Round 9 of the SuperSport HNL gave us a waterlogged ending to the Eternal Derby that was closer to water polo than football, a Slaven Belupo demolition of Rijeka and a relegation six-pointer that did exactly what it says on the tin. It was a weekend of big swings and amazing goals. First game takes us to Velika Gorica, where the bottom two met in a match neither could afford to lose…
Gorica 1-2 Rudeš: Skoko And Fernandes Lift Bottom-Table Rivals Off The Floor
Gorica (4-2-3-1): Josipović – Braut, Filipović, Stevanović, Costa (subbed on 65. Cvijanović) – Lacoux (subbed on 65. Pavičić), Frigan (subbed on 81. Kardum) – Pranjić (subbed on 65. Vrzić), Brodić, Bogojević – Mijić (subbed on 46. Erceg)
Rudeš (3-4-2-1): Rogić – Celjak, Zebić, Bralić – Unušić (subbed on 90+3. Taraba), Skoko, Đorić, Curcio – Xavi (subbed on 80. Popović), Poldrugač (subbed on 67. El Haddad) – Junior Fernandes (subbed on 67. Ilečić)
Gorica had most of the ball early on without doing much with it. Bogojević, Pranjić and Brodić all got into decent areas but never truly tested Rogić. The closest they came was in the 25th minute, when Bogojević whipped in a cross, and Brodić met it perfectly with his head, only for Rogić to produce a brilliant reaction save. It was the second time this season a Brodić header has been denied at the last second, after Kotarski did the same back in round 6.
Rudeš made them pay. In the 37th they broke the deadlock with a gorgeous team move: Xavi slipped it to Đorić, who played a quick one-two with Skoko that left Gorica’s defence stranded, and Skoko took a touch before calmly finishing past Josipović for his second of the season. 1-0 at the break. Three minutes into the second half, Rudeš doubled their lead. Đorić headed goalwards from a corner, and what looked like a goal-saving clearance from Bogojević on the line fell straight to veteran Junior Fernandes, who had the simplest of finishes into an empty net for his first goal for the Zagreb club.
Rudeš kept attacking even with the game seemingly won. Poldrugač was denied by a last-ditch sliding block from Braut in the 58th, and a penalty shout was waved off in the 71st after a Skoko corner struck Stevanović’s arm in the box, VAR ruling it unintentional. The spot kick eventually went the other way in the 77th, when Zebić needlessly shoved Erceg in the back as the Gorica forward chased a hopeless ball. Referee Patrik Kolarić pointed to the spot, and Bogojević made no mistake from 11 metres to make it 1-2.
From the 80th minute on, it was all Gorica, with everybody pushing up and balls delivered into the box time and time again. But Rudeš held firm and saw out the win, despite scoring from just two real chances all game. It takes them above Gorica and up to seven points, two clear of their rivals at the bottom. It’s another blow for a Gorica side already in crisis under Mario Carević, whose job is seriously under threat with just 5 points from the first quarter of the campaign.
Hajduk 2-1 Dinamo: Bamba Ends 678-Day Wait For A Win Over Dinamo
Hajduk (4-2-3-1): Silić – Acapandie, Marešić, Raçi (subbed on 90. Hadžikadunić), Hrgović – Del Moral, Fayad (subbed on 89. Dendoncker) – Bamba (subbed on 76. Šutalo), Dalisson (subbed on 90+14. Martin), Šotiček (subbed on 90. Melnjak) – Šego
Dinamo (4-3-3): Kotarski – Tabinas (subbed on 63. Galešić), Dominguez (subbed on 73. Valinčić), McKenna, Perez Vinlöf – Kačavenda (subbed on 63. Stojković), Kravcov, Zajc (subbed on 71. Rodriguez) – Lisica (subbed on 63. Almena), Beljo, Ivanušec
It wasn’t much of a derby atmosphere to start with. Poljud wasn’t sold out; the West Stand was half empty, and the downpour forecasters had promised held off until midway through the first half, when it turned both the pitch and the press box laptops into a mess. Anywho, onto the game! Hajduk looked the sharper side early on. Michele Šego shot off target from 10 metres after a brilliant run down the right from Bamba, who turned Vinlöf the way Messi once did to Boateng, the only difference being that Vinlöf stayed on his feet.
