Results for February 15 – 17, 2013
GNK DINAMO ZAGREB 4 – 1 HNK RIJEKA
Dinamo Zagreb were dominant from start to finish in their 4-1 win over Rijeka on Sunday.
The last time these two teams met, Rijeka blew the Modri away 3-0 at Kantrida, but Dinamo had something else planned for the return match in Zagreb.
Nearly 500 members of Armada followed their team from Rijeka to watch their team take on the Croatian champions in hopes of a second victory against them.
Ivan Krstanović got the start against Rijeka, and he certainly made it count. It took seven minutes for the forward to strike gold, and it was all downhill from there.
Krstanović received a pass and easily hit it home to get the scoring started. This sparked the first half goal frenzy that took Rijeka by storm.
Duje Čop’s three-goal performance was surely the highlight of the day. The former Hajduk Split striker snagged his first goal in the 22nd minute, but got his second goal only three minutes later. His third goal came in the second half from a corner kick that Jerko Leko redirected to him for the hat trick. This was Čop’s first career hat trick, and a particularly special one at that. It was a real hat trick, or one where he scored one goal with his right foot, one goal with his left foot, and one goal with a header.
“This is my first hat-trick of my career and of course I am very happy, but as for what the media calls a “derby”, I did not see it today. This was not a derby. We dominated the entire game, and at one point victory was not even questioned. There is only one derby, and that game next week,” Čop said. “[The match at Poljud] is the only unpredictable match in Croatia. It is a real derby. Hopefully there will be a full stadium and a sports atmosphere and superb game.”
Midfielder Arijan Ademi was taken off the field early due to an injury sustained in play. He is expected to be just fine and will be ready for the match next Sunday.
“It’s nothing serious, and everything will be fine,” Ademi said.
Rijeka did manage to gain a consolation goal before the match’s end. Leon Benko redirected a cross with his head that was placed in a spot where goalkeeper Ivan Kelava had no prayer of reaching.
Rijeka coach Elvis Scoria was disappointed with the result. He was hoping to give Dinamo a challenge and play off of their last meeting, but admitted that they came up short.
“Dinamo deserved victory. Our goal was to test our skill at Maksimir, but we were a bit off our mark and the match went in the wrong direction. We bargained and we lost,” Scoria said. “We tried to play, but we were not at the required level in order to fight for a positive result. Our 3-5-2 system was good, and did not cause the defeat. We will continue to use it in the future.”
Dinamo must now focus their attention on one of the biggest games of the season. They travel to Split to face Hajduk on Sunday. Hajduk is coming off a big win themselves and will be a tough opponent to face.
Dinamo: Kelava – Vrsaljko, Jedvaj, Šimunić, Ibanez – Leko – Brozović, Ademi (od 85. Rukavina), Sammir (od 74. Halilović), Čop – Krstanović (od 63. Beqiraj)
Rijeka: Mance – Datković, Kreilach, Knežević – Mujanović, Brezovec, Močinić (od 56. Mierzejewski), Škarabot (od 56. Čaval) – Alispahić – Benko, Cesarec (od 80. Čulina)
NK SLAVEN BELUPO 0 – 2 HNK HAJDUK SPLIT
Hajduk was clearly the better side on Satruday, when they traveled to Koprivnica and defeated Slaven Belupo 2-0.
Taking all three points from Slaven on the road is surely a big confidence booster for the club a head of match next Sunday when they host league-leading Dinamo Zagreb.
The meeting with Dinamo will now prove to be slightly tougher than they anticipated. Two players will miss the derby due to fractures in their cheek bones and will both require surgery and miss up to seven weeks.
Matej Jonjić and Goran Milović both left the game due to serious facial injuries. Milović received a hard elbow just below the eye from Igor Bubnjić that fractured his cheek bone in the 46th minute of play. Bubnjić was immediately shown a red card and was sent off while Milović was being tended to by medical staff.
Jonjić went in for a sliding tackle, and was struck by the knee of the Slaven attacker. Jonjić immediately got up, but was clearly disoriented and walked directly to the player bench where he was tended to by medical staff. Jonjić was also shown a yellow card for his challenge, and an argument between the referee and Miso Krstičević resulted in the Hajduk coach being ejected from the match and sent into the stands.
“Both players received serious injuries, but they were both just unfortunate accidents. I would not accuse anyone of intent,” Krstičević said. “Injuries are tough. They both have cheekbone fractures, and both of them will have to undergo surgery. They are likely to miss the rest of the season.”
Both players were sent to the University Hospital of Dubrava where their operations went well.
Despite the injuries, Hajduk were still able to come out on top.
Before Jonjić left the game, he got his team on the score sheet. A header in the 16th minute from a corner kick gave Hajduk the lead that they would eventually keep throughout the match. This was Jonjić’s first match and first goal for Hajduk since he returned from a loan spell with Zadar. As a product of Hajduk’s youth academy, he played for the Bili in the 2009 season, scoring one goal, then spending the rest of his time at Zadar, only to return in this past winter’s transfer window.
