FK Partizan - Radnički Niš 0:0 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 17)

This was the low point of the season (and the end is not even near...) to play a goalless draw with the team that is positioned at the 15th place of the league table. The referee was scandalous, Róbert Kis-Csepegi was worse than ever.

I feel ashamed for him.

We got a chance in the 2nd minute. Volkov got the ball on the right side and headed it ahead to Kojić. He headed it to Ninković, who was waiting there and immediately shot with a half-turn. There was a defender standing right on the goal line, he headed the ball out. Two minutes later Radnički made unpleasant moments at Partizan's goalmouth, but Živko Živković saved Ašćerić’s shot. (Lukač got injured earlier last week on a training, the substitute goalkeeper played at this game.)
In the meantime the southern tribune turned into a fire ocean, fans lighted torches and Greek fires as well as firecrackers.

At first it looked like this...

...then like this.

(photos: Twitter)

In the 11th minute Babović wanted to kick the ball to Kojić, but Radnički’s goalkeeper was faster.

Here I’d like to stop a bit. Milan Borjan, Radnički’s goalkeeper is surely not a human. He is a superhero or an alien for sure. He saved everything, even the most impossible shots. (Except for one, I’ll tell later.) Radnički can thank mostly to him that they ended up without goal.

To the referee as well, but as I said, I’ll tell about it later.

In the 12th minute Borjan saved Drinčić’s shot. In the 13th minute Radnički attacked again, Balažic blocked them.
A minute later Živko Živković had a great save. Radnički was attacking, meanwhile a Partizan-player was kicked on the ground (the referee didn’t whistle...), Ašćerić ran up, our goalkeeper threw himself into his way.
In the 19th minute Marjanović (not the Humane Mountain...) sent a distant shot to our goal line, it ended up as a corner. A minute later Andrija Živković tried the same method (i.e. a distant shot), but the ball flew out above the crossbar. In the 21st minute Radnički attacked again, a Partizan-player (Drinčić) was kicked on the ground again, the referee again didn’t whistle, and the guest team player again shot too wide. Another minute later Andrija Živković kicked the ball to Volkov. He sent it to Drinčić with an Oxford trick, the midfielder shot from the distance, but missed.
In the 24th minute Partizan got a free kick near the penalty area line. Drinčić stood behind the ball, shot to Babović, but he (who lately wears the captain armband, of course only when Saša Ilić is not on the ground) missed out the chance.
The Niš-based team didn’t seem to be scared at all from the famous opponent, nor did they seem to be one of the lowest-positioned teams of the league. Instead of bunker football they attacked with courage, testing Partizan’s defense line. (A high five to the Bandalovski-Balažic duo as well as to Živko Živković.) The pace was fast and Radnički did a lot to keep it up. In the 27th minute again they could have a distant shot, but the ball left the field above the crossbar.
In the 31st minute Andrija Živković tried again with a distant shot, but the goalkeeper easily saved it. A minute later Radnički attacked again, and after a really powerful and spectacular action Partizan’s defenders cleared the area. Almost immediately Bandalovski ran up on the right side. His attack ended in a corner. The ball arrived into the penalty area, dropping here and there, finally Kojić headed it to the goal line, but the goalkeeper saved.
In the 35th minute Bandalovski himself cleaned after a free kick.
For the rest of the first half there was only a Partizan free kick left. At the end of the half the fans whistled and chanted again "Uprava napolje".