Dinamo took the lead against the run of play in the 21st minute. One rule of thumb when facing the “Modri”: don’t leave Beljo unmarked inside the box. Hajduk’s defence did exactly that, and Perez Vinlöf’s cross from the left found the striker completely free to head home. The lead lasted just three minutes. Šimun Hrgović won a free kick on the left, and his whipped delivery into the six-yard box deflected in off McKenna, 1-1.
Not much else happened before the break. A promising Dinamo move ended in a wall of Hajduk blocks, and Šotiček squared for Bamba, only for that effort to be blocked too. Bamba’s final-third decision-making has never been his strongest asset, but in the 59th minute it became exactly that. Šego received a long pass from Hrgović between the two Dinamo centre-backs and laid it off for Bamba, who hit it first time from the edge of the box. The ball took a slight deflection off McKenna and beat Kotarski through the rain, the keeper left watching it fly past.
Dinamo pushed for an equaliser from the hour mark but rarely threatened Silić seriously. Hajduk had the better of the remaining chances, Bamba again at the heart of it in the 71st, bursting down the right and squaring it for Šotiček, who slipped at the crucial moment and failed to put the game to bed. Both of Dinamo’s full-backs struggled all game to keep up with the two Hajduk wingers, who were fired up from the get-go.
The closing stages descended into something closer to “picigin” or water polo than football. Poljud became a waterlogged pitch, the ball barely moved, and players slipped around in the mud. With both sets of ultras putting on their pyro shows, 12 minutes of added time wasn’t a surprise. Referee Pajač even considered abandoning the match at one point, but it played on after both managers agreed to continue despite the shambolic conditions. Dinamo threw bodies forward in the chaos, and Beljo rattled the post right at the end from a late scramble, but Hajduk survived to see out a genuinely bizarre ending to the derby.
With this victory, Hajduk ended a 678-day wait for a win over their arch rivals. From Dinamo’s perspective, it was yet another lacklustre performance, leaving Mario Kovačević to say once again that they need to do better next game, as he has been saying since the UCL play-off tie vs. Viking. Dinamo haven’t taken a game and won it outright since then; the victories vs. Gorica and Lokomotiva were shaky at best. Sportske Novosti reported after the match that the manager’s time is running out, though he is expected to last until the winter break unless results turn completely sour. As for Hajduk, this was the perfect preparation for their first proper European game vs. Ajax on Thursday. They played a top game and outplayed Dinamo.
And to quickly touch on the refereeing from Pajač: it wasn’t pretty. He let a lot of fouls, hard fouls, go unpunished, and he judged the game poorly, with Kačavenda and Raci both getting away without red cards.
Osijek 1-3 Istra 1961: Istra Stun Opus Arena For First Away Win Of The Season
Osijek (4-2-3-1): Malenica – Kruiver, I. Ježić, Hasić (subbed on 44. Kolarik), Heister (subbed on 62. Kalem) – Vrbančić (subbed on 62. Petrusenko), Mikolčić – Bukvić (subbed on 55. Ljatifi), Tunjić, Cantero (subbed on 56. Dolček) – Leon
Istra 1961 (4-3-3): Kolić – Hrvatin, Nasraoui, Kumar, Šepić – Albarracín (subbed on 85. Kablar), Doumbia (subbed on 30. Hodžić), Maurić (subbed on 46. Ahmeti) – Frederiksen, Tomich, Škafar Žužić (subbed on 79. Goričan)
It was a dream start for the hosts. From a free kick around 20 metres out, Šimun Mikolčić curled a brilliant effort into Kolić’s side of the goal, leaving the keeper rooted. It was just the 2nd minute, and Osijek nearly doubled the lead through Leon soon after. Istra looked toothless early on, with the hosts completely shutting down their best player this season, Emil Frederiksen.