Ivan Vuković doubled the score in the 82nd minute. Ivan Caktaš attempted an overhead kick in the box, but just got his toe on it, allowing Vuković to finish it off for a goal.
Slaven did not live up to the expectations of the team that was fielded on paper. Roy Ferenčina’s team was slightly stronger than it was prior to the winter.
Former Hajduk player Mario Jelević made his debut with Slaven on Saturday against his former club. The Croatian U19 international spent the majority of his youth with Hajduk and was on trial with England champions Manchester City before leaving to Koprivnica.
Slaven now welcome Inter Zaprešić next week and remain in sixth place, five points behind Hajduk.
Slaven Belupo: Pelin, Purić, Kokalović, Pranjić, Maras, Rak, Geng (od 63. Brlek), Bubnjić, Glavica (od 74. Barić), Vugrinec, Delić (od 83. Jelavić). Trener: Roy Ferenčina.
Hajduk: Blažević, Oremuš, Milović (od 50. Plazonić), Jonjić (od 75. Nižić), Jozinović, Vršajević, Lima, Cakataš, Andrijašević, Maglica, Vuković (od 85. Kouassi).
RNK SPLIT 3 – 2 NK ZAGREB
RNK Split remain dominant at home and earned three more points against an improving NK Zagreb.
Split got off to an instants start when forward Henri Belle scored the opening goal in the seventh minute. Belle, who was left off the HNL All-Star squad, has been an integral key in Split’s success this year since his transfer there from Istra. Belle had a chance at a second goal ten minutes later, but the 19-year-old Dominik Livaković remained tough in the net.
NKZ is resilient if nothing else. The struggling club has found a bit of solace in their new leader Ćiro Blažević, but is still fighting relegation. Despite going down early, the Poets managed to shake it off and get back in the game.
At the restart of the game after the half, Ćiro’s Poets broke through the Split defense. Besart Abdurhimi brought the ball into the box on his own, taking on two defenders when Lovro Medić slotted the loose ball in the net.
Will this mini-eternal derby be any indication of what will come of next week’s match between the big brothers of Zagreb and Split?
Zagreb enjoyed the goal for about one minute before the home team answered right back.
After the kickoff to restart play, Split marched right down the field and Aljoša Vojnović slid in to finish off a cross from Tomislav Radotić to score the go-a head goal for Split.
Belle nearly brought in another for his club midway through the second half. An impressive individual effort by the Cameroonian was started when he stole the ball in his own end and sped off toward the goal, beating two defenders on his own before passing it to his teammate who was unable to make anything of it.
His efforts would pay off though, as Belle did finally get the second goal he was looking for. A one-touch curling shot from the top of the box left Livaković helpless as the ball went by him.
Zagreb still didn’t give up as their resilience reared its head one more time. Damir Šovšić calmly put in a penalty kick that was awarded after Ivica Križanac stopped a goal with his hand in the box.
Zoran Vulić’s club hung on to their one-goal lead for the remainder of the match to gain all three points.
“I am pleased with the victory. It showed that we can prevail in even the toughest matches,” Vulić said.
Blažević was understandable upset by the result, but said that it gives them hope in future games in the season.
“I’m not satisfied, but who is when they lose? I admit that Split deserved to win. I have nothing to complain about and my players gave their best. It is evident that Split is more in tune with each other than we are, but I saw things in the game that give me optimism for the next match,” Blažević said.
Zagreb is still looking up from the bottom of the table, while RNK Split sit tied for third place.
RNK Split: Vuković, Glavina, Križanac, Glumac, Baraban, Zeba (od 90. Erceg), Radotić, Pehar, Vojnović, Brlečić (od 77. Marčić), Belle (od 77. Bagarić)
Zagreb: Livaković, Djengoue, Jurendić, Šovšić, Nadarević, Bevab, Abdurahimi (od 70. Mitrović), Kolinger, Handžić (od 8. Kovačić, od 77. Štiglec), Medić, Graf
HNK CIBALIA 2 – 0 NK OSIJEK
Osijek is coming off a huge victory over Dinamo Zagreb, and was planning on taking that momentum with them into the match at Vinkovci. Cibalia has been hovering around the relegation zone all season and was only four points away from safety.
Saturday marked the 51st time these two clubs have met in the Slavonian Derby. Osijek holds the upper edge in the record books with 19 wins.
Both teams broke in early with chances in the opening minutes of the game, but it was Cibalia who made those chances count.
Tomislav Mazalović sent his team ahead with a 20th minute penalty kick.
Osijek keeper Zvonimir Mikulić came out to play a ball in the box, but took out the Cibalia attacker which led to a yellow card and a penalty kick. The teams continued to battle on the water logged field, leaving their trails in the thick mud.
Mladen Bartolović had a huge opportunity to double the lead in the 45th minute when a cross sent in met his foot, but this time Mikulić attacked the ball and made the save before crashing into Bartolović.
Mazalović was able to double the score the same way he scored his first goal; with a penalty kick. The abysmal field condition surely had to do with a poor challenge that left the Cibalia player down in the box. The referee awarded the kick, and the home team made it 2-0.
