Monday, November 30, 2015

HK Partizan - HK Vojvodina 12:1 (Serbian ice hockey league, round 2)

Meanwhile the basketball team was wrestling with the Croatians, our ice hockey team rushed through Vojvodina with another easy training match.
An interesting background for this match might be that the two teams met during the 2008/09 season last time (and even then the game was cancelled, because a fire broke in Vojvodina's locker room and their whole equipment was destroyed).
This time Marko Milovanović and Dimitrije Filipović took the team on their back; the first one achieved a hat-trick (as well as two assists), the latter one added five (!) assists to wash off the Novi Sad team. In the first period the standing was 3:0 after 12 minutes (goal scorers: Milovanović, Korshikov, Nemanja Janković), then within the next 4 minutes we scored 4 more goals. After the first part we were leading to 7:0. In the second period Raković flashed (8:0), Janković scored a second goal (9:0) and it was still only 26 minutes gone from the game. Then the pace slowed down - for us the standing was more than perfect, as for Vojvodina, nothing seemed to work out. Finally, after long struggle their player Milan Nikolić scored from power play, achieving the only goal of Vojvodina. Yet the period was still not over. 26 seconds before the end buzz Vlasov scored another goal. Partizan headed to the final part with 10:1.
In the last period Čuković scored two more goals. The first one he threw in the beginning, the second around the end.
Then it was time to celebrate.


(Nota bene: Our Russian player Stanislav Izvekov also joined the goal scorers’ list with one goal.)
Partizan won this game to 12:1, our next match will be the eternal derby tomorrow (if all goes well...) at 17:30 in Pionir Ice Hall.
Some photos from the game:





(photos: Facebook/Hokejaški klub Partizan (Fan page))

Current championship standings:
1. Partizan 6 points
2. Tisza Volán 6 points
3. CZ 3 points*
4. NS Stars 0 point*
5. Vojvodina 0 point
6. Red Team 0 point
7. HK Vitez 0 point**

* - played only one game so far
** - no games played yet

Radnički Kragujevac - OK Partizan 3:1 (superliga, round 6)

Yesterday there were two more games Partizan-teams took part at. The volleyball team travelled to Kragujevac to clash with Radnički.
Well... why should we try to attenuate it? We had a nasty defeat.
All looked smooth at the start. We won the first set to 16:25. It all seemed to be easy, maybe Veličković and Lopar even told each other jokes while rotation.
Then something surely happened, because Radnički sped up unbelievably for the second set - so much that they won it to 25:9 (!!!). (They made it to 8:2 even in the beginning, with black magic maybe...)
For the third part head coach Vladimir Vasović calmed down the upheaval in the heads. Kragujevac was still leading for the entire set (most probably), but the result was more narrow than the previous. The home team won it to 27:25, leading to 2:1 at this point, but hope was still not lost.
The problem was that Kragujevac mercilessly won the fourth (and last) set as well. It ended with 25:19, and with this Radnički won the game to 3:1.
The hero of the day was Luka Veličković with 11 points. He is followed by Aleksa Polomac (9), Boris Buša and Marko Popović (8-8), Dušan Lopar (7), Dimitrije Pantić and Vukasin Nedeljković (3-3) as well as Ivan Kostić (2).

Current championship standings:
1. Vojvodina 15 points
2. Novi Pazar 13 points*
3. CZ 12 points*
4. Niš 9 points
5. Spartak Ljig 9 points
6. Klek 8 points
7. Radnički 8 points
8. Partizan 7 points
9. Ribnica 5 points
10. Inđija 1 point

Teams marked with * played only 5 games up to now.


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Cedevita - KK Partizan 75:72 (Adriatic League, Round 12)

Again a goddamned, fucking game that was won by the referees for the opponent in the last quarter. This was not the first time... and how much is there left?...
We had such a great start though.
We walked out to the court, then Jones flashed and we were leading to 0:5. Cedevita switched the standing, they even made it to 11:7.
Their happiness didn’t last for long.
First it was Jones (11:9).
Then Milutinović, from free throw (11:10).
Magdevski came, saw and smashed. We were leading again (11:12).
Vitkovac, from free throw (11:14).
Jones again, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, Big Kev knows it well. (11:16) We made a 9-point series. From here we had a solid lead, finishing the first part to 17:23.
We kept our advantage for the entire second quarter as well. Cedevita equalized only once (25:25), but we made a 7-point series as an answer (25:32). For the end of the first half the home team came dangerously close (31:32), but we kept the lead with the scores of Jones and Marinković. The half-time result was 35:36.

Vitkovac surrounded by Cedevita-players. Vrabac is watching, while Đumić is wrestling with a defender in the background
(photo: aba-liga.com)

In the third quarter the counter was switching back and forth. At first Cedevita took the lead (37:36), we took it back (37:38), with Jones’s basket. They threw another one (39:38), so did Vitkovac (39:40). And so on. The difference was minimal, 1 or maybe 2 points here or there. Then at 44:43 Wilson equalized from free throw (44:44). Cedevita scored a 3-pointer (47:44), we took back the lead with the baskets of Aranitović and Perović (47:48). The back-and-forth game continued. Finally we shook ourselves, at 47:46 we took back the lead again with Perović’s free throw (47:48), Đumić quickly scored as well (47:50). The home team threw, too (49:50), but Vitkovac scored one more just before the end. We finished the third part with 49:52.
The last quarter was like a nightmare. The game was going on eventlessly until that point, but for the last part it seemed as if all the devils of hell entered the court to turn everything upside down. As if everything would have conspired against us. Cedevita quickly took back the lead and made it to 58:54. Vitkovac and Walker started a wrestling fight, as if the American would have always be seeking for a chance to cross Partizan’s player.