But the game began to turn around the half-hour mark. It started with a forced change, Doumbia going off injured for Hodžić. Shortly after, Škafar Žužić drew Malenica way off his line, though Kruiver cleared the danger with ease in front of an empty goal. It was the prelude to the equaliser: Istra captain Maurić fired home unstoppably, off balance, in the 34th minute, set up by a short corner routine and a fantastic assist from Frederiksen. Two fantastic goals to start us off. Tomich then hit the post deep into first-half stoppage time, and the half closed with another enforced change, Hasić off injured for Kolarik.
The injury problems weren’t done. Maurić himself didn’t emerge for the second half, replaced by Dukan Ahmeti. Istra picked up right where they left off. Tomich hit the woodwork for a second time straight from the restart, before Škafar Žužić capped a strong start to the half by completing the turnaround, finishing off a cutback from Ahmeti at the near post to make it 1-2.
Osijek pushed for at least a point the rest of the way, but Istra’s defence held them off and had chances of their own to finish it. Then, in stoppage time, came another exquisite goal: Ahmeti weaved past five Osijek players like prime Messi before slotting the ball home to make it 1-3 and seal Istra’s first away win of the season.
Lokomotiva 0-1 Varaždin: Mamić Strike Sends Varaždin Up To Second
Lokomotiva (4-2-3-1): Posavec – Karačić, Triantafyllou, Gurlica, Čabrajić (subbed on 46. Kayke) – Vasilj (subbed on 46. Katić), Subotić (subbed on 46. Fetai) – Thaqi (subbed on 79. Đurković), Belcar, Vešović (subbed on 46. Vuković) – Marić
Varaždin (4-2-3-1): Silić – Maglica, Mladenovski, Tepšić, Duraković – Marina (subbed on 78. Puclin), Canjuga – Posavec (subbed on 55. Lesjak), Mamić, Bočkaj (subbed on 71. Duvnjak) – Latković
Nikola Šafarić had to improvise before kickoff. Iuri Tavares was unwell in the warm-up, so Varaždin’s Posavec shifted to the left wing and Petar Bočkaj was drafted in on the right, to general delight from the sparse Maksimir crowd. The first chance of the afternoon came after a mix-up between Varaždin’s centre-backs let Vasilj in on goal, but Silić produced a big save in the 8th minute to keep it level. Two minutes later Posavec curled one just wide from a tight angle on the left. Leon Belcar, up against his former club, was one of the biggest threats of the half. A well-struck free kick from the midfielder in the 19th forced another good save from Silić, and he looked sharp throughout, dropping deep for the ball and creating opportunities for himself and others.
The only goal of the game came in the 40th minute, and it had a touch of vintage Bočkaj class about it. A ball was switched to the right, and he picked out Mamić at the back post with a perfectly weighted trivela cross, Mamić finishing for his fourth of the season. Bočkaj wasn’t flawless himself; not every dribble or pass came off, and he looked a touch short of his best in duels. But his range of passing still cuts through defences the way it always has.
Varaždin started the second half the better side, Bočkaj again the architect. A perfectly weighted ball in behind sent Latković clean through to lob Lokomotiva keeper Posavec, but he scrambled back to make an excellent recovery save. Belcar tried a cheeky chip on Silić in the 49th that drifted over, and Bočkaj was at it again in the 52nd, running a trademark Varaždin move from one flank to the other before shooting himself rather than squaring for an unmarked Mamić, his effort going just wide. A near-identical situation arose in the 61st, and this time Bočkaj did pick out Mamić, but Gurlica got enough on the shot to block it. Lokomotiva’s best spell came in the 70th, with Belcar winning the ball and feeding Vuković, who beat his man before laying off for Thaqi, whose effort went just past the far post.
The final 20 minutes belonged to Lokomotiva as they threw everything at finding an equaliser, but nothing seriously troubled Silić, and the points travelled back to Varaždin. The win takes Varaždin up to second on 18 points, one behind leaders Hajduk, whom they face next at Poljud. Lokomotiva fall to eighth on seven points, with Istra up next for Nikica Jelavić’s squad, whose winless streak continues.
