Monday, October 31, 2016

Rudar - RK Partizan 30:30 (superliga, round 9)

What a game it could be, with an amazingly lucky home team goal in the very last minute, which brought them the draw. Just because, FYI we were leading for the whole game. (Well, okay, not for the entire game, because in the beginning it was 1:0, then 2:1, but it was gone quickly.) 4:8, 6:11, 10:14, 12:16, we had a smooth first half.

By the way, our team had quite a number of young players, compared to them our captain, 22-year-old Igor Mršulja was almost like a veteran.

Referees gave us too many exclusions even in the first half. (Looking at the records Rudar had half as many exclusions as us. Oh no, come on, who said that referees are biased? No way... in the superliga? Against Partizan? Neveeeeer...)
Things got a bit more tough in the second half. We got more exclusions, while Rudar got penalties. (We got none in the second half. Just sayin’.) We still kept ourselves rolling. 13:18, 15:20, 16:22. Then around the 46th minute Rudar started to reduce the difference. In the 50th minute it was already 24:25, we quickly jumped to 24:27, but from this point on Rudar was close behind us. They were so close that in the 59th minute they equalized (29:29), but Komnenić quickly took us back the lead (29:30).
Then Komnenić was sent off. Only two seconds were left from the game.
Don’t ever ask me why.
To cut it short, Rudar equalized at the very end.
The hero of the day was Lazar Kukić with 9 goals. He is followed by Nemanja Živković (7), Nikola Perović (6), Igor Mršulja (3) as well as Vuk Milenković and Petar Komnenić (2-2). Stefan Jokić scored one goal.
Photos.






(photos: srls.rs)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 15 points
2. Dinamo 14 points
3. Vojvodina 13 points
4. Sloga 12 points
5. Spartak Vojput 11 points
6. Šamot 65 11 points
7. Partizan 8 points
8. Požarevac 7 points
9. Rudar 7 points
10. Metaloplastika 6 points
11. Morava 4 points
12. Jugović 0 point

Sunday, October 30, 2016

KK Partizan - Budućnost 61:64 (ABA Liga, round 7)

We won’t put this game on display for sure... A match we were about to win, but we let it out of our hands.
Though the atmosphere was excellent.


There were some old friends there.


Then jump ball, kickstart.
After 14 seconds Luković was fouled.
More than a minute passed when the first score arrived (0:3).
After one and a half minute came the first technical foul (for Budućnost).
Almost two minutes passed when we could equalize (3:3).
So, you get the point.
Then Vrabac got injured on his forehead after a clash. He got a quick first aid, from then on he played the whole game with bandage on his eyebrow. Hero.
Yet Budućnost was leading. Though I have to think hard to remember when we had such a struggling game. The standing was 5:10 in the middle of the quarter. We were out of order, so was the opponent. A terrible amount of missed out attempts on both sides. Two and a half minutes before the end it was 7:14. We narrowed the standing a bit for the end, but Average Fan could hear the noise of clenched teeth through the stream... The quarter finished with 11:18.

Good boy... Nikolić (19) gets a pat on the head from Majstorović

The second quarter was the sequel of the first in the beginning. Budućnost was slowly tearing us into tiny pieces... Then Novica Veličković took the team on his back and made a fantastic march. The standing was 13:27, we got a free throw, he scored. And then there was no stop. The others also got the gear (17:27 by Robinson, then later 21:30 by Luković) and we came up to 35:29!!!! Good Lord, it’s just IMPOSSIBLE what we did. We made a 22:2 series the Novi Beograd sports hall was about to explode.

It’s Veličković time!


6 seconds were left from the quarter, Budućnost got a free throw (35:30). Then Vrabac got the ball and he ran up, with bandage on his face and after a tremendous solo he made a BUZZER BEATER making it 37:30 for the half-time. This was one of Partizan’s greatest resurrections, for sure.

"Hey mate, you goin’ to the snack bar in the half-time? Bring me two Smokis, kthx"

In the beginning of the third quarter we continued our march. We kept it quite well until the middle of the part (43:37), when Budućnost slowly started to reduce the difference. One and a half minute before the end they equalized (43:43). Luković took back the lead (45:43). They equalized again (45:45). 18 seconds were left, we got a free throw. Robinson brought us a little advantage, enough of a small breath. (46:45).
Then Budućnost took the lead (48:49). Cold shower. Players were wrestling on the court, making a long row of missed-out attempts and free throws, both sides. Nightmare. The guests were leading to 49:56, barely 4 minutes were left from the game. Struggling. We jump to 54:56. Hatcher equalizes for us (56:56).
Less than two and a half minutes are left. Budućnost takes back the lead (56:58). Robinson scores a fantastic 3-pointer (59:58).
One minute and 15 seconds are left. It’s unbelievable. Budućnost also scores a 3-pointer. They even get a bonus shot. They’re leading again... (61:62). Great struggling and fight on the court.
55 seconds are left. Players are fighting with each other. The referee gives the ball to Budućnost. Their coach asks for time-out. The whole sports hall is on their feet. The teams come back on the court. We get the ball, we run up for an attack. Marinković shots from 3-pointer position... and misses it out.
7 seconds are left. Free throw for Budućnost.
Williams scores both. 61:64. Aleksandar Džikić asks for time-out.
It’s all in vain. We run back to the court, Veličković tries an attempt... and misses it out.
The end.