He even had such a unique hairstyle
(photo: aba-liga.com)

Then finally the referee took a deep breath and gave us a free throw. Vitkovac scored, the difference was only 1 point (55:54).
It didn’t last long. Cedevita settled back their 4-5-point advantage they gained in the last quarter (60:56). We approached them again (63:62), Jones even took back the lead (63:64).
At this point Marinković scored such a giant 3-pointer like a dream. But the mentally handicapped referees invalidated it saying that it was scored right at the buzz. Slow motion replay, everyone was staring at the screen... then the referee waved to go ahead, making it sure for everyone that the only thing Partizan can get here is the last sacrament, maybe, but not this 3-pointer.
From this point on Cedevita kept the lead for the rest of the game. We could equalize only once, 18 seconds before the end. The standing was 71:71 - and then Anđušić missed out a 3-pointer attempt.

Again and again I can say only what I have already said numerous times: only those are allowed to throw a stone on Danilo Anđušić who never ever screwed up anything, never ever tripped and fell in the great, decisive moment. Dear fellow fans who are full of hatred now: we are all humans. He, too, just like you, no matter how much a few of you try to act as an all-knowing demigod.

And the referee just had to whistle a foul against Partizan in this moment. 73:71. Only 11 seconds are left. We also get a free throw. 73:72, only 6 seconds are left.
Unbelievable. The referee again whistles a foul against Partizan. And Cedevita scores from the gift free throw, of course. 74:72. Only 5 seconds are left.
The referee can’t keep quiet. Only 2 seconds were left when he whistled again a foul against Partizan. It just can’t be. And Cedevita scores. That’s the end. 75:72

Highlights:


Cedevita: Pullen (12), White (9), Katić (5), Pilepić (6), Babić (9), Žganec (2), Walker (11), Musa, Bilan (13), Gordić (2), Žorić (4), Arapović (2)

KK Partizan: Cvetković, Aranitović (4), Jones (21), Marinković (5), Vitkovac (10), Đumić (2), Perović (6), Magdevski (8), Milutinović (3), Vrabac (2), Wilson (3), Anđušić (8)

League table will be brought later.

Update: current standing of the League
1. Budućnost 22 points
2. CZ 21 points
3. Cedevita 21 points
4. Mega Leks 21 points
5. Zadar 19 points
6. Krka 18 points
7. Igokea 17 points
8. Union Olimpija 17 points
9. Tajfun Šentjur 17 points
10. MZT Skopje 16 points
11. Partizan 16 points
12. Cibona 16 points
13. Metalac 16 points
14. Sutjeska 15 points

Spartak Zlatibor Voda - FK Partizan 0:1 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 19)

The weather was clear and sunny in Subotica.

And see, Saša Ilić was our captain today
(screenshot)

Subotica immediately had an attempt. They attacked from the left side, finally it ended in a corner kick. After the kick Partizan-defenders cleared the area.
Well, actually, better said, we allowed them to warm up.
Because after this Partizan put themselves into speed action. In the 6th minute we already got a corner kick, that made a serious goalmouth scrumble for Spartak. Andrija Živković possessed the ball, then he was tackled, but still we kept Spartak’s goal under attack. Eventually the referee whistled it off. Goal-kick.
In the 9th minute Saša Ilić and Leković kept on passing the ball to each other, then Leković crossed it to the middle. A Spartak-defender kicked it out through the baseline. Corner-kick. Ninković got the ball, he shot, the goalkeeper saved. A minute later Spartak had another attempt with a 25-metre free kick, our defenders headed it out. We started a counter-attack, Andrija Živković crossed it to Vulićević on the right. Vulićević ran up and shot from a sharp angle, the goalkeeper saved it.
Meanwhile in the 12th minute someone on the stand got sick so much that an ambulance car arrived to give them medical attendance. The game was halted for a short time.

(photo: Twitter)

In the 14th minute Brašanac tried with a kick to the goal, the goalkeeper again saved it. A minute later we got a free kick, 25 metres from the goal line. Ninković stood behind the ball and sent a cross to Vulićević on the other side. Vulićević passed it to Brašanac, Brašanac forwarded it to Andrija Živković. He was wrestling with a defender, finally it ended in a throw-in.
Partizan was much stronger and determined now than (any time) earlier in the past weeks. We attacked, with no passing backwards or fumbling.
In the 16th minute Brašanac ran up on the left side. He crossed it to the  middle, the goalkeeper jumped out of the goalmouth to catch it, but the ball rolled away from him, right to Andrija Živković. The young winger grabbed it and with an amazing bicycle kick he shot. It was just too high.
Two minutes later Saša Ilić got the ball in the middle. He forwarded it to Brašanac, Brašanac shot it to the goal line, but this one was also too high.
The 20th minute brought an amazing Andrija Živković-Saša Ilić-Nikola Ninković pinball-shooting inside the penalty area - but the referee whistled it off, because by his viewpoint Saša Ilić in fact played handball.
In the 22nd minute Ninković crossed after a corner kick, but defenders headed it out. We still possessed the ball, Leković ran up on the left, passing forward to Brašanac, but the pass was too long.

