Metalac - FK Partizan 0:1 (superliga, round 10)

We kickstarted this game literally, right after walking out to the pitch of the Gornji Milanovac stadium. Everton shot from the distance (too wide). And that’s how we continued. Both teams had a sweeping start and kicked - no, not the ball, but each other.
There were too many of these very rough clashes. Partizan’s medical team rushed on and off the pitch more during this one game than the entire season.

Partizan’s medical team picking the pieces of Miletić

Metalac also tried with an attempt here and there, having a break from chopping Partizan’s players. They made a smaller goalmouth scramble in the 4th minute, in the meantime Leonardo got his own, personal barnacle defender that kept on hanging on the Brazilian for the whole match. Kljajić had his first job in the 7th minute, catching Caicedo’s right cross. He again caught another, distant shot in the 11th minute. From this we started a counter-attack. Janković crossed, Leonardo was blocked by defenders in the last moment, but we still possessed the ball. We kept Metalac’s goalmouth under pressure, with no attempt though.
Janković was kicked to the ground twice within two minutes, both times he had a painful face laying on the grass.

Today was not Janković’s day. Whenever a Metalac-player got next to him, Janković was immediately kicked or elbowed down

Metalac had two attempts in a row. First was in the 17th minute, the second in the 18th minute. First Rovčanin had a distant shot (too high), then Jovanović tried from the goalmouth (corner-kick). We got two free kicks, first in the 23rd minute. Leonardo shot, 20-22 metres from the box. The ball rolled through the penalty area, everyone was way behind it, then it dropped out of the pitch through the baseline. Then in the 30th minute, again Leonardo shot. The goalkeeper had a big save, Leonardo pushed the ball back to the goalmouth, Đurđević headed it, the goalkeeper caught it. In the 35th minute Metalac had an attempt, for our great luck Caicedo missed the cross coming from the right.

I noticed something and it was so great to see that we are starting to act as a TEAM. There is teamwork and harmony, not just 11 players running up and down the pitch the way they just want. They watch each other and most of all, every little detail among them is dovetailed. This is something you must continue to do in the future, too, boys!

On the pitch there wasn’t much action to watch except the many fouls. Finally in the 42nd minute Jevtović made a distant cannon shot, the goalkeeper saved. Then in the 44th minute Janković made a fantastic dribble, Metalac’s player - probably as a sign of appreciation - kicked him to the ground. The whole Partizan-bench got on their feet, everyone was yelling around, the referee obviously lost control of the scene. Finally he gave a yellow card - to Everton.

The Brazilian didn’t do anything this time. 

Janković, when he is in action and not on the ground, kicked down

We started the second half with a row of attempts. Đurđić headed it in the 47th minute (too high), right after him Leonardo shot (the goalkeeper saved), then again him in the 51st minute with a distant shot (too high). The pace slowed down a bit, but the game was the same heated and full of clashes like in the first half. Metalac had a chance in the 56th minute, Jovanović shot, too high. Right after that Đurđić had a try again, he headed it, too high.
Then in the 61st minute Leonardo just simply stole the ball from a Metalac-player. He ran up, slalomed himself through the defense line, then made a cannon shot from 20 metres. And scored! 0:1

Leonardo shoots...

...and scores. Watch the body language of the Metalac-player

Saša Ilić was about to join the game as a substitute. He surely didn’t mind waiting a bit more to step on the pitch (he could celebrate anyway)

From then on not much happened. Metalac struggled, they had no useful idea at all, out of chopping Partizan-players ahead. The pace simply disappeared, attempts lacked. Though in the 78th minute Đurđević missed out a huge chance. Miletić crossed to the middle, there Đurđević, seriously, he was only 3 steps away from the box, and he missed it out. Then Mitrović had a 30-metre bomb shot to our box, too wide. For the rest of the game Đurđević was chopped mostly instead of Janković (the latter one was substituted in the 81st minute). Leonardo also got his "package", for his luck he was about to get substituted, so he walked off with the help of the medical team. At the very end Đurđević had one last try, the goalkeeper saved.

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Metalac stadium, Gornji Milanovac
Number of spectators: 3000
Official: Milan Ilić (assistants: Milan Minić, Ivica Stojanović - 4th official: Danilo Grujić)

Metalac: Belić, Nikodijević, Simović, Otašević, Bondarenko, Panić, Mijić (Mitrović, 77.), Rovčanin (Tomić, 67.), Jovanović, Stojanović, Caicedo (Mladenović, 67.)
Head coach: Nenad Vanić

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Balažic, Miletić, Jevtović, Everton, Janković (A. Stevanović, 81.) Leonardo (Mihajlović, 87.), Đurđević, Đurđić (S. Ilić, 62.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Goal scorer: Leonardo (61.)
Yellow card: Otašević (22.), Đurđević (39.), Everton (44.), Jovanović (65.), Panić (82.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 25 points
2. Vojvodina 23 points
3. Radnički Niš 20 points
4. FK Partizan 19 points
5. Mladost 18 points
6. Napredak 16 points
7. Spartak Subotica 16 points
8. Metalac 14 points
9. FK Voždovac 14 points
10. Rad 12 points
11. Javor 9 points
12. Radnik 9 points
13. Novi Pazar 8 points
14. OFK Bačka 7 points
15. Čukarički 6 points
16. Borac 6 points

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)