Slaven Belupo 4-1 Rijeka: Farmaceuti Crush Rijeka
Slaven Belupo (4-2-3-1): Čović – Krušelj, Božić (subbed on 21. Kovačić), Mersinaj, Urata – Adeshina, Mažar – Dabro (subbed on 90+2. Lončar), Banovec (subbed on 89. Bošnjak), Mitrović (subbed on 90+2. Zahora) – Nestorovski (subbed on 89. Papac)
Rijeka (4-2-3-1): Vekić – Oreč, Majstorović, Husić, Lasickas (subbed on 80. Bodetić) – Ćubelić, Barco (subbed on 62. Fruk) – Vignato, Dantas (subbed on 80. Gojak), Janković (subbed on 62. Puljić) – Adu-Adjei (subbed on 80. A. M. Jurić)
The HNL keeps finding ways to surprise us. Just when it looked like Rijeka, fresh off beating Hajduk, were ready to push for the top, Slaven Belupo brought them crashing back down with a 4-1 win over Kek’s side.
Rijeka didn’t need long to threaten. Lasickas drove into space and was clipped by Adeshina for a penalty, but Čović saved Janković’s effort. VAR quickly ruled the keeper had come off his line early, and the retake fell to Dantas, who sent Čović the wrong way to put Rijeka ahead in the 7th minute. Janković had a chance to make amends soon after but lifted a good opportunity over the bar, and Rijeka continued to threaten in behind without finding a second.
Their fragility showed too. Nestorovski’s flick-on confused Majstorović and Husić enough to let Banovec in, but Igor Vekić denied him. Rijeka then got comfortable with the lead and ceded the initiative to the home side, who punished it. Slaven levelled through centre-back Mersinaj, completely unmarked at the back post from a Banovec cross in the 35th. Worse followed early in the second half: Slaven won the ball in their own half and hit Rijeka with their own weapon, a rapid transition finished off by Banovec for 2-1.
From there Rijeka were forced to chase the game, a mode Kek’s side still hasn’t figured out this season. Toni Fruk came on but couldn’t change the tide as he usually does. Slaven stayed disciplined, closed down the midfield, and punished two more transitions through Ilija Nestorovski. The first was a precise and utterly brilliant finish from the edge of the box; the second saw the Macedonian convert a rebound after a brilliant Vekić save, completing the 4-1 scoreline.
It was a result that summed up why Rijeka left Koprivnica empty-handed: plenty of chances to kill the game, none of them taken, and as the saying goes, “When you don’t score, you concede.” For Čabraja, these points mean plenty. Slaven pull clear of Lokomotiva and Rudeš on seven, leave Gorica even further behind on five, and climb to a more comfortable and very familiar seventh place, just two points off Istra. Rijeka and Kek, meanwhile, are still missing a lot of pieces to pick up points consistently, leaving the Kvarner side in the middle of the table in 5th.
The SuperSport HNL standings after the 1/4 of the season:
As pointed out by Anonymous’ eye testing
He should have mentioned Perisic getting Yamal’s shirt at HT too
🎙️ Dejan Lovren on Croatia’s 7-0 defeat to England:
“I’m glad I wasn’t there! I have to be careful what I say. It was difficult for me to watch on television. It’s a painful subject, if I’m being honest…”
“I’m still very angry. I don’t know if the national team coach knows about this. He’ll understand the detail that really bothered me. After the match, one of our players went up to an England international and asked for his shirt. To me, that’s a clear sign that his head wasn’t in the game!”
via tportal
Ante
Skafar ZUZIC knee and hamstring saving post is a matter of national security – please release from moderation!!!
Sosa 2nd start in a row
He’s so so lucky that he gets to play with Mikey Moore
Anonymous has posted a DOZEN times now about the importance of safeguarding Skafar Zuzic’s knees and hamstrings
See below re: Mauric and Doumbia
Have asked HNS to get involved to come up with a bespoke, tailored and specific training for him – his knees are more precious than Cara Delevingne’s P – and the boy hasn’t stopped growing and there is even more risk
Obviously these MOR@NS at Istra and the HNS can’t figure it out (AS PREDICTED) – they have no idea how players need to recover after matches – how much/type of running vs. training vs. overall load after specific minutes played (or not played) in each match – their is sophisticated sports science that has this down to a tee in 2026 at clubs like Barca (and AS PREDICTED these HNS/Istra M@RONS have no idea what they are doing if two players blew their knee and hamstrings in post-match recovery)
@Skafar Zuzic: please go on strike until we figure this out – go play some video games and listen to that rap you like – and don’t do ANYTHING until we figure this out with your parents and mostly likely dumb dumb agent and idiots at HNS/Istra
Love Anonymous
Croatian Football
@CroatiaFooty
·
1h
🚨 𝐍𝐄𝐖: Istra 1961 captain Antonio Maurić has torn his ACL and will be out for 6-8 months.