Leković was in great shape
(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 26th minute Stefan Ilić got suddenly a pass on the right side. Subotica’s player shot, it was too high. A minute later they got a free kick, but our defenders cleared the area.
In the 30th minute Ninković passed to Brašanac. Brašanac forwarded the ball to Andrija Živković. He ran up, almost sliding out through the baseline, but still had a shot from an almost impossible angle. Goalkeeper Janošević caught it.

Brašanac ran a lot, he was present at all Partizan-attempts

Bandalovski was also in his reliable shape, being the bastion of the right side
(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 36th minute Jevtović passed to Andrija Živković, who forwarded the ball to Bojinov with an amazingly spectacular Oxford-trick. Bojinov shot, it was too high (and it was even flag up, for offside).
In the 37th minute we started a counter-attack after a Spartak free kick. Ninković crossed to the middle, Bojinov headed it, but it was too wide. A minute later Spartak attacked, Bandalovski blocked their attempt to corner kick.
Then in the second half, at the 50th minute we got a free kick. (Bojinov was kicked to the ground by a Spartak-defender right at the penalty area line.) Andrija Živković stood behind the ball...

(photo: hotsport.rs)

...and sent a giant bomb shot into the upper left corner!!! 0:1!!!

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 56th minute Bojinov sent a great pass to Ninković. Ninković ran up, a defender threw himself into the way, finally it ended in a corner kick.
In the 60th minute Saša Ilić got the ball after a corner kick. He forwarded it to Andrija Živković. Žile crossed it to the middle, there Jevtović headed it to the goal line, the goalkeeper again had a huge save.
In the 65th minute Mrkela appeared suddenly on the right side. He even shot, Kljajić saved. They immediately attacked again, now from the other side, this time Ćirković blocked them.
At this part of the match there were less attacks and attempts than in the first half. The game was going mostly on the midfield. In the 72nd minute a Partizan-throw-in caused a goalmouth scramble for Spartak. Andrija Živković suddenly shot, the goalkeeper performed the save of his life. Two minutes later Spartak had an attempt with a shot, Kljajić just reached out and caught it easily.
In the 76th minute Andrija Živković got the ball after a free kick. He ran up on the left, made a fantastic solo then crossed it to the middle - just the goalkeeper threw himself into the way and saved.

Saša Ilić. No further comment is needed
(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 78th minute Mrkela appearead again on our right side and crossed the ball to the middle. Božović was waiting there, he raised up to head it to our goal line, but it was way too high.
The rest of the game was mostly about Partizan’s corner kicks and missed out attempts, though at one of them Bandalovski was kicked so hard to the ground that he was rolling on the grass screaming. At the very end of the match, in the 90+4th minute Spartak had one last attempt. Milošević shot, Kljajić saved.

(photo: partizan.rs)

Short highlights (as soon as there are longer, I’ll update the post):


Facts:

Venue: City Stadium, Subotica
Number of spectators: 3000
Referee: Danilo Grujić (assistants: Srđan Milutinović, Bojan Jovanović - 4th assistant: Slađan Rajković - goal line assistants: Dejan Anđelković, Dalibor Manojlović)

Spartak Zlatibor Voda: Janošević - Farkaš, Kovačević, Antonić, Milošević - Jočić, Tumbasević (Makarić, 53.) - Stefan Ilić (Božović, 53.), Torbica, Jondić - Ivanović (Mrkela, 46.)
Head coach: Andrei Chernisov

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Vulićević, Bandalovski, Ćirković, Leković - Jevtović, Brašanac - A. Živković (Trujić, 90.), Saša Ilić, Ninković (Petrović, 89.) - Bojinov (Šaponjić, 63.)
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

Goal scorer: A. Živković (50.)
Yellow card: Jočić (37.), Brašanac (46.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 53 points
2. Čukarički 35 points
3. Borac 34 points
4. Partizan 32 points
5. Radnički Niš 31 points
6. Vojvodina 28 points
7. Javor 27 points
8. Mladost 24 points
9. FK Voždovac 22 points
10. Surdulica 21 points
11. Novi Pazar 20 points*
12. Metalac 18 points
13. OFK Beograd 18 points
14. Rad 15 points
15. Jagodina 15 points*
16. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 9 points

*The game between Novi Pazar and Jagodina has been postponed for later date


Saturday, November 28, 2015

VK Partizan - Galatasaray 9:8 (Champions League, Round 3)

I can get totally pissed when RTS 2 (when ONLY RTS 2) broadcasts a match, because it is more than 100 % sure that all working streams will die for that time. I’m sure it’s especially for me. As an extra aggravation, no stream was available at all even at international stream sites

did Turks not broadcast the game? Or anybody else? I can’t believe it

so there was nothing left but waiting for the pigeon-post from Fellow Fan, who sent the news about the result.
But we won and that’s the most important.

(photo: Twitter)

The boys walked out to the pool, smiled around, splashed into the water, then Galatasaray took the lead (0:1). Radojević equalized with a left-handed bomb shot (1:1), but the guests took back the lead right before the end of the quarter (1:2).
In the second quarter it was Gavril Subotić time. He equalized (2:2), then we even took the lead with Lazić’s goal (3:2). Both teams kept on shooting and scoring, one after the other. The standing was 4:4, when just before the end Subotić brutally shot another goal. We finished the first half with 5:4.
In the third quarter Drašović and Radojević came, saw and the standing was already 7:4. Jakšić also scored from penalty (8:4). While at our goal line Rističević again saved all attempts of the opponent. At the end of the quarter Turks scored a goal, we were heading to the final part with 8:5.
For the fourth quarter Galatasaray sped up. They made it to 8:6. Jakšić scored again (9:6). Turks didn’t slow down, they probably mobilized all their spare energies. They reduced the difference to 9:8, but eventually they couldn’t gain any points.

