the scoreline look somewhat respectable.

Istra’s brilliant play finally paid off, with great cohesion shown between the young squad. Šaranić is amazing and can be even better if he can get his shooting boots on, as he currently has the 2nd-highest xG of players who have 0 goals in the league, beaten only by Gorica’s Patrik Mijić, who also has some embarrassing misses in the opening three weeks. Frederiksen is reportedly attracting interest from Scandinavia, and if he continues like this, Istra can hope for a hefty sum.

Slaven, on the other hand… well, the team is relying on the hopes and dreams that Mitrović, Dabro, and Grgić can live up to the previous highs that earned them moves abroad. Nestorovski is the only one coming close to that high, but he is 36. The transfers this summer have also been mediocre, showing no real ambition for something bigger, and it looks like that will cost Gregurina his job soon if he can’t steer the ship the other way next week vs. Gorica.

Osijek 1-0 Lokomotiva: Osijek Are the Real Deal!

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

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

This was the match I was most looking forward to, and it was a good watch despite it being the lowest goal-scoring game so far this season. Osijek started strong, having a few shots, all of which were blocked or went wide. Lokomotiva’s defence was working overtime this match, as that pressure from Osijek rarely faltered. Lokomotiva’s only chances came from Mirko Marić getting on the end of crosses from Marko Pajač, but the striker’s header attempts were not threatening. In the first half, Osijek had 10 shots and Lokomotiva just three.

The second half continued the same, but Osijek’s strikes were getting more threatening by the minute. Bukvić, Vrbančić and Omerović all tried, but their efforts were either thwarted by Lokomotiva’s defence or went into the advertising boards. The best chance for the hosts came in the 74th when Senad Mustafić shot sideways from the right side of the box but hit the woodwork.

Arnel Jakupović then had a great chance in the 89th, which was stopped by Posavec. But from the resulting corner, Jakupović freed himself and got a free header in front of goal for the winner. Celebrations ensued as Osijek made it three for three at the start of the new season. Marko Pajač got sent off for elbowing Balelo right before the full-time whistle and will miss Lokomotiva’s next match vs. Rudeš, and maybe even more if the commission decides to extend his ban due to the use of exaggerated force in his foul.

Federico Bessone deserves a lot of plaudits after this match; Lokomotiva was his first real test, and he passed it — very late, but deservedly. Osijek are now playing a very high press and bringing the game to their opponents. The ‘Bijelo-Plavi’ are playing a Spanish version of the 4-1-4-1 that Rijeka did under Željko Sopić, the best way I can describe it. Very high pressing, but Osijek rely on keeping possession rather than just direct attacks like Rijeka did back then. But the key player in both systems, especially out of possession, is the sole midfielder who has to sweep up after their team loses the ball. For Rijeka, that was the physical Selahi, and for Osijek, that is the intelligent Luka Vrbančić, who doesn’t have the strength but makes up for it with his positioning and reading of the game.

In possession, ‘Vrba’ dictates the tempo perfectly and is almost always available for a back pass when the wingers get to the byline. And defensively, in this match, he had 16 recoveries of the ball, won 4 duels and got 2 interceptions. Lokomotiva were just outclassed and didn’t get to play their way at all.

Varaždin 2-0 Rijeka: Mamut Takes Care of Frukless Rijeka

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

Rijeka (4-2-3-1): Todorović – Živković, Majstorović, Barco, Devetak – Pavić, Dantas – Gojak, Janković, Rukavina – Adu-Adjei.

On Sunday, Rijeka started once again without Fruk after his small ankle injury in the first leg vs. Ilves. The first 20 minutes saw Rijeka hold the ball without threats towards Josip Silić. Then, Iuri Tavares got the ball on the left side, beat Živković with a dribble and found Ivan Mamut with a good cross; the quick leap from the Varaždin striker was impressive as he opened the scoring. Luka Mamić had a chance to double the lead in the 28th minute as he was one-on-one with Todorović, but the Rijeka goalkeeper got the better of him.