Highlights:


KK Partizan: Robinson (11), Ratkovica (2), Vrabac (5), Marinković (4), Veličković (15), Majstorović, Birčević (6), Koprivica, Andrić, Hatcher (6), Pot, Luković (12)

Budućnost: Reynolds (10), Williams (13), Šehović (8), James (12), Subotić (2), Ilić, Savović (5), Nikolić (7), Popović (7), Vranješ

Current standing of the league:
1. Budućnost 14 points
2. Cibona 13 points
3. Partizan 13 points
4. CZ 12 points
5. Cedevita 11 points
6. Igokea 10 points
7. Zadar 10 points
8. FMP 9 points
9. Mega Leks 9 points
10. Krka 9 points
11. Mornar Bar 8 points
12. MZT Skopje 8 points
13. Union Olimpija 6 points
14. Karpoš 6 points

(photos: hotsport.rs)

Radnik - FK Partizan 1:3 (superliga, round 14)

Dear All, the thing is that there are no official photos for this match. Not even non-official ones. So you all have to content yourselves with my blabber, and if you survive, you'll find video highlights at the end of the post.

I even sneaked around at Radnik's website to see if they maybe have any photos about the game. Well, that site was updated a month ago. RIP.

This match was the match of fouls, especially in the beginning. In the first 15-20 minutes players kicked rather each other than the ball. The first chance came in the 3rd minute, Radnik's striker Radović came up on the right side and shot, Kljajić had a great save.
Then we put the label "done" on Radnik very quickly.
Balažic headed the ball downfield after a corner in the 9th minute. Bojinov forwarded it, Đurđević ran up, he was all alone, Radnik’s defense was behind him. Đurđević shot and scored, as it’s written in the Big Book of Football. 0:1
Seriously, only one minute passed afterwards.
Partizan attacked from the right side. Đurđević crossed the ball to the left side of the pitch, where Leonardo arrived - all alone. The entire Radnik defense line got short-circuit, Leonardo didn’t want to waste his good arrival - he shot and scored. 0:2

Radnik didn’t collapse. It’s something that definitely has to be appreciated. Another team would have been knocked out after getting two goals within a minute, but Team Surdulica ran and fought ahead. For this they deserve a salutation, also because that’s one of the reasons why the match didn’t end up as a total-boredom-passing-around-let’s-forget-it event, but as both teams ran, fought and tried for 90 minutes, it was an exciting, sometimes even spectacular game.

In the 16th minute the home team got a free kick. The cross came dangerously to our goalmouth, Kljajić saved with his leg (!). Then Francis shot, our defenders blocked him.
26th minute, Bojinov showed his usual form. All doors and windows were open, he was all alone in the goalmouth facing only the goalkeeper. He shot and hit goalkeeper Čančarević being only 3 steps away from him. (Okay, this time he did have the ball. Otherwise Radnik’s defenders mostly ran him off and tackled him.)

Someone should tell me why this Bulgarian has to be forced into the first team. He scores one goal, but misses out at least 10 other chances. And let’s rather not mention when he is run off by defenders, misses a pass or cross for being too slow or gets stuck in offside position. Comedy...

In the 33rd minute Balažic headed it to the box, the goalkeeper saved. Radnik had an instant counter-attack, Kljajić saved. Not much later Radnik attacked, a cross came, someone forwarded it, Radović shot, but it was too wide. In the 38th minute Leonardo had a distant shot. The goalkeeper was out of the goalmouth and he was just watching with a desperate face as the ball makes a perfect line flying directly towards the box. For the home team’s great luck it finally hit the crossbar. Then Everton had one try with a distant shot in the 44th minute, too high.
In the second half Radnik scored right at the beginning. Milovanović arrived at the right side, crossed to the middle, Zlatanović was waiting there. He just had to forward it into the box with a small kick. 1:2
We got stuck to our half. Radnik had a very combative style, they really forced an equalizing. We could have only one free kick in the 55th minute, after that Đurđević ran up into the goalmouth and shot from a sharp angle, but it was too wide.
The 63rd minute brought another Bojinov-show. The Bulgarian shot from the distance, the ball ended on the stands. Oh well. Leonardo had a try in the 67th minute, the ball again avoided the box. Radnik had a chance in the 73rd minute, Zlatanović headed, Kljajić saved.
Then the 76th minute can earn the label "fail".
We attacked. Radnik's goalkeeper ran out of the goalmouth, even the penalty area. He was at least 20-25 metres away from the goal line. He wanted to kick the ball downfield, but instead he kicked into the air... Đurđević was right there, ran up, the goalkeeper desperately ran behind him, but Đurđević was faster and walked into the box together with the ball. 1:3
In the 80th minute Radin missed out a huge chance. Đurđević tackled a defender in the penalty area then very selflessly passed to Radin. Radin shot, missing the box with just centimetres.
There were two more attempts by us, both in the extra time. First Đurđević shot (too high), then Đurđić had a try, the goalkeeper saved.