(photo: Facebook/Partizan is life)

The hero of the day was Dimitrije Rističević with 10 saves, while among the "fieldsmen" it was Gavril Subotić with 3 goals. He is followed by Jakšić and Radojević (2-2 goals). Lazić and Drašović both scored 1-1 goal.

Gavril Subotić
(photo: mozzartsport.com)

League table will be brought later.

Update: current standing of Group B
1. Pro Recco 9 points
2. Dubrovnik 9 points
3. Szolnok 6 points
4. Partizan 3 points
5. OSC Budapest 0 point
6. Galatasaray 0 point

Friday, November 27, 2015

AZ Alkmaar - FK Partizan 1:2 (UEFA Europa League)

We won!!!
What a game it was, my God.
Average Fan died a couple of times, resurrected, died again, resurrected again... and at the end shed tears, without feeling ashamed.

This photo was taken the day before the game with fans of Partizan and CSKA Moscow. Russian fans were also present to support Partizan and Grave Diggers
(photo: Twitter)

Our starting eleven
(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

We didn’t start too aggressively, the Dutch team took advantage of it and attacked heavily. In the first 15 minutes we got stuck around our penalty area. They kept on possessing the ball, Partizan’s only hope was that they can’t break the defensive wall. In the 12th minute dos Santos shot from the penalty area line, Kljajić saved. Two minutes later Dutch team had a "pinball style" attack inside our penalty area. Three of their players had an attempt to goal, all of them were blocked by our defenders. Then in the 15th minute we could finally break out. Brašanac passed the ball to Andrija Živković on the right. Živković ran up and shot, the attempt ended in a corner kick. After the kick the ball dropped to Babović, he shot, it was too wide.
In the 17th minute again the home team attacked. A cross shot came from the left, the ball rolled through between Kljajić’s hands, cardial arrest, but the ball rolls away to the other side of the penalty area, where there was no Alkmaar-player, for our great luck. It ended in a goal-kick.
In the 19th minute Alkmaar attacked again, now Brežančić shot from the left side, Kljajić caught it.

In the meantime one follows continuously the other match of Group L. At this point Bilbao was leading to 1:0 against Augsburg. Great, fantastic, if Bilbao wins over Germans, that’s the best for us, if we can also win, then even a draw is enough in the last round to qualify to the 1/16 final.

The opponent started to slow down, their big pace from the beginning was gone. For some reason we could’t make any advantage of it though... We kept on passing the ball backwards and even though we could make sometimes to the Dutch penalty area, we couldn’t make any more than a corner kick out of them. Then in the 32nd minute Alkmaar again attacked on the left. The cross was passed to Iranian player Jahanbakhsh on the right. He shot, it was too high.

It seemed that the referee didn’t like Partizan much either. There were cases - not just one or two - when a clear foul was committed against our player, but he always waved "go ahead".

In the 35th minute Brašanac got the ball in the middle. He ran up, passed to the right to Andrija Živković. Žile brought it back almost from the baseline, then crossed it to Aboubakar in the middle, but the chance was missed out.
In the 41st minute Subić ran up on the left side. He crossed it to the middle, the ball dropped to Babović. Babović shot from the goalmouth, but it was too wide. A minute later Ninković shot from the left, it was also too wide.

Partizan sped up for the second part of the first half. We attacked, we had attempts, and Babović was kicked to the ground more often at this very match than in the entire season.

Grave Diggers

(photos: Twitter)

A quick look in the half time to the standing of the other match: damn it, Germans equalized... It’s not good for us. Not at all. We MUST win, come on!...
The first half was broadcasted by RTS 2, then they probably thought that the nerves of Partizan fans are not broken enough, so they made some extra excitements. The second half was broadcasted by RTS 1, the problem was that at this side of the globe there’s no normal (ie. working) RTS 1-stream. All of them are blocked. Desperate search for ANY working link, finally a Croatian one popped up, but those people practically broadcasted the entire EL-round showing only pieces from all matches. Desperate search continued, finally an English stream was found, but the commentator was not much talkative there. Never mind. It will be fine.

At the beginning of the second half, in the 48th minute Alkmaar took the lead. Brežančić crossed from the left side, dos Santos got it in the middle and shot between two Partizan-defenders, right into the net. 1:0

No. Just... no. It’s death. It’s impossible. It can’t be.

Partizan collapsed from this goal. The speed of the previous half’s last minutes was gone, we were again that slow, cautious, backward-passing team as we were in the beginning. The Dutch team heartened up, they again possessed the ball more and attacked, too. Finally, in the 55th minute, we could have an attempt. After a corner-kick Ćirković headed the ball to the goal, the goalkeeper had a great save.
In the 62nd minute we lost the ball, Janssen got it. He ran up all alone, shot, Kljajić saved. Two minutes later a distant Dutch shot came from the middle, Kljajić was at his place.
In the 65th minute Subić got the ball from the left. He passed it ahead to Ninković. Ninković crossed it to Aboubakar in the middle, and Aboubakar headed it right into the net, pefrectly. GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAL, yesssss, that’s it, we equalized! 1:1!

(photo: partizan.rs)

A quick look at the other match. Goddamn it, the Germans are leading to 2:1... Come on, boys, come on, push it, push it hard, as hard as you can!...