Marko Nikolić was watching from the tribune, later he could be seen at the tunnel

(photo: hotsport.rs) 

In the second half at the 49th minute Andrija Živković was pushed on the ground inside the penalty area of the guest team. The referee didn’t whistle, ArenaSport replayed it in slow motion. It was without a doubt a foul. Excellent. Another lost penalty for Partizan...
We kept on attacking. Either Saša Ilić (who joined the team as substitute), or Andrija Živković or Ninković tried, but the goalkeeper saved everything. In the 59th minute Radnički ran up to our goal line. Balažic interrupted it and we could start a counter-attack. Drinčić passed the ball to Kojić, but the guest goalkeeper was faster again.
Radnički possessed the ball much more than in the first half. (Maybe this was the reason, maybe not, but we had way too many imprecise passes.) The 66th minute brought the next lost penalty... Kojić was kicked on the ground inside the penalty area. The referee didn’t whistle, it ended up in a corner. Two minutes later the ball dropped in front of Ninković from a defender. Džigi shot, the goalkeeper saved.
Then came the 72nd minute.

Drinčić passed the ball to Volkov on the left side. Volkov kicked it into the middle of the penalty area, where the player arriving behind Grbić

I swear I couldn’t see who he was, if you know, tell me in the comment box

shot. The goalkeeper wanted to catch it, but the ball dropped out of his hand. Kojić immediately grabbed it and shot. A defender desperately tried to shoot it out of the goalmouth.

It was inside the net. The ball passed through the goal line. It was IN.

The referee didn’t whistle. Yet the ball dropped in front of Grbić, who immediately shot, right into the net. Ecstasy, joy, happiness.

And there came the twist.

Because referee Róbert Kis-Csepegi did not point at the centre spot, instead he raised his arm and whistled offside.

Here the sky should have had to fall down. The last time I saw such an obvious but still brutal fraud by the referee was the match last year against Vojvodina with that infamous penalty in the 92nd minute.

ArenaSport replayed it in slow motion during and after the match several times. It did not looked to be offside once.

Because it wasn't offside.

Two penalties and a goal. That's what was stolen from us during this match.

Morally much more was taken from us.

But the match didn’t stop here. In the 79th minute Ninković was working hard on the right side, but the goalkeeper saved his shot. A minute later Radnički ran up to Partizan’s goal line, but they couldn’t be tricky enough for Živko Živković.

In the 86th minute Šaponjić got a great pass (from Volkov?) and headed it to the goal line. The ball hit the right goalpost and dropped back to the goalmouth. We kept on trying very hard, with shooting, heading, from corner, in every possible way, but Radnički’s goalkeeper was undefeatable. The fans were chanting "Uprava napolje". Even the extra time was only about our attacks, but we couldn’t score.

When a photo speaks more than a thousand words: Gregor Balažic

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Some rumours say that the members of the team management were sitting at the VIP boxes, and after the match the Žandarmerija (special police forces) had to cover them and help them getting out to their cars to save them from the fans’ rage.

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Referee: Róbert Kis-Csepegi (assistants: Vladimir Čađenović, Marko Dimitrijević - 4th assistant: Vukan Gordić - goal line assistants: Dejan Dimitrijević, Igor Stojilković)

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Bandalovski, Balažic, B. Ilić, Volkov - Drinčić, Brašanac (S. Ilić, 46.) - A. Živković (Grbić, 59.), Babović, Ninković - Kojić (Šaponjić, 73.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Radnički Niš: Borjan - Lakić-Pešić, R. Bulatović, Petrović (Valentić, 84.), D. Bulatović - Kolarević, Popara - Pejčić (Zemilanukhin, 70.), Jovanović (Pavlović, 89.), Marjanović - Ašćerić
Head coach: Milan Rastavac

Yellow cards: Popara (12.), A. Živković (36.), D. Bulatović (38), Pejčić (64.)

Current championship standings:
1. Partizan 40 points
2. Crvena Zvezda 36 points
3. Čukarički 34 points
4. Vojvodina 33 points
5. Jagodina 24 points
6. Novi Pazar 23 points
7. OFK Beograd 23 points
8. Rad 22 points
9. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 21 points
10. Mladost 19 points
11. Napredak 19 points
12. Donji Srem 19 points
13. FK Voždovac 17 points
14. Borac 16 points
15. Radnički Niš 14 points
16. Radnički 1923 10 points

This is for the end. It does not need much comment. The best part of the match.