Osijek’s hopes for any sort of come back were quashed when the referee showed Antonio Perošević a straight red card after retaliating after a tackle.
Cibalia gained three points which leaves them only one point away from the relegation zone. Osijek however, is left in seventh place.
NK ISTRA 1961 2 – 2 NK LOKOMOTIVA
The Lokosi’s Andrej Kramaric salvaged a point for his team in stoppage time when he stepped up to put in a penalty kick to tie the game at two. On their trip to Pula, the Lokosi were down first due to a goal by Stipe Bačelić-Grgic, who on his 25th birthday, scored two goals on the day. His first one came in the 17th minute and gave his team the lead until Ivan Boras countered his goal with one of his own. Boras let off a screamer in the 36th minute that was untouchable for Antonio Ježina. In the 48th minute, Pula was awarded a penalty kick that was taken by Bacelic-Grgic for his second goal on his birthday. It seemed to be the game winner, but Kramaric spoiled his birthday with a PK of his own, and his 12th goal of the season, making him the league-leader in goals. “What can I say? It is the same story. I really do not have any luck,” Bacelic-Grgic said. “There is nothing for us to do other than to train and work harder than before. The ball does not want to enter the goal, we really do not have any luck. Hopefully, things will change for the better in the next week.”
NK INTER ZAPRESIC 0 – 1 NK ZADAR
NK Zadar managed to steal the full three points from Inter at the last minute of the match. Stipe Perica waited until the last minute to score one for his team and take home a win to Zadar. The opening half of the match saw the two teams battle in an extremely even match. Neither team could figure the other out, and neither team was able to get a shot on net, and entered the locker room scoreless at half. The second half saw a slight dominance by the home side. Nikolas Pokrivac made his debut for the club after being sent on loan from Dinamo, and helped his team look strong through most of the match. After the 60th minute, Zadar started to show some threatening plays that kept the 300-some fans at the game on the edge of their seats. Zadar was unable to capitalize on any of these attacks, but in teh 89th minute, Antonio Mrsic sent in a long free kick that Marin Con headed to Perica who tapped it in for the win. Inter is now one point behind Zadar, who are currently in the “safety zone.”
So did anyone who watched the Hajduk game see the Jonjic injury? Did he also sustain a concussion? He looked out of it once he got up, and when he went to the sidelines, he pulled his pants down and sat on the ground. Shame he will be done for a while. Showed a lot of promise.
@ Sime/Cico
dude wtf are you even rambling about? all I said was it could of been closer than the actual scoreline and Dinamo (paging Ante B.) deserved to win, no doubt about it.
lol but who even said anything about “not wanting to play” and the Italy talk … boze, boze go to Kantrida and say that out loud, they would throw you over the cliffs and into the Kvarner.
You’re grammar is fuckin horrible but hopefully you know how to swim hahahah
Joj opet ti daj prekini
@ Armada 87 boy did your Italians choke . Wtf was that ? Stay in Italy if you don’t want to play . Sramota
The race for the final European spot is open at least
I wonder how much help Zagreb will get to avoid relegation,have a feeling they will, but with some ref assistance and Ciro will be a “hero” again
Rijeka’s back line was torn apart from start to finish. Krstanovic pretty much walked in the box unmarked for the first goal. Cop’s second goal was completely due to the defense having no clue what to do, and his third goal was a product of him being poorly marked on a corner. MAYBE the score could have been 3-1, but this didn’t seem like the same Rijeka that beat Dinamo earlier in the year.
Also, When Cesarec was taken down, was not a PK. I was actualy pretty surprised and thought the game was fairly well called. Doesn’t happen often when Dinamo plays. Wonder how it will be next week at Poljud.
for those that don’t watch the HNL, the Rijeka-Dinamo game should of been closer than the final scoreline.
Of course, there were plenty of non-calls for Rijeka. Cesarec got taken right at the edge of the box before the Krstanovic goal. Should of been either a PK or free kick right on the edge of the box. Once Krstanovic got that early goal, it completely deflated Rijeka… The back was a mess and a few goals were just a result of sloppy play/not clearing out easy balls. Also, Cesarec should of had a goal that would of made it 4-2, but the refs of course called it a offiside when he clearly wasn’t. Rijeka really didn’t string together any meaningful runs or posessions.
Dinamo deserved the win but it should of easily been a 1 goal game rather than the 4-1 final.
I would have no issue with Abdurahimi on the repka. Kid is born in Cro, grew up in Cro and wants to play for Cro.
That may be true Marko, but they play different positions.
Caktas>Besart
JOSIP KUZE
yes call for Besart Adurahimi and the God of Halilovic !!
Here’s a question:
Besart Abdurahimi, a Zagreb-born Zagreb-raised Macedonian-Albanian who played for Croatia’s U19 squad, is looking very good as a right midfielder for NK Zagreb.
Since Srna looks like a permanent RB, and Ilicevic will likely never be healthy enough to play consistently for Cro…do you consider calling this Besart kid up (in a year or so) to help strengthen our right side of midfield (assuming he continues to improve)?
…or does his name frighten the $hit out of you, lol.
“Abdurahimi” LOL