In the 68th minute a Dutch attack came from the right, but Kljajić rolled down the shutters. A minute later Henrikssen had an attempt from the middle, the Bulgarian Sergio Ramos, aka Bandalovski

Bojinov said it once, and who am I to disagree with him?...

touched it, the attempt ended in a corner kick. The kick was headed downfield by Ćirković.
In the 70th minute, after another Alkmaar-corner kick we started a counter-attack. Aboubakar possessed the ball, he passed it to Ninković. Ninković ran up and with a delicate movement he passed the ball above the goalkeeper, towards the goal line... and it was too wide.

(photo: partizan.rs)

From this the Dutch team immediately ran up for a counter-attack. Janssen had almost the very same scene with Kljajić as Ninković with Coutinho, just Ćirković threw himself into the way (then stayed on the ground).
In the 76th minute we again started a counter-attack after an Alkmaar-corner kick, but we lost the ball. The Dutch team attacked back, arriving on the right, but Kljajić inactivated the shot.
Dutch players turned into more and more rough, the referee either whistled it off, or not. Time passed... We were in the 83rd minute, Ortiz had a distant shot, it was too wide.
In the 86th minute Alkmaar got another corner kick. Kljajić punched it out, but Luckassen headed it back to the penalty area, making a goalmouth scramble. The ball dropped again to Luckassen, the Dutch player was on a huge offside, but no flag up. Luckassen shot, it was too wide. A minute later we attacked, Aboubakar passed the ball to Andrija Živković. Živković passed it ahead to Vulićević, he crossed from the right, the goalkeeper caught the ball.

A quick look at the "neighbourhood": Bilbao took back the lead!!! If we can keep this draw, we can make it!!!

And then came the 89th minute.
Aboubakar got a cross on the left side. He ran up to the Dutch penalty area and crossed to Andrija Živković in the middle. Živković had nothing else to do than shooting it into the net.
He did it.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL, a fantastic GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!
1:2!!!!
We’re leading!!!

Živković scores...

...and celebrates
(photos: partizan.rs)

Three miuntes of extra time were left.
Life’s longest three minutes.
But then they ended. Final whistle. Time to celebrate.


(photos: partizan.rs)

(photo: uefa.com)

For Average Fan there was still a short, but nerve-racking part left, because the Augsburg - Athletic Bilbao game hadn’t ended at this point. Bilbao was leading to 2:3, may the Heavenly Forces give us to stay like this for the end.
It did.
Celebration time.
If there’s any video, I’ll update the post.

Facts:

Venue: AFAS AZ Stadium, Alkmaar, The Netherlands
Number of spectators: 15 000
Referee: Harald Lechner (assistants: Andreas Staudinger, Andreas Heidenreich - 4th assistant: Maximilian Kolbitsch - goal line assistants: Alexander Harkam, Julian Weinberger) - AUT

AZ Alkmaar: Coutinho - Johansson, Gouweleeuw, Luckassen, Brežančić - van Overeem (Tanković, 75.), Ortiz (Hupperts, 88.), dos Santos - Henriksen - Janssen, Jahanbakhsh (Muhren, 80.)
Head coach: John van den Brom

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Vulićević, Bandalovski, Ćirković, Subić - Jevtović, Babović (S. Ilić, 75.) - A. Živković (Grbić, 90+2.), Brašanac, Ninković (Bojinov, 84.) - Aboubakar
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

Goal scorers: dos Santos (48.), Aboubakar (65.), A. Živković (89.)
Yellow card: Bandalovski (26.), Luckassen (45.), A. Živković (90.)

Current standing of Group L:
1. Athletic Bilbao 12 points
2. Partizan 9 points
3. Augsburg 6 points
4. AZ Alkmaar 3 points


Monday, November 23, 2015

Red Team - HK Partizan 1:12 (Serbian Ice Hockey League, Round 1)

The ice hockey season has started at long last. In the first round newbie Red Team welcomed Partizan’s ice hockey team in Pionir Ice Hall.

Don’t mix them up with the eternal opponent that is mockingly named "red team" sometimes by Partizan fans. This Red Team was formed in 2008, their original intention is to make ice hockey popular among children. So far they had only youth teams, this is the first season they entered the senior championship.

After this last year’s champion ran through the home team just like a steam roller with a difference of 11 goals.
In the first period we were leading to 4:0, for the second period it grew to 10:0. Finally in the last part we scored two more, that was when Red Team scored their only goal, as a debt of honour.
The two heroes of the day are Pavle Ogrizović and Russian player Stanislav Izvekov, they both scored 3-3 goals. Nemanja Janković, Nenad Raković, Marko Brkušanin, Boban Čuković, Miodrag Pavlović and Russian player Artem Korshikov all scored 1-1 goal.

If there’s any photo or video or any further details about the game, I’ll update the post. (Usually there is, the ice hockey department consists of agile people who selflessly share photos and other material, maybe we just have to wait a bit.)

Update: photos from the match



(photos: Facebook/Hokejaški klub Partizan (Fan page))

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 3 points
2. Partizan 3 points
3. Tisza Volán 3 points
4. Vojvodina 0 point
5. Red Team 0 point**
6. NS Stars 0 point*
7. Vitez 0 point*

* - no games played as of yet
** - two games have been played


Sunday, November 22, 2015

POŠK - VK Partizan 7:14 (Triglav Liga, Round 10)

Another easy training match.
There are again only less-than-nothing infos available, but the most important is that we were leading in the first quarter to 1:4. We increased the difference to 3:8 for the half-time. For the third half the standing was 5:12, finally in the last quarter both teams scored 2-2 goals and settled the final result.
The hero of the day is Marko Manojlović with 4 goals. He is followed by Nikola Jakšić and Marko Janković with 2-2 goals. Lukas Gilen, Dimitris Tigkas, Radomir Drašović, Draško Gogov, Mateja Asanović and Filip Radojević added 1-1 goal to the victory.

