HNL WEEK 6

 

 

 

Results for August 24 – 26, 2012

 

GNK DINAMO ZAGREB 6 – 0 NK ZAGREB

 

 

Dinamo’s domination led them to a huge 6-0 victory over a still winless NK Zagreb.

Goals by Mehmed Alispahić, Domagoj Vida, Fatos Beqiraj, Jerko Leko, and two by Sammir put NK Zagreb in their place and led Dinamo to their fifth win of the season and kept them on top of the league table.

Only 2,000 people braved the intense heat and humidity of a Croatian summer to watch the match. Temperatures reached 94 degrees Fahrenheit during the afternoon, but did not seem to bother the Dinamo players.

The begining of the match was plagued by missed opportunities and denied chances.   Zagreb keeper, Igor Vidaković got his hands to several shots to steer them away from the net, and Duje Čop missed a wide open net after using some fancy footwork to beat Vidaković.

Zagreb had their chances as well, forcing Dinamo’s Ivan Kevala to be called on to make a save, but it was the home team that drew first blood.

Alispahić struck first with his 20 yard goal in the 33rd minute, which was quickly followed by Vida’s goal off a corner kick only two minutes later.

Dinamo remained relentless and were given another opportunity when they were awarded their sixth penalty kick in as many games after Vidaković received a yellow card for taking Beqiraj down in the box. Sammir stepped up and scored his league-leading sixth goal of the season.

Zagreb began the second half with a good opportunity to score that was squandered away by poor finishing. Sammir continued his display on the field by scoring his seventh of the season with a stunner from 25 yards out in the 53rd minute. Is Igor Štimac watching the Dinamo star?

Zagreb still fought for a consolation goal, and forced Kelava to make another save, but a quick counter attack by the modri proved to be too much to handle for the away side. Vidaković came out of his box to challenge Luis Ibañez and left his net unattended for Beqiraj to put in an easy goal.

Leko entered the match and quickly made an impact and scored the game’s final goal in the 87th minute.

Dinamo striker and former NK Zagreb striker, Ivan Krstanović, made his first appearance of the season when he entered the game in the 72nd minute. Krstanović has been nursing an injury that he sustained last season, but the former league leader in goals has made a full recovery.

This win was the final match for Dinamo before Tuesday’s Champion League match against Slovenian champions, Maribor. “We played a very good game, dominated from start to finish and it shows. Now it’s up to us to rest and prepare for Maribor.” – Fatos Beqiraj

Dinamo: Kelava – Vida, Tonel (od 61. Puljić), Šimunić, Pivarić- Calello, Alispahić – Ibanez, Sammir (od 68. Leko), Čop – Beqiraj (od 72. Krstanović)

Zagreb: Vidaković – Barišić, Pavlović, Štiglec, Bevab – Pelaić, Zadro, Abdurahimi (od 72. Frljužec), Šovšić (od 77. Trepšić), Vojtuš (od 58. Dedić) – Medić

 

HNK HAJDUK SPLIT – NK OSIJEK

Photo: Sportske Novosti

 

Osijek players celebrate draw in Split

Hajduk Split has officially tasted life without Ante Vukušić as the 21-year-old striker has officially signed with Serie A side Pescara on Saturday.  Ante was not in attendance for Hajduk’s 1-1 draw against Osijek and could be in action for Pescara as early as next week.

After falling to Lokomotiva last week, Hajduk was looking to redeem themselves against Osijek at Poljud on Sunday. Mijo Caktaš  would open up the scoring for Hajduk in the 17th minute after putting home a Ivo-Valentino Tomaš rebound. from close range. Hajduk dominated throughout but had to wait until the 57th minute to get a real shot at doubling the score. Avdija Vršajević found Ivan Vuković in the box and the Montenegrin international headed to Mijo Caktaš who shot over the goal from close range.

The visitors would stun the announced crowd of 15,000 with a goal in the 88th minute from Marko Lešković to split the points. After a scramble in the box, Marko found his way past a Hajduk defense to a lose ball inside the box and the 21-year-old defender gifted Osijek the point. With the draw, Hajduk find themselves third on the HNL table, five points short of league leading Dinamo Zagreb.

 

HAJDUK: Blažević – Vršajević, Maloča, Milović, Jozinović – Radošević, Tomaš – Caktaš, Andrijašević, Oremuš – Vuković.

OSIJEK: Vargić – Ibriks, Smoje, Novaković, Aleksić – Kvržić, Mišić, Lešković, Jugović – Zulim, Miličević

 

NK SLAVEN BELUPO 3 – 2 NK LOKOMOTIVA

 

 

 

Slaven Belupo kept pace with the top of the table by winning in a thrilling match against a young and talented Lokomotiva team 3-2 in Koprivnica.

Lokomotiva is coming off a big win against Hajduk last week and have proven to everyone that they are a strong team this year. They wasted no time in the game and took the lead early in the third minute. Andrej Kramarić received a perfect through ball and chipped Slaven’s keeper, Silvio Rodić, from the top of the box as he came out to challenge him.

Ivan Boras doubled the lead for the Lokosi when Kramarić laid the ball off to him at the top of the penalty area and released a canon into the net.

Lokomotiva seems to be a real threat this season, but Slaven has also proved to everyone that they are the real deal. It took only two minutes for Slaven to tie the game. Davor Vudrinec tapped in a free kick that was delivered in the box in the 27th minute and Ante Batarelo put the finishing touch on the tying goal in the 29th minute.

“Locomotiva is a very good team, but we were better and we showed that we have the quality. Also, thank you to our fans for the support and applause,” said Slaven coach Roy Ferencina.

The teams took the field in the second half deadlocked in a tie. Both clubs fought for their chances, but neither could break out and become the better team. Both goalkeepers battled in the second half as well, coming up with bis saves and keeping their team in the game.