Facts:

Venue: City stadium, Surdulica
Number of spectators: 2000
Official: Lazar Lukić (assistants: Nemanja Petrović, Vladimir Jovanović - 4th official: Nemanja Petković)

FK Radnik: Čančarević, Milovanović, N. Vlahović (Đorić, 88.), Adamović, Nikolić, Francis, Radović (Jovanović, 83.), Pavlović, Gojković, Vuković, Zlatanović (Stanković, 73.)
Head coach: Neško Milovanović

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Radin, Miletić, Milenković, Balažic, Everton, Marjanović, Leonardo (Đurđić, 89.), Stevanović (Janković, 84.), Bojinov (S. Ilić, 75.), Đurđević
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Goal scorers: Đurđević (9., 76.), Zlatanović (47.), Leonardo (10.)
Yellow card: Gojković (22.), Nikolić (42.), Pavlović (45.), Radin (53.), Milovanović (64.), Leonardo (68.), Đurđić (90.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 35 points
2. FK Partizan 29 points
3. Vojvodina 29 points
4. Napredak 28 points
5. Radnički Niš 27 points
6. Mladost 25 points
7. Spartak Subotica 19 points
8. Rad 18 points
9. Metalac 16 points
10. Radnik 15 points
11. Javor 14 points
12. FK Voždovac 14 points
13. Novi Pazar 12 points
14. OFK Bačka 11 points
15. Čukarički 10 points
16. Borac 8 points

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Besiktas - KK Partizan 77:62 (Basketball Champions League, round 2)

This was painful :(
We didn’t have such a bad start though. In the beginning we kept the pace with Besiktas, we even took the lead (7:8). Turks took it back, but we were always behind them with one step (16:13, 19:16). The quarter ended with 25:16, though at this point it seemed nothing is lost yet.


In the second quarter Turks reached the 10-point difference (26:16). They couldn’t be too proud of themselves, because they missed out a lot of chances. So did we... that was the problem.

Besiktas missed out chances, thanks to Luković and his XXL blocks

We jumped to 30:25 with Robinson’s baskets, but we seemed to run out of breath even at this point. It was a tough quarter, we made many mistakes and even though Besiktas was not on top either, it brought us no comfort. (Small malicious grin: Partizan-players surrounded Štimac and brought him a few moments CZ’s ex-player surely doesn’t want to remember.) The first half ended with 35:31, Hatcher scored at the end.


In the third quarter Besiktas brought back their 10-point advantage (55:45). Something just didn’t work. No breath. We slowly collapsed. That’s the truth... The quarter ended with 60:45.
In the last part Besiktas practically did whatever they just wanted. At the end they were leading with 23 points... From this point on all that was left for us was to die with dignity.
That was all. 77:62.



Besiktas: Güler (3), Clark (8), Edge (3), Karli, Štimac (12), Thompson (14), Roll (16), Sanli (4), Strawberry (10), Sipahi, Weems (7), Karaman

KK Partizan: Robinson (5), Ratkovica (9), Vrabac (9), Marinković (2), Majstorović, Birčević (15), Koprivica (1), Andrić, Hatcher (13), Pot, Karahodžić (4), Luković (4)

Current standing of Group E:
1. AEK 4 points
2. Besiktas 4 points
3. Dinamo Sassari 3 points
4. Stelmet Zielona Gora 3 points
5. KK Partizan 3 points
6. Szolnoki Olaj 3 points
7. Ludwigsburg 2 points
8. Proximus Spirou 2 points

(photos: Facebook/KK Partizan)

Žarkovo - FK Partizan 0:2 (Serbian Cup, 1/8 final)

Obligatory victory with the substitute team on a Tuesday afternoon training game.
The first memorable moment of the first half was in the 24th minute with a counter-attack by Žarkovo. Guzina ran up and crossed to the middle, Čudić was about to receive it, but the cross was a bit too long it ended with goal-kick.
Partizan was doing fine. Yes, we possessed the ball more, yes, we forced Žarkovo to play bunker football for most of the time. And yes, we had attempts. But either the goalkeeper saved or the defenders blocked us and in fact none of them were too spectacular. There was no pace and even less excitement (during the first half I blanked a rewritable CD, burned an ISO-file on it and still nothing happened on the pitch). We were passing the ball around and the whole picture of the game was totally dull including players.
The next memorable moment was when Vulićević got injured around the 30th minute and Milan Radin could debute.