League table comes later, not all the matches are finished yet.

Update: current standing of the liga
1. Dubrovnik 27 points
2. Primorje 24 points
3. Jadran HN 21 points
4. Partizan 16 points
5. Mladost 16 points
6. Mornar 10 points
7. POŠK 7 points
8. CZ 6 points
9. Vojvodina 3 points
10. Radnički 2 points


FK Partizan - Novi Pazar 3:0 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 18)

Apologies to everyone that I post the match report only now. Yesterday I was brought under yoke for the whole day. I could watch the game only today, ArenaSport broadcasted it as a re-run.
The two teams walked out to the field in heavy rain, in front of almost empty stands. The official match report talks about 1000 spectators altogether.

1000 (one thousand) people. Not more. Even in the southern tribune there was only a handful of fanatics.


Partizan dashed themselves against Novi Pazar at once. Right in the first minute Ninković ran up with the ball in the middle, but a defender tackled him. Novi Pazar led a counter-attack, but Kljajić caught the ball at the end.

Interesting, now, that Saša Ilić was the team captain, this backward-passing and fumbling all disappeared. We attacked, we ran, we were full of fire.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 7th minute Saša Ilić passed the ball to Bojinov at the penalty area line. Bojinov ran up, two defenders put him into a "sandwich", the Bulgarian fell on the ground. A minute later Subić sent a cross from the left to the other side, to Aboubakar. Aboubakar shot with a bicycle kick, it was too high.
In the 18th minute Saša Ilić gave a spectacular pass to Ninković. Ninković immediately shot, it was too wide. In the next minute again Saša Ilić passed, now out to the left side, to Subić. It was a genial movement, Subić dribbled himself through the defenders and shot, missing it barely.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Novi Pazar got stuck in their own half, they could get out of the bunker around the 24th minute. Kostić ran up on the left, but his attempt ended in a corner. In the 26th minute they got a free kick about 30 metres from our goal line. The shot was blocked by Ćirković.
In the 27th minute Aboubakar had the ball, sending a cross to Bojinov. Bojinov shot, it was too high.
In the 33rd minute Novi Pazar attacked again. Stevanović ran up on the left, then Vusljanin got the ball. Again Ćirković interfered.
A minute later Saša Ilić got a pass. He forwarded it to Bojinov, but the ball hit a defender and had a small curve, making Bojinov speed up to catch it. Bojinov did speed up, overtaking the player of Novi Pazar running next to him and walked into the net with the ball. 1:0

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

I don’t like this Bulgarian, to be honest. I find him slow and ponderous, meanwhile he is constantly showing off in social media and in the press. Now, maybe as the impact of Saša Ilić, or maybe not, Bojinov sped up. He ran, he dribbled, he gave passes and crosses and he even scored a great goal.

In the 37th minute Bojinov sent a great cross to Babović. Babović got the ball at the penalty area line, then run up with it to the baseline

WHY DIDN’T YOU SHOOT?!...

eventually he passed it to the middle. Aboubakar arrived, but the pass was too high for him.
In the 42nd minute Ćirković passed to Ninković. Ninković ran up on the left, dribbled himself to the middle, shot, Novi Pazar’s goalkeeper had a big save. The ball dropped to Babović, who slid himself into the middle, but his attempt was too wide.
In the 44th minute we got a free kick, 20-22 metres from the goal line, on the right. Babović stood behind the ball, but his shot hit the wall. The ball dropped back to him, Babović shot again, now it was too wide.
In the second half it was raining even heavier. In the 47th minute Bojinov got the ball in the middle, he shot, it was too high. In the next minute Novi Pazar attacked, Pavlović possessed the ball, getting a cross from the left. Pavlović shot, Kljajić caught it.
Then in the 49th minute Ninković passed to Babović in the middle. Babović passed back to Ninković. Džigi made himself a place to kick, then he sent a bomb shot from 17 metres right into the middle of the net. 2:0


(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

At this point Partizan’s advantage was clearly visible. It was not even a question who was better.
In the 55th minute Novi Pazar missed out a big chance. Rušević sent a distant shot to the goal line. It was dangerous, barely missing our goal, Kljajić was very lucky.
In the 58th minute Bojinov got a pass. He ran up, sent a cross to the middle, it was a bit long, but Babović could save it before it would have rolled out through the baseline. He shot it back to the middle, Ninković arrived, but defenders cleared the area.
In the 59th minute Novi Pazar got a free kick 30 metres from our goal line. Kljajić saved.
In the 61st minute Andrija Živković joined the game after a long pause of injury (and other delays of different nature). He was greeted with applause and ovation by fans.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 74th minute Pavlović ran up and sent a cross to the right. Stevanović got it, he immediately shot it on the goal. The ball rolled ahead - even this scene was dangerous, but then Zilkić appeared out of the blue on the left, grabbed the ball and shot. Subić threw himself in the way, presenting the Save of the Year.

Subić had a great day. He played through the entire left side, he attacked, had attempts, meanwhile he had such life-saving moments. Keep up the great work!