Midfielder Daouda Doumbia has ruptured a hamstring tendon and faces 5-6 months out.
Both suffered their injuries after the 2-0 win over Osijek.
[Sportske Novosti]
P.s.
Even worse
These injuries happened during the first half of the game
That means they aren’t properly loading / building up players if they go blow their ACL and especially hamstring in the match after pre season and training during the week
Not even close to being acceptable – this is beyond medical negligence
We need to protect Skafar ZUZIC as much as we protect Punch the Monkey
Anonymous has posted a DOZEN times now about the importance of safeguarding Skafar Zuzic’s knees and hamstrings
See below re: Mauric and Doumbia
Have asked HNS to get involved to come up with a bespoke, tailored and specific training for him – his knees are more precious than Cara Delevingne’s P – and the boy hasn’t stopped growing and there is even more risk
Obviously these CROATIAN MORONS at Istra and the HNS can’t figure it out (AS PREDICTED) – they have no idea how players need to recover after matches – how much/type of running vs. training vs. overall load after specific minutes played (or not played) in each match – the sports science has this down to a tee now at clubs like Barca (and AS PREDICTED these HNS/Istra CROATIAN MORONS have no idea what they are doing if two players blew their knee and hamstrings in post-match recovery)
@Skafar Zuzic: please go on strike until we figure this out – go play some video games and listen to that rap you like – and don’t do ANYTHING until we figure this out with your parents and mostly likely dumb dumb agent and idiots at HNS/Istra
Croatian Football
@CroatiaFooty
·
1h
🚨 𝐍𝐄𝐖: Istra 1961 captain Antonio Maurić has torn his ACL and will be out for 6-8 months.
Midfielder Daouda Doumbia has ruptured a hamstring tendon and faces 5-6 months out.
Both suffered their injuries after the 2-0 win over Osijek.
[Sportske Novosti]
Here are 2 key stats for me on Soticek yesterday. Ran 11.7km more than anyone on the field. The other his top speed was recorded at 34.7 km per hour which is among the elite in Europe.
Nice to see.
Glad to see this kid get his career back on track. Mind you, it was Hajduk (of all teams) that did it.
We’re living in a parallel universe here.
He almost ended up in Poland
Hajduk saved him
Dinamo saying they offered him 10k per month at some point and his Croatian dad said it was insulting and unacceptable !!!
The boy has a proper Croatian dad looking after him / fighting his corner so he’s got a real chance of making something of himself
Outstanding find and post
The 11.7km is total distance (vs. Sego and Bemba c.9.0km)
15.9% running (outstanding – lazy Wedding Boy usually 11-12% including yesterday)
33 sprints (wow – incredible)
34.8km is top 4 Croatian of ALL time (Rebic 35.1km, Josko 35.0km, Perisic 35.0km (Bayern))
Ajax complaining Hajduk were too powerful and too much running at them
Soticek ran Tysgankov and Klaassen off the pitch after 75 to the showers early
Incredible performance
The assist and goal were nice (especially the assist him winning the ball back)
On Ajax goal he could have closed down the Ajax pass and then the Ajax cross – but given overall performance that’s a nit pick
This is EXACTLY what we need on the NT
Anonymous stick works it’s beautiful magic once again 😉
So I guess we’re going with a Soticek-Matanovic-Perisic trio up top next month?
Or is Bilic going to take a page out of Dalic’s book, and require an 18-month probationary period prior to callup?
Considering that right wing is still very much open I think if he continues to offer good performances he should not just be called…he should start!