Milan Radin

Milenković got the captain’s armband

Then we continued to pass around the penalty area. Sometimes we had a not too determined shot, but none of them were on target. Nothing else happened. In the 38th minute Jevtović thought to speed things up, he ran up on the right side, crossed, but Đurđić was too much behind. Then Mihajlović shot at the end of an attempt, it was too high.
We took the lead in the beginning of the second half. Bojinov, who functioned mostly as a success experience for Žarkovo-defenders in the first half (i.e. Žarkovo’s defenders could see that even a League 3 player can run off or tackle a Partizan-striker), so, Bojinov was especially lucky, because after a cross Đurđić forwarded the ball to him, the Sloth was at the right time at the right place and he succeeded not to shoot the ball out of the pitch from 3 stepts as he usually does, but instead he could force it into the box. 0:1 (Then he got a yellow card, because he made obscene gestures to Žarkovo’s fans. Very well, very well. Not just sluggish, but also a yokel. Bravo.)
Then... We were still around the penalty area, passing around, trying, but we could never finish any action. As if nobody had enough courage to shoot.

Yea. We had to sell out Kojić, Škuletić, Lazović, Šaponjić, Andrija Živković... shall I go on with the names? That’s what happens when a talentless, moron sports director signs players whose expiration date has passed long ago.

In the 69th minute Guzina shot too high after a throw-in. Then he tried again, attacked, the substitute’s substitute goalkeeper Stevanović (who was tolled from Čukarički to here, this was his first time in the starting eleven, right?...) ran out of the goalmouth and saved.
Then in the 71st minute Bojinov made a miracle. He scored another goal. Mihajlović crossed from the left, Bojinov made a fly-kick from a sharp angle and could kick the ball into the box. Sometimes he does surprise me by doing things that remind of football.
Žarkov had one more big chance in the 81st minute after a corner-kick. Guzina headed it, it was too wide, then in the 85th mintue Mihajlović shot from the distance, it was also too wide. Radin had one more try in the extra time (90+2.), too high, then the referee made our sufferings an end.


Facts:

Venue: FK Rad stadium, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 1500
Official: Dragan Čolović (assistants: Nenad Kurčubić, Nikola Đorović - 4th official: Marko Srećković)

FK Žarkovo: Marković, Aničić, Stojanović, Kričak, Milanović, Bainović, Rajić (Vujović, 82.), Basara, Guzina, A. Stevanović (Petrović, 75.), Čudić (Janković, 64.)
Head coach: Dejan Rađenović

FK Partizan: N. Stevanović, Vulićević (Radin, 32.), Bogosavac, Ostojić, Milenković, Jevtović (Miletić 58.), Kosović, Mihajlović, Janković, Đurđić, Bojinov (Damjanović, 75.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Goal scorer: Bojinov (48., 71.)
Yellow card: Bojinov (49.)

(photos: partizan.rs)

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

RK Partizan - Sloga 28:27 (superliga, round 8)

This game was back on Saturday. Today is Tuesday. I’ve been waiting until now to find some - any - material about this game, photos, anything.
LOL.
Even the government would resign earlier than any material about handball games will be released...
The most important is that we won. We had a confident advantage in the first half (6:3, 10:6, 13:9 and so on), then the second half was a bit more close, though we kept the lead for the whole time, just now our advantage was only 1-2 goals.
The hero of the day is Nikola Perović with 6 goals. He is followed by Lazar Kukić and Igor Mršulja scoring 5-5 goals. Stefan Jokić and Vuk Milenković earned 3-3 scores, Nemanja Živković, Darko Stevanović and Nikola Ivanović all scored 2-2 goals.

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 13 points
2. Vojvodina 13 points
3. Dinamo 12 points
4. Sloga 10 points
5. Spartak Vojput 9 points
6. Šamot 65 9 points
7. Požarevac 7 points
8. Partizan 7 points
9. Metaloplastika 6 points
10. Rudar 6 points
11. Morava 4 points
12. Jugović 0 point

Monday, October 24, 2016

FMP - KK Partizan 56:65 (ABA Liga, round 6)

Question no. 1.: Whose very stupid idea was to put this game - actually a derby - to Sunday noon?
Question no. 2.: Who was/were that/those idiot(s) who agreed with it?
FYI: at Sunday noon I’m still at my morning coffee, after I had my English-style breakfast in a leisure style. Even this time I was still not fully awake, when the boys started to wrestle with Čoki and co. on the court. (Even the commentator greeted the viewers with "Dobro jutro" - Good morning.)
This game was mostly a wrestling game, though it contained basketball as well in tracks. At the beginning of the first quarter already 3 fouls were whistled, yet the standing was still 6:6 after 5 minutes. (While Čoki jr. got his second foul.) Meanwhile we took the lead with a minimal advantage, but we kept it (10:11, 9th minute). Only 7 seconds were left, we took the lead again after an equal with Veličković’s 3-pointer (12:15), but at the very end, right at the buzz the referees just had to whistle a foul on us, and the opponent got a triple free throw. They scored, all of them, of course. 15:15, what a comedy.