In the 83rd minute Bojinov had a huge solo in the middle. He was surrounded by 4 defenders, but he could send a cross even from among them to Andrija Živković in the right side. Živković was overtaken by a defender, but Žile could still get back the ball. He shot, right onto the side net.
In the 85th minute Andrija Živković was on the right side with the ball. He forwarded it to Babović, Babović sent it ahead to Saša Ilić. Saša Ilić passed to Šaponjić with a small, delicate movement. Šaponjić shot, it was too high.
In the 86th minute we got a corner kick. Ninković got the ball, he kicked it to Andrija Živković in the middle. Živković shot, too high.
In the 89th minute Babović passed the ball to Andrija Živković, to the right side. Živković dribbled himself into the middle and shot, the goalkeeper had a great save.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

It was already the very end of the game, when in the 90+2nd minute Vulićević tackled a Novi Pazar-player. He ran up with the ball and passed to Saša Ilić. The Captain forwarded it to Ninković, who arrived on the left side like a nuclear bomb. Ninković got it, shot it and scored. 3:0

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Highlights:


Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 1000
Referee: Milorad Mažić (assistants: Milovan Ristić, Dalibor Đurđević - 4th assistant: Uroš Stojković - goal line assistants: Novak Simović, Róbert Kis-Csepegi)

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Vulićević, Bandalovski, Ćirković, Subić - Jevtović (Petrović, 68.) - S. Ilić - Aboubakar (A. Živković, 62.), Babović, Ninković - Bojinov (Šaponjić, 82.)
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

Novi Pazar: Zečević - Stevanović, Trtovac, Vuković, Kostić - Pavlović, Osmanagić (Zilkić, 68.), Todorović (Obrovac, 53.) - Šarac, Radivojević (Rušević, 42.) - Vusljanin
Vezetőedző: Radmilo Ivančević

Goal scorer: Bojinov (34.), Ninković (49., 90+2.)
Yellow card: Ćirković (36)., Stevanović (88.)

League table will be brought later.

Update: current championship standings
1. CZ 50 points
2. Čukarički 32 points
3. Borac 31 points
4. Partizan 29 points
5. Radnički Niš 28 points
6. Javor 26 points
7. Vojvodina 25 points
8. Mladost 24 points
9. FK Voždovac 22 points
10. Surdulica 21 points
11. Novi Pazar 20 points
12. OFK Beograd 18 points
13. Metalac 18 points
14. Jagodina 15 points
15. Rad 14 points
16. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 9 points

Friday, November 20, 2015

Mornar - VK Partizan 6:12 (Triglav Liga, Round 9)

This was the match of invalidated goals.

(screenshot)

In the first quarter Asanović scored first after a few attempts on both sides (0:1). After him Gogov also scored, but the referee invalidated his goal for unknown reasons. Even Radojević shot a goal, but referees whistled off that one as well. Instead of 0:3 the standing was still 0:1.
For our great luck our goalkeeper Rističević at the other side of the pool was as persistent as a concrete wall and saved all attempts of the home team.
Then Jakšić’s goal was valid at long last (0:2). At this point, almost at the end Croatians could score one (1:2), but Manojlović quickly threw a goal right before the buzz, as it’s always better to be safe than sorry. We finished the first quarter with 1:3.
In the second quarter we got a penalty shot. It followed a wrestling scene in front of the Croatian goal line, then all Average Fan could see was the referee whistling, Mornar’s head coach explaining something to him with big gestures, then the referee shows him the yellow card and waving for Partizan to throw a penalty shot. Excellent. Jakšić shot it and scored (1:4). Croatians started to attack continuously. They put our goalmouth under heavy pressure, but Rističević saved their attempts with a Buddha-expression. (Or our defense line blocked their shots.) They could still reduce the difference to 3:4, but Subotić scored as well, followed by Drašović. The home team also threw one goal, the first half ended with 4:6.
In the third quarter the referee again took a goal from us (Subotić threw it, the refere didn’t like it, nobody knows why), and then they even put the home team into double power play (aka they sent off two of our players at the same time).
But they couldn’t score to Rističević, even if we were two men less. Rističević himself was the Serbo-Hungarian defensive army of the Siege of Belgrade from 1456 against the Turkish Croatian team being in superior numbers power play. It was again amazign what Partizan’s goalkeeper made on this match. Referees put Croatians into power play time after time, but they couldn’t score from any. Yet Asanović did score (4:7), so did Lazić (4:8). The home team again scored only at the end of the quarter, the standing was 5:8 at the end of the third part.
In the last part Gogov scored (5:9) after almost two and a half minutes of wrestling. Then Jakšić (5:10), from power play.

Professor Jakšić teaches Croatians how to score from power play, bwahahahahaha

Mornar started to fall into pieces, as for us, we were not in a hurry at all. Rističević saved whenever it was needed, and even Asanović’s third personal foul (and being fouled out) didn’t mean any upheaval for Partizan. Then referees invalidated a Croatian goal as well. There were less then one and a half minutes left, when Lazić scored again (5:11). At this point the stream died for a few seconds, I just missed out the sixth Mornar-goal as well as Partizan’s 12th one. (Running through post-match statistics I think it was scored by Radojević, but correct me if I’m wrong.)
The hero of the game is Dimitrije Rističević, among goal scorers Nikola Jakšić with 3 goals. Mateja Asanović and Đorđe Lazić both scored 2-2 goals, the others (Marko Manojlović, Gavril Subotić, Radomir Drašović, Draško Gogov and Filip Radojević) added 1-1 goal to the victory.

