Of course it may happen every now and then.
But not now.
Because the team thought that making sure our qualification to the final is definitely a must, and they have to do it at the beginning of the match, because it is better to be safe than sorry.
So, we scored a very quick goal in the 3rd minute.
Šaponjić got a great pass and with a fantastic movement he gave the ball to Andrija Živković on the left side. Živković ran up and served it Grbić arriving in the middle.
Grbić just had to shoot. The ball landed in the net. 1:0
The goal had to be celebrated. Every goal has to be celebrated.
And here came Grbić’s amazing show.
The midfielder ran out to the bench and pulled the shoe down from his right feet, taking on a left-legged one. He posed for the cameras, then went back to the field and played with two left-legged shoe for the rest of the game.*
*It does have its background story, as everything else does. The day before the match Aleksandar Vučić, prime minister of Serbia said something not too easily explainable in a TV-show.
- Yes, I know, Partizan fans chant "Vučiću pederu" (Vučić is a faggot) every time their players miss out a chance. Well, even those players have only two legs, some of them have two left legs - said the prime minister.
Yes, he said it, this way, in a political broadcast, at the civil service TV station RTS 1, maintained from tax payers’ money. And no, the reporter didn’t tell him to shut the fuck up, didn’t interrupt the broadcast, didn’t protest that a democratically elected politician must never talk like this in the state-owned TV, instead, like a good servant, she nodded and wobbled with her eyelashes.
(Here is the video for everyone who wants to laugh, get shocked or even cry.)
Grbić’s action mentioned above was a strikingly elegant, poignant reply.
I don’t want to get too deep into politics, especially that it’s a sports blog, but I always get pissed when politics want to interfere into sports. But please, tell me, my beloved Serbian sisters and brothers, could you somehow send off this monkey? He is not a statesman, nor a strategist, his manifestations are not of a charismatic politician’s who follows tactics, but of a hysterical whore who acts from trepidity. Don’t let him stay in a decision-making position.
But let’s get back to the most important things.
In the 6th minute Jagodina tried with a distant shot, but Živko Živković saved. A minute later Grbić sent the ball to Bandalovski with an "Oxford" trick. The defender passed the ball from the right side to the goal line, but the ball left the field above the crossbar. Then in the 9th minute opponent player Đurić sent a shot from the left, but it went wide away.
Partizan dominated the match more and more. In the 12th minute Drinčić had a sudden, distant shot, but he missed it. Then in the 15th minute Andrija Živković brought a heart attack to goalkeeper Perić, sending a bomb shot from the left to the goal line. The ball landed on the upper net.
In the 19th minute Jagodina was trying again, Đurić had a powerful shot from 18 metres, Živko Živković had a great save.
Their next attempt came in the 30th minute. Their first try was blocked by our defense line, then Mitošević shot the ball from the distance to the goal line, but the ball flew out above the crossbar. Three minutes later Bandalovski and Ninković were passing the ball to each other while running up on the right. Finally the Bulgarian player shot, but couldn’t hit the goal line.
The 38th minute brought our counter-attack after Jagodina’s corner. Andrija Živković had a too long shot, but we could still possess the ball. Dričić had a 35-metre bomb shot, which was saved by the goalkeeper to corner. The chance was missed, but Ninković was literally knocked down in the upheaval. No, there was no penalty afterwards.
One of Drinčić’s corner shots, while Lukač is watching in the background
Then in the 44th minute Grbić passed the ball to Volkov. Volkov sent it to the middle, where Andrija Živković grabbed it and ruthlessly shot it into the net. 2:0
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It was time for a half-time pause.
In the second half Jagodina kept on trying, with minor success. In the 54th minute Lepović sent a distant bomb shot to our goal line, he probably hoped for a big surprise to Živko Živković. But for his very own surprise, Živković had a giant save.
One of Živković’s great saves
Then in the 59th minute Bandalovski passed the ball to Andrija Živković. Živković ran up and kicked the ball to Babović. Babović shot, right into the goalkeeper. Two minutes later again the Bandalovski-Andrija Živković axis was in the spotlight, giving the ball now to Grbić. The "double left legged" midfielder headed the ball too high, and even the assistant was waving for offside.
Bandalovski and Andrija Živković were the best players of the game
In the 62nd minute a corner shot was headed out right in front of Babović. Babović shot from 20 metres, but missed. 5 minutes later Andrija Živković sent a flat shot to the goal line, but the goalkeeper caught the ball. Two minutes later again Živković had a shot, this time Perić had to perform a big save to push the ball to corner.
Kojić started to warm up in the meantime
Jagodina fell to pieces. At this point Partizan had been doing whatever they wanted. In the 77th minute again the Bandalovski-Andrija Živković duo put themselves to action on the right side. Živković shot, but he missed. A minute later it was him again, sending a huge pass ahead, but two players were on offside. Another minute later Kojić was pushed down to the ground inside the penalty area, but the referee didn’t think about a possible penalty.
In the 81st minute Kojić missed a big chance. The striker got the ball after a corner upheaval. He was standing approx. a metre away from the goal line. He shot, but the ball flew out above the crossbar.
In the 86th minute again Andrija Živković ran up and passed the ball to Kojić in the middle. Kojić shot, the ball hit the crossbar and fell back to the goalmouth. Three minutes later Babović headed the ball to the goal line, but he also hit the crossbar.
In the 90th minute Brašanac cleared the area after a Jagodina free kick, then 2 minutes later, almost at the end of the extra time Kojić ran up on the right and passed to the middle, where Brašanac thanked and shot the ball to the net. 3:0
Highlights:
Return match: 8th April.
Facts:
Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Referee: Aleksandar Vasić (assistants: Jovica Milin, Matija Olajos-Nagy - 4th assistant: Bojan Stanojević - goal line assistants: Dejan Dimitrijević, Milan Jeremić)
FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Bandalovski, Balažic, Ćirković, Volkov - Drinčić, Ninković (S. Ilić, 57.) - Grbić (Brašanac, 67.), A. Živković, Babović - Šaponjić (Kojić, 76.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić
Jagodina: Perić - Mihajlović, Filipović, Antić (Šušnjar, 68.), Živanović - Popara (Arsenijević, 90.), Đurić, Savković, Lepović, Mitošević - Jovančić (Stojčev, 83.)
Head coach: Simo Krunić
Goal scorers: Grbić (3.), A. Živković (44.), Brašanac (90+2.)
Yellow card: Antić (35.), Lepović (53.), Šaponjić (73.)
(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)
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