Majstorović vs. Čović junior. The difference is not only their height, or "Gimme the ball or else I’ll call MY DAD!"
(photo: aba-liga.com)

The second quarter was the same with barely any scores, but much more fighting. FMP was leading for almost the whole time. Once we equalized around the middle of the quarter (22:22), but they took back the lead almost immediately. Both teams played with too many fouls and mistakes, with only one basket in a minute. If there were two baskets within a minute, then excitement was about to explode... We finished the first half with 32:31, but Uroš Luković definitely brought his best.


Čoki sr. (on the left) and Mme Vesna were there to watch the Baby Boy
(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the third quarter we brought ourselves back to life. At first it was a pingpong-game (one basket at this side, one at the other), then at 36:35 we started a huge series with Luković’s basket and didn’t finish until 36:51. FMP could score from free throw 10 seconds before the end (38:51), but we also got one, right at the very end, the same way as the opponent got it in the first part - it was almost the end buzz, but the referees whistled a foul and we scored from free throw (38:53).

Majstorović and Vrabac surround Ljubičić 
(photo: aba-liga.com)

FMP decided to play it hard for the last quarter, while probably the referees also woke up and started to whistle a row of fouls on us, whether it was really a foul or not. The opponent jumped to 51:55, but we still didn’t let the advantage out of our hands. The 7th minute brought a fighting scene, Ratkovica and Šešlija clashed, literally. (Both of them were fouled, but only FMP got a free throw...) Too many mistakes and missed-out chances came in the last minutes, and even if one of the teams could score, that was almost surely from free throw. Field goals were totally missing.
And we were those who took advantage of free throws.
Of course.
*halo switched on*

Highlights:


FMP: Čović (10), Ćorović, Davidovac (7), Apić (7), Lazarević (9), Bursać (9), Šešlija (1), Kutlešić, Žižić, Ljubičić (9), Kaplanović (2), Bolden (2)

KK Partizan: Robinson (5), Ratkovica (2), Vrabac (1), Marinković (2), Veličković (15), Majstorović (5), Birčević, Koprivica, Andrić (7), Hatcher (20), Pot, Luković (8)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 12 points
2. Budućnost 12 points
3. KK Partizan 12 points
4. Cibona 11 points
5. Cedevita 9 points
6. Igokea 9 points
7. Zadar 9 points
8. Mornar Bar 8 points
9. FMP 8 points
10. Krka 7 points
11. Mega Leks 7 points
12. MZT Skopje 7 points
13. Union Olimpija 6 points
14. Karpoš 6 points

Sunday, October 23, 2016

OK Partizan - Klek 3:2 (superliga, round 2)

We won over Klek with blood and sweat. The opponent had a very tough game and they won the first set to 21:25. We equalized in the second, thanks to Ristić, who had a fantastic performance (25:23). Klek won the third set with a big advantage (15:25) taking back the lead. But Partizan is Partizan, and not a bunch of whinies. We sped up and equalized again (25:20) led by Polomac.
Fifth set.
6:2 for us. Then 9:3. Steam roller time! But Klek was persistent enough to reduce it to 12:10.
But we have Boris Buša. And our Boris Buša won the game for us, for Partizan.
Well done, boys!

Posted by Odbojkaški Klub Partizan on Saturday, October 22, 2016


OK Partizan: Buša (22), Sretenović (4), Nedeljković (libero), Skakić, Batak (1), Ristić (17), Kovač (3), Dragović, Negić (libero), Veličković (16), Polomac (6), Turanjanin (11)
Head coach: Vladimir Vasović

Klek: Tomić (14), Ateljević (8), Vujović, Grbić, Tanović (6), Narančić (17), Roljić (7), Đukanović, Petrović (libero), Providžalo (13), Petrović, Slavnić (libero)
Head coach: Đuro Dapčević

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 6 points
2. Novi Pazar 6 points
3. Vojvodina 6 points
4. Spartak Ljig 3 points
5. Partizan 2 points
6. Klek 2 points
7. Radnički Kragujevac 2 points
8. Jedinstvo Stara Pazova 0 point
9. Ribnica 0 point
10. Niš 0 point

FK Partizan - Radnički Niš 1:1 (superliga, round 13.)


In the 5th minute Everton tripped over the ball and fell so hard to the ground that he had to come off the pitch.



Kljajić made his first actual movement in the 10th minute, but even then he just had to run out from the goalmouth to catch the ball. That was all the action in the first 15 minutes. Like a low mediocre Hungarian championship game.
In the 16th minute the guests had to substitute, too. Stojanović walked off the pitch limping.
The 17th minute brought the first actual attempt. Leonardo crossed from the left to the goalmouth, but the goalkeeper was quicker than Đurđić.
The 27th minute brought the next action. Đurđević was about to get a pass, but again the goalkeeper was there earlier than him.

It was saddening to see what an idealess football we played. Players were running up and down, all over the field, we possessed the ball, too, but we couldn’t come up with one single useful attempt. The same goes for Radnički as well.