League table will be brought later.


KK Partizan - Tajfun Šentjur 89:85 (Adriatic League, Round 11)

This was not a simple victory, this was a resurrection. It’s amazing what we made in the last quarter.

Warming up
(photo: abaliga.com)

Partizan played in front of almost empty stands, it was rather sad to see. Also, upon informations the German female basketball team wanted to have a training in Pionir Hall from 19:00 (Serbian and German female basketball teams play European Championship qualifying tomorrow in Belgrade), so even time was a bit limited.

Start-off
(photo: Twitter)

The first quarter started a bit slowly, guests took the lead (2:4), then came Aranitović and switched the standing (5:4). The rest of the quarter was spent with easy basketball playing. We were leading for the whole time with 5-7 points, Vrabac and Milutinović had a great time. At this point it seemed that we beat the league newbie with a routine victory.
Well, we didn’t.
We finished the first part with 20:15, in the second part it was 30:23, most of all by Kevin Jones. But then Tajfun equalized (30:30), while we couldn’t score one single 3-pointer. The guests took the lead and for a long time they didn’t let us take it back.

Well, let’s see the positive side of it: the difference never grew into two-digit. Optimism is important, isn’t it?

We were struggling. Our defense line was like a corridor. If we could score, it was mostly from free throws. Tajfun continuously had a 3-4-point advantage. It doesn’t look that dangerous at the first glance, but it was still very bothersome, because on our side nothing seemed to work out. We finished the first half with 39:42.

(photo: abaliga.com)

In the third quarter we continued to struggle. Tajfun had numerous steals and increased their difference to 43:47.
And then came Vitkovac and Jones. We took back the lead (48:47).
Marinković demonstrated the block of the round.


At this part of the game the counter was switching there and back. The two teams grabbing out the lead from each other’s hands, 50:49, 50:51, 52:51, then the guests scored a 3-pointer, we equalized (54:54), but the Slovenian team took back the lead again. We finished the third part with 58:61.
The last quarter started with Anđušić equalizing (61:61). Tajfun fought hard and took back the lead (61:63) and did not want to let it out of their hands. We were behind always with only 1-2 points, sometimes we could even equalize, but Tajfun immediately took back the lead again. Finally after sweating blood we took the lead with Anđušić’s 3-pointer (74:73). Cvetković also scored one (77:73), but soon after he was fouled out. Tajfun reduced the difference to 77:75, at this point Vitkovac scored (79:75). Tajfun reduced the difference again, the standing was 79:78. Aranitović and Anđušić increased it to 83:78. Tajfun again reduced (83:81), it was Jones’s turn now (85:81). Tajfun’s players got more and more rough. There was not even half a minute left, when referees whistled 3 free throws in a line. First for Jones (87:84), then for Tajfun (87:85), finally for Anđušić (89:85). For the last seconds there was just some nerve-racking wrestling left, and then we could celebrate.


(photos: Twitter)

Highlights:


KK Partizan: Cvetković (11), Aranitović (14), Jones (17), Marinković (10), Vitkovac (10), Đumić (2), Koprivica, Perović, Milutinović (7), Vrabac (6), Wilson (2), Anđušić (10)

Tajfun Šentjur: Sebić (5), Držić, Čebular (29), Zimič, Bratož (10), Clark (7), Ponjavić (11), Drobnjak (2), Bolčina (14), Parker (7)

League table comes later.

Update: current standing of the League
1. Budućnost 20 points
2. CZ 19 points
3. Cedevita 19 points
4. Mega Leks 19 points
5. Zadar 17 points
6. Krka 17 points
7. Igokea 16 points
8. MZT Skopje 15 points
9. Union Olimpija 15 points
10. Cibona 15 points
11. Partizan 15 points
12. Tajfun Šentjur 15 points
13. Metalac 15 points
14. Sutjeska 14 points

Morava - RK Partizan 30:29 (superliga, round 9)

Again a match I was notified about one day later than it was played.

Have I mentioned that I’m fed up with the goddamned sports media that gives absolutely no shit on any sports except for football, basketball and tennis?...

It was a tough match. The home team was leading in the first part of the first half, then in the 17th minute we equalized with Nemanja Živković’s goal (7:7). A minute later Andrija Đuričić took us the lead (7:8). From this point on we kept our one-goal advantage until the last minute of the first half. Morava equalized at the very end to 16:16.
In the second half Morava sped up, took back the lead and kept it until the 48th minute, when Aleksa Maksić equalized (24:24). Right after this Lazar Kukić took us the lead again (24:25). We kept it until the 57th minute. Then Morava equalized (28:28 and took back the lead again (29:28). We could equalize, but they scored one more goal at the very end, we had no time to switch the standing.
The hero of the day was Andrija Đuričić with 8 goals. He is followed by Nemanja Živković (6), Igor Mršulja (5), Aleksa Maksić (4), Ivan Popović (3), Mihajlo Radojković (2) and Lazar Kukić (1).



(photos: srls.rs)

League table will be brought later.

Update: current championship standings
1. CZ 15 points
2. Sloga 13 points*
3. Metaloplastika 12 points*
4. Partizan 11 points
5. Morava 9 points
6. Požarevac 8 points
7. Rudar Kostolac 8 points
8. Jugović 7 points
9. Radnički 4 points
10. Železničar 1 point

Teams marked with * have played only 8 matches so far.