Nearing the 80th minute, it seemed as if the game would end in a tie, but Mario Gregurnia’s persistence payed off. After several long shots in the half by both clubs, Gregurnia put in a shot that swerved away from the keeper and bounced off the post and in to win it for the home team.

Slaven sit in second in the league, only one point behind the leaders, Dinamo Zagreb. Lokomotiva are in third place, four points back from second.

“We played a superb match where something happened every minute. I’m not satisfied with the final result, given we were winning 2-0, but the match a good game and I’m really happy. After we took a two-goal advantage we should finished off our opponents and not let them come back from the dead … but defeats are an integral part of the football game.” – Lokomotiva coach, Tomislav Ivković

Slaven Belupo: Rodić, Purić, Kokalović, Grgić, Maras, Čanađija (od 72. Brlek), Batarelo, Rak, Vugrinec, Glavica (od 83. Šaban), Delić (od 61. Gregurina)

Lokomotiva: I. Lovrić, Samateh, Barbarić, Mesarić, Musa, Mrzljak (od 85. Zakarić), Antolić, Bručić (od 56. Šitum), Brozović, Boras, Kramarić (od 79. Pejić)

 

 

 

NK INTER ZAPREŠIĆ 2 – 0 HNK RIJEKA

 

 

Rijeka has fallen on some tough times as they gave Inter Zaprešić their first win of the season after being shutout in Zaprešić 2-0.

Inter were able to escape the relegation zone here in the early part of the season by picking up points for only the third time this year. This leaves them in ninth place, one point behind Rijeka.

Rijeka’s aspirations of being a competitive team in the HNL are becoming harder to achieve. With only one win and six points in six games, the top four spots are beginning to pull away. After narrowly escaping relegation last season, the team was counting on their new owner to spend money on new players and compete in the league. After six weeks, the team has yet to impress. Is it too early to declare Rijeka a bust, or is there time for the team to get together and turn this around? Did the high expectations harm Rijeka’s performance?

“We did not expect to lose in Zaprešić. The result is tough for us. In the first half, we were the better team. The second half was worse, no team had dominance.” – Rijeka coach, Elvis Scoria

Inter also narrowly escaped relegation last season and ended up tied with Rijeka. The club was very happy with their win this week and would like to use this as a confidence booster and look a head to more victories.

“When you play a game like this, then the first people to praise are the players. They showed great heart and a great desire to win. In the first half, we played cautiously and let Rijeka control the match. We had some technical mistakes, but the second half is when we played well and deserved to win.”- Inter coach, Borimir Perković

Rijeka’s new ownership group is still confident in the team and is still willing to invest more money into them, most recently by upgrading their stadium. In addition to the food and beverage upgrades that Stadion Kantrida has received, a brand new LED scoreboard will be put up on the walls of the venue. When Rijeka host Hajduk on September 1, it will be the first match to use the new 861 square foot scoreboard that will be the largest in Croatia.

Inter: Santini – Batur, Bagarić, Herceg, Čeliković – Vujcic, Milardović, Šarić – Matko, Budimir, Oršić

Rijeka: Lisjak – Miloš, Neretljak, Knežević, Čaval – Brezovec – Mujanović, Weitzer, Mutombo, Čulina – Benko

 

 

 

NK ISTRA 1961 1 – 0 RNK SPLIT

 

 

After a tough first few weeks of the season, Istra has won its third strait match, defeating RNK Split 1-0.

Istra has been rising in the standings ever since they lost their first two games to Slaven and Dinamo respectively. Since then, they have been on a winning streak, spanning three games and scoring five goals while only allowing two.

Split looks like a team that would be competitive in the league, but has slipped as of late. They were the only team that have been able to take down Slaven Belupo, but have lost to other tough opponents such as Dinamo, Hajduk, and now Istra.

In a tight match, Istra just squeaked by with the win. The team was very patient and deserved the win that came from a goal scored by Andrea Ottochian, who’s first goal in the HNL proved to be the winner in the match.

During halftime, a verbal confrontation broke out between Istra coach, Igor Pamić, and Split coach, Toni Basić. Pamić insulted Split player Henri Belle, and Basić acused the coach of racially abusing the Cameroonian.  Pamić denied any racial abuse but did admit to trying to take Belle “out of the limelight,” which is what he believes the striker thrives on.  

“He is an ordinary circus who always likes to be in the limelight, an ordinary trouble maker.  If he is not in the forefront, he will dwell on it.  We know it already when he protested that it is offensive on racial grounds,” Pamić said.

Basić confronted Pamić and got into a and argument with him.  Both coaches were forced to finish the match in the stands.

“Pamić verbally insulted Belle on all grounds. He was talking about the color of his skin, and he mentioned he insulted his mother. I had to stand up in defense of my players because Pamić not only attacked Belle. The behavior of my colleague was below all standards of the profession,” Basić said.

Both teams applied tons of pressure on each other in the second half, but neither team broke. The visitors controlled much of the possession in the second 45 minutes, but Istra bunkered down and gave the radničima few chances to score.

Split relied heavily on counter attacks but could not tie the match and left Pula without a point and allowed Istra to jump them in the standings.

Istra 1961: Prskalo, Sušić, Čagalj, Budicin, Milić, Blagojević , Pamić (od 46. Jugović), Ottochian (od 66. Sharbini), Bačelić Grgić  (od 76. Linić), Havojić, Križman

Split: Vuković, Marčić (od 71. Erceg), Vidić, Galović, Hrgović, Radotić, Paracki , Vitaić, Belle (od 70. Bagarić), Baraban (od 60. Vojnović), Rebić

 

 

 

HNK CIBALIA 0 – 0 NK ZADAR