The guests took the lead out of the blue in the 31st minute. They got a free kick about 25 metres from the goal line. Arsić crossed it, Kljajić jumped and saved, but he dropped the ball out of his hands. And before he or any other Partizan-defender could have caught it, Pavkov arrived and pushed it to the box. 0:1
Some attempts could be seen at the end of the half. It was already the 3rd minute of the extra time, when Kljajić saved a cross coming from the right, then Radnički’s defense made a huge mistake, but neither Đurđević, nor Đurđić could take advantage of it.

Stevanović was the player of the day, working hard, taking a huge part of almost all attempts (when we had any)

We quickly equalized at the beginning of the second half. In the 48th minute we got a corner kick, and after a goalmouth scramble Đurđić kicked the ball into the box. 1:1




We made another dangerous attempt in the 61st minute, Radnički’s defenders headed the ball downfield almost from the goal line.

In between nothing much happened, maybe one thing is worth to mention, Radnički played the offside-tactics very well. Not as if we could make it up to their penalty area that often, but whenever it still happened, it was almost immediately flag up and the referee whistled it off. All slow motion replays confirmed the offside every time. It was a hard, struggling second half.

In the 70th minute Đurđević missed out a huge chance. Marjanović crossed from the left, Đurđević headed it, the goalkeeper could barely save it, with fingertips. In the 74th minute a Radnički-player headed it to the box, being all alone, our defenders were behind somewhere, but Kljajić saved. A minute later came the upcoming chance, now for us, but we missed it out... First the ball rolled out missing the box with just centimetres, the attempt ended in corner-kick. Balažic headed the ball to the box, but it was too high. In the 78th minute we got another corner-kick, this time Ostojić headed it, the goalkeeper saved from the goal line.

Enter Saša Ilić: this time was the 792nd time he wore Partizan’s jersey. With this he is the absolute record holder

The last 15 minutes brought a bit more speed to the game, with attempts that were quite dangerous sometimes. In the 84th minute Arsić crossed from the left, Kljajić caught it. Two minutes later Jevtović had a distant shot, the goalkeeper saved. In the 89th minute Pavkov shot, this time onto the side net. In the very same minute Marjanović fell to the ground inside Radnički’s penalty area, but the referee didn’t whistle (there was no slow motion replay afterwards).
At the end Bojinov missed out two attempts (first he was on offside, second he - as usual - shot into the sky instead of the box, from just a few steps), then at the very end we got one last free kick. Ostojić wanted to forward it to the box with his head, but the goalkeeper was quicker.
No applause, no singing by the fans after the match ended, just sparse whistles.

Disappointed players from the bench walking back to the locker-room

Gregor Balažic is not happy

Something’s wrong. No matter how hard Marko Nikolić is trying to bring the team back to life, no matter how many times we win, something is still out of order. We have a minimalist, soulless performance on games, there are no strong or just unique characters among players. Most of them have serious ups and downs in their performance, I could count on one hand how many members of the roster are doing it smooth. The low number of spectators speaks for itself... We may be third on the league table, but the stadium is still empty.


Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Official: Róbert Kis-Csepegi (assistants: - Dejan Petrović, Dejan Potočan -  4th official: Novica Anđelovski)

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Balažic, Ostojić, Miletić, Jevtović, Everton (Marjanović, 12.), A. Stevanović, Leonardo, Đurđić (Bojinov, 68.), Đurđević (S. Ilić, 79.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Radnički Niš: Bajić, Bulatović, Stojanović (Mitrović, 17.), Pavkov, Arsić, Petrović, Mrkić (Ignjatović, 85.), Stanojević, Jovanović (Apostolović, 88.), Stanković, Radivojević
Head coach: Milan Rastavac

Goal scorers : Pavkov (31.), Đurđić (48.)
Yellow card: Stanojević (9.), Jevtović (18.), Leonardo (90.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 32 points
2. Vojvodina 29 points
3. Partizan 26 points
4. Napredak 25 points
5. Radnički Niš 24 points
6. Mladost 22 points
7. Spartak Subotica 18 points
8. Rad 18 points
9. Metalac 15 points
10. Radnik 15 points
11. FK Voždovac 14 points
12. Novi Pazar 11 points
13. Javor 11 points
14. Čukarički 10 points
15. OFK Bačka 10 points
16. Borac 9 points

(photos: partizan.rs)


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

MZT Skopje - KK Partizan 62:93 (ABA Liga, round 2)

With an awfully lagging net and sometimes unwatchable stream, but Partizan won again - as Fellow Fan was kind enough to inform me, by "smashing them". Looking at the final result it’s no doubt at all.


That day was also the 71st anniversary of founding Partizan sports society. Grave Diggers did their best to celebrate it.


The steam engine started to roll in the first quarter at 9:11. We jumped to 9:20 scoring a lot of 3-pointers. Then 14:27. Easy, smooth, absolutely non-problematic first part, finished with 16:29.