Mamut got his brace just 2 minutes later after Tavares headed the ball, and it hit Gabrijel Rukavina in the arm, which was WAY out of any natural position, and the referee gave the penalty. Mamut, who has a 100% penalty conversion rate since joining Varaždin, continued that flawless rate, but it was very close to being saved. The shot went low and slightly off to the left; Todorović got a leg to it, but not enough.

Varaždin had another penalty shout moments after the 2nd goal as Majstorović hit Rukavina’s arm whilst trying to clear the ball. Thankfully for the winger, this time his hand was in a more natural position, and the referee didn’t give it. Rijeka’s best chance came in the 40th minute after Niko Janković had a go from right outside the box but sent his shot wide of the mark.

The second half started with Rijeka again dominating possession, but Varaždin were the ones threatening as they had three chances in quick succession around the 60th minute, but nobody was able to score. The best chance for Rijeka came in the 74th when Jakov Puljić hit the post from a tough sideways angle. And that was it; Varaždin were able to hold back Rijeka brilliantly in the 2nd half.

Nikola Šafarić’s well-oiled machine has now joined Osijek as the only three-for-three team in the league. And the schedule for Varaždin hasn’t been easy: Hajduk, Slaven away and now Rijeka. Amazing start as Varaždin continue to build on their historic 3rd place last season.

Rijeka, on the other hand, looked lifeless without Fruk. Nobody was able to step up and make something happen, and Matjaž Kek made that clear right after the match. Talking to MaxSport, he said: “Other players have to take responsibility. We have won without him (Fruk) before. Some players have to ask themselves questions, and I do too because of my selection. I had the feeling that we couldn’t score a goal even if we played for three days.”

Gorica 1-2 Hajduk: Livaja Wins It

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

Hajduk (4-3-3): Silić – Acapandie, Marešić, Hoorenbeeck, Hrgović – Pukštas, Pajaziti, Sigur – Šotiček, Šego, Šutalo.

The game started off with a bang: Rokas Pukštas perfectly timed his run in behind as Sigur found him with a brilliant first-time pass. The American then crossed to Michele Šego, who headed it past Matijaš to make it 0-1 after just three minutes of play. A brilliant goal to open up the game…right?

No. Absolutely not. Hajduk took the ball and essentially played keep-away with the Gorica players. There were a few rare attempts worth noting: Pukštas had a go in the 40th minute but went wide, and Marin Šotiček produced a nice little dribble and a shot that went over the bar right at the end of the first half.

And then nothing until the 76th minute, when substitute and newcomer Jakov Pranjić had the ball in the box and got a small stomp from Luka Hodak. Pranjić made a meal of it, but there was a touch, and the referee, Pavlešić, pointed to the spot. Bruno Bogojević tied the game up after it had been basically dead for 99% of the time since the early opener.

Garcia reacted immediately, bringing on Marko Livaja and Bamba for Šego and Šutalo. Then, Marko Livaja magic. Del Moral found the Hajduk captain, who kept Filipović on his back and rolled the ball around him and Matijaš as he got Hajduk their first HNL win of the season. A very futsal-type goal, which Marko Livaja loves. Somewhat reminiscent, though not as beautiful, of his goal vs. Lokomotiva in the Cup back in 2021.

A tough game to watch; Gorica did nothing. They took what was given to them and almost got a result, but it wasn’t meant to be, as Carević’s team is now tied for last, having lost all three games. I’m probably just repeating myself, just like Carević: Gorica need signings ASAP. And their next five games aren’t any good news: Slaven (A), Rijeka (H), Dinamo (A), Varaždin (H) and Istra (A). This Slaven match is a big one for Carević. Slaven looks worse in my opinion, as they literally haven’t shown anything, not even a glimpse, whilst Gorica deserved a better result vs. Lokomotiva last week.

Now to Hajduk. The two games a week are evidently too much for this side, but they have players who can win games on quality alone. Livaja should’ve done this two weeks in a row now if it weren’t for the shambolic defending vs. Istra for the equaliser. But they’ve won and enter the play-off against Raków in high spirits. In contrast, Raków enter this week last in the Polish Ekstraklasa after losing all three of their opening matches. I fully believe Hajduk will get a result in the first leg.