Stjepan V already mentioned that Perisic has been playing RW at PSV this season.
Based off the match reports, he hasn’t even played one league game at LW. It’s been strictly RW for him, which was surprising since he was mostly LW last season (which was PSV’s best-ever season).
So if this is the case, then Perisic should be RW…leaving LW open for one of Baturina, Soticek or (gasp!) maybe even Skafar-Zuzic in the near future.
I like that front 3 (Perisic 25% of career appearances on RW so he can definetely scoot over) for Czech – maybe for England would have Vlasic on RW to handle Lewis Hall and Anthony Gordon with Perisic coming in after 60 or 70
I want to see Soticek do the same vs Thun next week though – need to make sure it’s consistent and not one off stuff – there is also things to clean up eg 3 win of 13 ground duels won
But the effort is outstanding (especially compare to Sego and Bamba – that’s what really sticks out ie he is leading te team not letting others do the work for him and drag him) and we need running, speed and some power, endurance desperately and he seems to bring that
Soticek did play well against Dinamo (despite missing a sitter).
I don’t have the stats on him (top speed, distance ran) but I’m sure it was good just based off the eye test.
He’s probably hitting his stride and is in peak form right now.
Congrats to Hajduk and Dinamo for winning today. On a nother note HNS published a letter to fifa asking for full disclosure how they dettermind the touch of a hair in the Portugal game disallowed a goal. No answer so far showing technical evidence that can be proven. It’s not just us that want closure all national teams and clubs want to know. The referee dident see a touch of hair the camera and fans didn’t. So if fifa technical explanation is as real as they claim show all needed data to the world we want to see the answer that Croatia requested its the least fifa can do . VAR should only be used if the referee decision is obviously wrong this way the final result doesent feel fixed. Showing all data to Croatia there asking for should be provided . There is no sensor on the planet that doesent have a margin of error. Fifa treats their system as 100% perfect.By not showing the data it makes it look as a technology fixed game. Show the date to Croatia and the world. Croatia made the request public for all to see. Maybe an independent honest group should be appointed to oversee Fifa ???.Hope by us pursuing this the way we are making it public Fifa doesent find a way to make life a little more difficult for us. What if France England Spain Brazil were asking for the same technical answers as we are would it be the same.
There is no sensor and there is no data.
That line graph they kept showing on TV was pure comedy and was just an image generated by some intern for the mouth breathing audience.
VAR was implemented to push certain favorites, and the HNS isn’t going to get anything from FIFA.
Was always my issue with VAR, from very early on I suspected it would just be a tool to help out the big teams/commercial interests.
Croatia f’d up
The request should have been to resume or replay the entire match
Not cuckingbasking for an explanation (which could and was just shrugged off) lol
There is no data and it’s stupid to ask for it as they can easily fabricated it as needed after all this time
Bet @CroatiaFooty and many Hajduk fans got drunk after the win hahaha… been a such a good week for them 🙂
You bet well!
Lovre just woke up in the Joker parking lot in Brodarica. May as well get some McDonalds to soak up the booze while you’re there.
Is the repka about to get a decent young winger in Soticek?🤩 Boy am I starting to dream.
Just €1.8m… whatcha waiting for Hajduk, sign him now!
Bravo Hajduk and Dinamo btw, a good day for all Croatians👏
It’s ridiculous when fans act like this I cannot stand this garbage. Intentionally going out to hurt people this is completely messed. Not just to state that it’s morally wrong on so many levels…this can really have a negative impact on the team in general. Absolutely insane.
good day for Croatian clubs. I’m ecstatic for Garcia for many reasons…especially because the club made the right decision to keep him in charge despite all the hate he got. he’s done a fabulous job and I wish him well!
to anyone that has known me opinions on fanboy cheering clubs…I have never really cared for them but I respect and like it when they are present for the most part. I cannot stand it when they cause trouble like BBB did in Greece a couple years back or when Torcida did again today and almost caused their team to get the game “abandoned” which would have hurt Hajduk in the end. Torcida and BBB sometimes make me wonder if they were born as crack babies…often looking for stupidity like Torcida did before the game and like BBB did in the weekend game. both LOSERS!