Hatcher had a fantastic performance, he was the MVP of the game

That's how it was going for the rest of the game as well. In the second quarter our advantage was more than 20 points (20:43). Even ArenaSport's commentator was shocked. We had the chance to make some spectacular tricks, too, like Ratkovica here.


Half-time result: 25:48.

Birčević too was in excellent shape

The second half was merely about whether we can keep the 20-point difference or we can improve it to 30. We did. We were leading to 50:85 in the last quarter. At the very end we took it too easily and missed out a few chances, Skopje reduced the difference from 52:90 to 62:93. But 30 points are 30 points.

Highlights:


MZT Skopje: Cvetkovski, Thames (20), Thomas, Mekić, Massey (15), Kloof (4), Simonovski (5), Lučić (9), Mladenovski (1), Scott (8), Lalić

KK Partizan: Robinson, Ratkovica (5), Vrabac, Marinković (16), Veličković (5), Majstorović (11), Birčević (19), Koprivica, Andrić (8), Hatcher (21), Pot, Luković (8)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 4 points
2. Partizan 4 points
3. Budućnost 4 points
4. Cibona 4 points
5. FMP 3 points
6. Mega Leks 3 points
7. Zadar 3 points
8. Krka 2 points
9. Mornar Bar 2 points
10. Cedevita 2 points
11. MZT Skopje 2 points
12. Union Olimpija 1 points
13. Igokea 1 point
14. Karpoš 1 point

(photos: aba-liga.com)

Monday, October 3, 2016

Handball: 1 blogpost, 3 games (superliga, round 4 and 5 + postponed game from round 1)

Mea maxima culpa. I’m lagging behind with the handball games too much. Round 4 was back on 24th September. Jugović was our guest in the Banjica sports hall. We won against htem to 32:30, even though it seemed the result will be better on the guests’ side based on the first half. They were leading for the whole time, the half-time result proved it (15:16). In the second half we were better, though Jugović could still took the lead for a short while. But we equalized in the 43rd minute with Kukić’s goal (22:22), then Ivanović took us back the lead. From then on we kept the game under control leading always with 1-2 goals.
The hero of the day was Nemanja Živković with 10 goals. He is followed by Lazar Kukić (6), Nikola Ivanović and Aleksa Maksić (4-4), Vuk Milenković and Igor Mršulja (3-3) as well as Matija Pižurica (2).

Photos from the game



(photos: srls.rs)

***

The postponed derby against Metaloplastika was played on 28th. It was a very tough game to say the least. Metaloplastika was leading to 0:5 in the beginning, we scored our first goal in the 8th (!) minute by Nemanja Živković (1:5). After 15 minutes it was 4:9... but we didn’t give it up. We jumped to 9:10 in the 20th minute, and 3 minutes before the end we took the lead (13:12). Kukić scored the leading goal, he had a fantastic performance for the entire match. We were leading in the half-time as well (14:13).
The second half brought a nip-and-tuck game. One goal for Partizan, one for Metaloplastika... Sometimes Partizan could have a small 2-goal advantage, but Metaloplastika always equalized. The final result was also a draw, 30:30.
Lazar Kukić was the best scorer (9), followed by Nemanja Živković (6), as well as Vuk Milenković, Nikola Ivanović, Aleksa Maksić and Igor Mršulja (4-4).

Photos from the game






(photos: srls.rs)

***

Finally the last game from round 5. Partizan visited Dinamo in Pančevo. It was... well it was brutal. We had no chance. At the beginning we tried to keep the pace (3:4), then Dinamo equalized and from then on they were leading until the end buzz. They didn’t just keep the lead, they kept on humiliating us... 14:9, 16:11, and that was just the first half. The second was worse. 20:11, 23:15, too big difference for the whole game. Finally the home team won to 31:26.
The two heroes of this battle are Darko Stevanović and Lazar Kukić, both with 6 goals. They are followed by Igor Mršulja (4), Nemanja Živković, Vuk Milenković and Nikola Ivanović (3-3) as well as Stefan Jokić (1). 







(photos: Facebook/Super Rukometna Liga Srbije)

Current championship standings after 5 rounds:
1. CZ 9 points
2. Dinamo 8 points
3. Vojvodina 7 points
4. Spartak Vojput 6 points
5. Sloga 6 points
6. Partizan 5 points
7. Šamot 65 5 points
8. Morava 4 points
9. Metaloplastika 4 points
10. Požarevac 3 points
11. Rudar 3 points
12. Jugović 0 point

FK Partizan - Mladost 3:1 (superliga, round 11)

Despite the goal-rich result it was a slumbery passing-around. Even Mladost’s performance was not more than an "enough-for-a-training-game"-effort.

