FK Partizan - Radnik Surdulica 3:2 (superliga, round 28)

A terrible match against a weak opponent.
The problem is that this weak opponent could still lead for the entire first half.

Not sure if anyone noticed there’s no blogpost about the previous, 27th round. There won’t be any. On one hand I was overwhelmed with the championship title of the ice hockey team, on the other the football team played at the very same time as the ice hockey players (who organized it to be like this?...) and I saw approx. the last 25 minutes of the football match. Even those 25 minutes were so awful that later I had no energy enough to waste for the highlights. So, this 27th round is missed out, apologies if I don’t apologize.

Someone please tell me how we can produce such a horror game level, for weeks now. It’s a pain to watch these matches. Soulless, horrible play that lacks every kind of idea, boring ball-shuffling, scratching, anti-football. Even the infamously crappy Hungarian football is better than this. Shame, but that’s the truth.

10 minutes before the start. The stadium was this empty

(screenshot)

(photo: Twitter)

The official match report talks about 3000 spectators.
WHERE??? ON WHICH PLANET???

(screenshot/partizan.rs)

Since then this number raised to 5000.

What kind of hallucinogene drug is this? Can you give me the dealer’s phone number? I have to try out this stuff.

Update: there were really at least 2500 people in the stadium.

In the first minutes of the game a brass-band was playing in the guests’ sector. They made a carnival-alike atmosphere, being a million times more interesting than the game.

(screenshot)

It came to my mind, I should miss out writing even about this game. Seriously, what can you write about nothing?... Then I continued to make notes for the blogpost. I’m obviously a mazochist.

The 4th minute brought the first shy attempt. Bandalovski got a pass from Saša Ilić and forwarded the ball to Bogosavac, but the goalkeeper threw himself into the way.
In the 14th minute Radnik came up to a counter-attack after a weak shot by Brašanac. Deletić ran up with the ball on the right and crossed to Suraka. Šaranov threw himself into the way in the last moment.
In the 19th minute Radnik led another counter-attack after a corner. The cross came from the depth, first Deletić shot, but Šaranov performed a fantastic save. But then Owusu jumped out of the blue and headed the ball into the box next to Partizan’s goalkeeper, who slowly fell on the ground. 0:1
In the 21st minute Bogosavac passed to Mihajlović on the left. Mihajlović crossed to Stevanović in the middle, he had a try, but the goalkeeper saved. Corner-kick, the ball dropped to Mihajlović, he shot, too high.
Then we fumbled ahead. It’s sad, but even though we attacked more, Surdulica was still leading and our attempts were fruitless.  We played an entire half without any striker on the front line.
Though I think we would have played this very terribly even with striker.

I wonder why Fofana was called back to ul. Humska, when he is just a bench-warmer

(photo: partizan.rs)

Saša Ilić was a physical pain to watch. Independent of his performance in the 2nd half he plays more and more like a pensioner. Radnik-defenders tackled him easily, they might have even told jokes to each other.

In the 30th minute Jevtović got a pass in the middle. He shot from 20 metres, the goalkeeper had a great save.
In the 33rd minute we had two shots to the goal after a corner-kick within a few seconds. First Stevanović, then Saša Ilić, but both times a defender standing on the goal line cleared. Then the opponent ran up for a quick counter-attack. Owusu passed to Deletić, he immediately shot and scored. 0:2
It was especially painful that while Radnik had these very quick counter-attacks (they had yet another in the 45th minute, Marković ran up all alone, eventually he was inactivated), we were totally idle and were wandering around aimlessly. Just like at a 5th league old boys’ match. For the rest of the first half nothing ever happened apart from the counter-attack mentioned above. After the final whistle fans booed at the players walking off, screamed "Pustite nas da igramo" (Allow us to play) hinting that even they would have a better performance.
Then the players walked to the southern tribune instead of the locker-rooms and all we could see was them talking to the fans. (Then ArenaSport quickly switched to the replay of the first-half action.)

(photo: Twitter)

Still no info on what they were talking about, but they obviously didn’t exchange high fives and kisses.

At the beginning of the second half Mihajlović headed the ball towards the box after a corner-kick, a defender blocked. A minute later Suraka tackled Bogosavac (Partizan’s defender was fumbling too long, the Ghanian just walked there and stole the ball from him) and ran towards the goal. Finally Šaranov threw himself into the way.
In the 51st minute Vlahović got a pass from the left and headed it to the goal. The ball hit the crossbar.
Then 3 minutes later he could hit the box. Mihajlović crossed from the left, Vlahović raised high and headed. 1:2

It was his first ever goal for Partizan

(photos: partizan.rs)

A few minutes later Saša Ilić had a distant shot, the goalkeeper saved to corner-kick. In the 64th minute Mihajlović had another distant shot, hitting the right goalpost.
In the 65th minute Bandalovski passed to Saša Ilić. The Captain shot ruthlessly from 16 metres and scored. 2:2

(photos: partizan.rs)

In the 69th minute Radnik again had a very quick appearance at our penalty area, but this time we started a counter-attack after Šaranov saved. Mihajlović had the ball, he ran up with it and crossed. Saša Ilić arrived in the middle and scored. 3:2
The level of the game didn’t change despite that we switched the standing from 0:2 to 3:2. It was just beyond critics. Radnik seemingly resigned themselves to the defeat, while Partizan just shuffled the ball here and there, without any useful idea about what to do. The match did not contain any football, not even in traces. Alen Stevanović missed out a chance in the 78th minute (he shot too high after long fumbling), other than this nothing happened that is worth to mention. As if it weren’t a team with a victorious past, but a bunch of skinners who plays for the local off-league amateur team.

Yes, we won and everything, but our play still lacks any high standard (or even just standard)

(photo: partizan.rs)

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 5000 (???)
Referee: Róbert Kis-Csepegi (assistants: Dejan Potočan, Dragan Peranović - 4th assistant: Dragan Bogićević - goal line assistants: Novak Simović, Nemanja Gajdobranski)

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski, M. Stevanović, Jovanović, Bogosavac - Lukić (Vlahović, 46.), Jevtović (Kosović, 46.), Brašanac - A. Stevanović, S. Ilić (Birmančević, 90+1.), Mihajlović
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Radnik Surdulica: Ristić - Milovanović (Simonović, 46.), Vuković, Vučetić (Mutavdžić, 69.), Suraka (Stanković, 59.) - Gojković, Owusu, Pejčić, Putinčanin - Deletić, Marković
Head coach: Miloš Veselinović

Goal scorers: Owusu (19.), Deletić (33.), Vlahović (54.), S. Ilić (65., 69.)
Yellow card: Ristić (71.), Brašanac (74.), Marković (76.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 78 points
2. Partizan 48 points
3. Čukarički 47 points
4. Radnički Niš 45 points
5. Borac 44 points
6. FK Voždovac 40 points
7. Vojvodina 40 points
8. Surdulica 37 points
9. Javor 35 points
10. Mladost 32 points
11. Metalac 31 points
12. Novi Pazar 28 points
13. OFK Beograd 27 points
14. Rad 23 points
15. Spartak Subotica 23 points
16. Jagodina 22 points