My only stress this season was Hajduk firing Garcia just because the fans were booing him for the Livaja situation. Then when they lost to Pafos, people again were unfairly calling for him to be fired.
I knew he was an excellent coach and Hajduk did great in qualifying, especially since they were unseeded the whole way and played some good teams.
Now, they beat Ajax. Garcia should be untouchable and Hajduk can continue to build on this and move forward.
Also, I have to say, even though Gattuso was a mediocre coach…he is the reason we have Bamba on the team. Bamba somehow got a lot better this season, and Hajduk might actually make some money off him now.
Oh I’m so glad you said this (My only stress this season was Hajduk firing Garcia just because the fans were booing him for the Livaja situation) and I didn’t but you are 1000000% correct, which is unusual for you 🤣
I think Gattuso was loyal to his players and he only knows how to physically and mentally prepare his team. he lacks in everything else.
Autocorrect.
You meant to type “very usual”
Dinamo with a last minute PK win.
Nice to see Kotarski have a good game.
D.
Kotarski made some good saves.
That spot kick by Beljo went down the middle with his left foot and did not look convincing, the goalkeeper almost got to it with his feet.
Dinamo played much better in the second half.
It was a bad PK. He just got very lucky.
It’s nice to have self confidence. It’s better to have self awareness.
Beljo rushed his teammates to take that PK and he was expressing full confidence in himself during his post game interview about it, but I really hope he doesn’t actually believe that his PK was a good one and I hope someone tells him that he badly needs to practice his PKs.
I think Beljo knows that he got lucky.
The TV camera from behind the goal showed his face when he struck the ball, and the expression on his face suggested that he thought the goalkeeper was going to save it.
Surprised only 10 comments lol
Anyone see Anonymous lately lol. Soticek proving once again why he should be called to the national team in November.
Not only did Hajduk win, they also played extremely well. In other words, it wasn’t a “fluke” win.
Bamba is a weird player. Sometimes his touch is absolutely horrible, other times he’s dancing through defenders. Either way, he’s been on fire this season.
Soticek was another stand-out player today. Huge potential there.
Leave it to Hajduk to not include any option-to-buy clause on that Soticek loan agreement
No from what I have heard, if correct ? there is an option to buy him at the end of the loan period.
According to AI, you are correct!
“Marin Šotiček (also spelled Soticek) joined Hajduk Split on a one-year loan from FC Basel in late July 2026 (until the end of the 2026/27 season), and the deal includes an option for Hajduk to buy him permanently.
Multiple Croatian media reports (including Index.hr, gol.dnevnik.hr, Gol.hr, Telegram.hr, and TransferFeed citing Dalmatinski portal) consistently state that the agreed purchase option is €1.8 million. This figure has been reported since around September 2026 and was reiterated as recently as mid-October 2026 in coverage of his strong performances”
Hajduk 2 v Ajax 1
Great result by Hajduk, I would have been happy with a draw against Ajax.
Pity about Torcida, we’ll have to wait and see what UEFA will do.
Dinamo kicking off in a few minutes, hopefully they can also get a good result for
Croatian football.
Players coming out but warning by the ground announcer that if there is one more stoppage due to pyrotechnics the match will be abandoned.
Hajduk leading 2 – 1, however the match has been suspended in the 77th minute due to smoke bombs with all the players off the field in the change rooms.
What can you say Torcida absolutely mad, heavy fine from UEFA is coming, possibly ban of fans for the next home match ?
Bamba and Soticek causing heaps of problems for Ajax defence.
Hopefully when the game resumes, we can hold out.
How stupid to be a “fan” and set off fireworks to interrupt a European match you are winning. Imagine if the match gets called off? Complete idiots. Fuck off and stop ruining shit for every hardworking family who paid to attend the match.
Šotiček scoring one now too.
He’s really earning that call up.
1-0 Hajduk! Great turn by Soticek to lead to the goal.
Wild conditions in that Eternal Derby.
Not the best day for Mckenna.
Rijeka is set to have a rough year. No way they should be conceding 4 goals against Slaven Belupo considering the talent on that team