Kljajić and substitute goalkeeper Jovičić warm up. This was probably the only moment for the whole evening when Kljajić sweated (a little)


Everton killed a Mladost-player (i.e. kicked him to the ground brutally) already in the 8th minute. It was rough, it was the action of a true jerk. I hope Everton said a prayer for not getting a yellow card right there... Afterwards there was a questionnable situation, Đurđić fell to the ground inside Mladost’s penalty area. All slow motion replays from all camera angles showed Mladost’s defender deliberately pushing Đurđić, but the referee didn’t whistle. (Not much later Đurđević fell to the ground inside Mladost’s penalty area the same way, the referee’s whistle kept silent again.)
Leonardo tried to shake up the sleepy atmosphere in the 19th minute. We got a free kick, about 17-18 metres from the box. The Brazilian shot, it flew to the target, the goalkeeper had a great save.
We controlled the game, we possessed the ball, Mladost got stuck on their half, but all that was happening was just some passing-around lvl 5th league veterans. Jevtović had an attempt in the 22nd minute, it was too high. (But at least something happened...) In the 26th minute someone headed Janković’s free kick to the box, but it was way too high, while Jevtović got injured in the goalmouth scramble. He got medical attendance, but it took too long... Finally he got a bandage on his head and was taken off the pitch. (Saša Ilić substituted him.)

Later mozzartsport.com informed that Jevtović had to be taken to Vojnomedicinska Akademija to get professional treatment. He got a plaster on his injury, then he could leave the hospital. He is doing fine, thank you very much, but he will surely not be able to play for a while.

Hero

Other than this the game was such a boredom that Average Fan was rather browsing the news instead... In the 34th minute Leonardo shot from a sharp angle. It was a weak shot, the goalkeeper easily caught it. In the 38th minute we had another weak attempt, the goalkeeper again caught it. Yaaaawn... 40th minute, now Janković had a try, again the goalkeeper saved. Meanwhile it started to rain, players sleepily passed the ball around, sometimes we had a semi-serious attempt. Mladost got stuck at their half and they didn’t really want to break out.
Leonardo got fed up with this fumbling in the 45th minute. He shot a fantastic goal from a 17-metre free kick. The goalkeeper was just watching. 1:0

Leonardo shoots...

...put your hands up in the aaaiiiirr...

Đurđić had a fantastic, bicycle kick attempt in the very last minute, but it was too high.

Marko Golubović on the stands. He came to see the team

There’s nothing much to mention about the beginning of the second half. Both teams had one weak attempt, then all of a sudden Mladost got a penalty in the 56th minute.
I swear I didn’t see what happened. ArenaSport played it in slow motion quite a few times, but even the commentator sounded perplexed. Đurđić was supposed to do something (maybe he played handball?...) - I’m just guessing, as Đurđić got a yellow card right after the whistle. If anybody knows what actually happened, write it to the comment box, thanks in advance.
Nevertheless Bojović put the ball to the penalty spot, shot and scored. 1:1


We took back the lead in the 60th minute. Đurđević scored an fantastic and cheeky goal, passing the ball above the goalkeeper. It was that kind of goal that makes every true football fan scream from amazement. It happened after a Mladost goal-kick. Đurđić grabbed the ball at the half-line and passed it ahead to Đurđević. Đurđević ran up and kicked the ball into the box, above the shocked goalkeeper. 2:1

That certain cheeky kick


Mladost had their biggest chance in the 62nd minute. Pejović headed the ball after a free kick, it was just a little bit too wide.
Mladost’s defenders fell asleep in the 67th minute. Leonardo took advantage and quickly grabbed the ball. He passed it to Bojinov, who just joined the game as a substitute. And this sloth was lucky enough to score a goal right from the first ball-touch. 3:1

It must be communicated with sign language as well (afterwards came the smoke signals, probably)

Mladost had a thin chance in the 69th minute, but Kljajić interrupted. Afterwards not much happened. Bojinov nevertheless - better to be safe than sorry - missed out two attempts. Leonardo also had one, he too missed it out.

Highlights:


Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Official: Aleksandar Vasić (assistants: Matija Olajos-Nagy, Attila Harmat - 4th official: Zoran Široki)

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Balažic, Milenković, Miletić, Everton, Jevtović (S. Ilić, 31.), Leonardo, Janković, Đurđević (Kosović, 76.), Đurđić (Bojinov, 62.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Mladost: Krznarić, Pešić, Šatara, Milošević, Saničanin (Tumbasević, 61.), Protić, Pejović, Radivojević (Simić, 83.), Jovanović, Milosavljević (Odita, 67.), Bojović
Head coach: Nenad Milovanović

Goal scorers: Leonardo (45.), Bojović (56. - pen.), Đurđević (60.), Bojinov (67.)
Yellow card: Krznarić (51.), Šatara (54.), Đurđić (56.), Pešić (81.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 28 points
2. Vojvodina 26 points
3. FK Partizan 22 points
4. Radnički Niš 20 points
5. Napredak 19 points
6. Mladost 18 points
7. Spartak Subotica 16 points
8. Rad 15 points
9. Metalac 14 points
10. FK Voždovac 14 points
11. Novi Pazar 11 points
12. OFK Bačka 10 points
13. Radnik 9 points
14. Javor 9 points
15. Čukarički 7 points
16. Borac 7 points

(photos: partizan.rs)