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

FK Partizan - AZ Alkmaar 3:2 (UEFA Europa League)

Optimistic version: we woooon!!!!!!
Pessimistic version: yes, yes, we did, but we won’t put this game on display to the vitrine for sure.
15 minutes before the start the stadium was still half empty.

(photo: Twitter)

Thankfully for the end 12 000 people were counted on the tribunes.

(photos: partizan.rs)

The first actual attempt came in the 3rd minute Leković ran up on the left, then passed the ball to the middle, but the goalkeeper caught it. Two minutes later we got a free kick, 25 metres from the goal line, on the left. Babović stood behind the ball, ran up, kicked, but made it in a very awkward way. The ball dropped through the penalty area and rolled out of the field.
Then in the 10th minute we got another free kick. The distance from the goal line was approx. 18 metres. Now Andrija Živković kicked, but it hit the wall. Corner kick. Andrija Živković stood at the corner flag and shot. Aboubakar jumped up and headed the ball into the net perfectly. 1:0!!!! We are leading, after 10 minutes!!!!

(photos: partizan.rs)

This quick goal seemingly made the Dutch team confused. They were desperately trying to attack, almost cramped to equalize. Partizan defenders blocked them every single time, mostly they couldn’t make it even to our penalty area. They possessed the ball for the whole time, we could grab it only once, in the 21st minute, when Aboubakar got a very long pass on the left. He kicked it to the middle, but the goalkeeper caught the ball. The Dutch team got the ball back and they continued to attempt. Still it was only the 23rd minute when they could somewhat endanger our goal line. Hupperts ran up on the right side and passed it to the middle, but the arriving attacker was not fast enough to head or kick it to our goal line. The ball rolled out of the field through the left sideline.
A minute later Andrija Živković got the ball on the right. He passed it to Šaponjić in the middle, but a Dutch defender was faster and headed it away. The ball dropped in front of Balažic, who shot with a bicycle kick, but it was too high.
In the 28th minute Brežančić sent a sudden, distant shot to our goal, from the left. Živko Živković easily caught it.
The match was by default not the fastest of pace, but at this point it definitely slowed down, being on the verge of boring. The only interesting event was when two Partizan-players jumped up at the same time to head, but they clashed and they both needed medical attendance.
In the 33rd minute Alkmaar got a free kick, approx. 25 metres from the goal line on the left. The kick was headed to the middle by their player, right among Partizan-defenders. It happened surely for their surprise, making a goalmouth scramble. The the ball dropped in front of van der Linden. He immediately shot and scored. 1:1

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 36th minute Aboubakar got the ball after a throw-in. He forwarded it with a delicate movement. Babović sped up, the assistant did not wave for offside. Babović was all alone, he shot, the goalkeeper saved.
Two minutes later Andrija Živković passed the ball to Vulićević on the right. Vulićević ran up and passed to the middle. Aboubakar thanked and shot the ball right into the net. GOOOOOOAAAAAAL!!! 2:1!!!!

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 43rd minute Brašanac got a great pass from Andrija Živković. He shot from the distance, but it was too wide.
Meanwhile the fans were chanting Aboubakar’s name.

Šaponjić surrounded by defenders. It was not his day. He was under man-on-man defense for the entire time, whenever he just touched the ball, his personal defender kicked him to the ground. He spent more time laying on the grass than with actual playing

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the last minute a Dutch attacker woke up Živko Živković (who was most probably having a nap until this point) with a not too powerful shot. And whatever Aboubakar did on the field, fans gave him a great applause.
In the second half Alkmaar kept on trying ahead, while we kept on blocking them. The pace was slow, fans booed here and there, and this was the first time Average Fan was thinking ’what if switching to the France-Spain basketball game’ (which was a very exciting, spectacular game upon reports). But a Partizan-fan, even an average one remains faithful to the team, always and forever.

Maybe falls asleep. But just a bit.

In the 53rd minute we got a free kick. Andrija Živković shot it to the middle of the penalty area. Balažic headed it, but it was too high. Two minutes later again Andrija Živković got the ball.

(photo: partizan.rs)

He ran up in the middle and wanted to pass it to Šaponjić, but goalkeeper Rochet was quicker.
At this point nothing ever happened on the field. Really nothing. Some time around the 61st minute Janssen made a small upheaval with a shot from the left, but it was too high, we could continue our slumber until the 63rd minute, when Gouweleeuw got a pass. The Dutch player headed it, Živko Živković saved, the attempt ended in a corner kick.
In the 65th minute Aboubakar got the ball on the left. He ran up, dribbled and shot, again it ended in a corner-kick. Three minutes later Andrija Živković was wrestling with two defenders on the right side. Finally he could pass the ball to the middle, but the goalkeeper was quicker than Aboubakar.
In the 71st minute Leković passed the ball to Babović from the left. Babović headed it, but it was too high.
Alkmaar players were mostly just assisting to Partizan at this point. As for us, we were on half-speed. The result couldn’t be better, Dutch players seemingly resigned themselves to the defeat.
Then in the 76th minute Andrija Živković got fed up with this boredom. He got the ball and dribbled himself through the right side, making a fool of all defenders there. He passed to Babović, but his shot was sent to corner-kick by a defender.

Saša Ilić warming up

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 77th minute the Italian referee showed the red card to Hupperts after his 2nd red card.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 79th minute Živko Živković inactivated a Dutch attempt.

I swear I have to scrape up the mentionable moments with a rake, because at this point the game was totally dead. At some points it was a pain to watch it. Sometimes we had attempts, kicking the ball to the middle, but it seemed, we didn’t put too much energy into them.

Then came the 89th minute.

Saša Ilić gave a great pass to Andrija Živković...

...Andrija ran up all alone, with a huge solo...

...then he attempted...

...shot...

...and scored!!!! GOAAAAAAL!!! 3:1!!!

(photos: partizan.rs)

Ladies and gentlemen, Andrija Živković!

(photo: hotsport.rs)

What a great scene it was.
It shook up the Dutch team. In the 90+2nd minute Tanković made a distant shot, though it seemed rather as a desperate attempt. A minute later one of their players were fighting with our defenders on the left. Then he passed the ball diagonally to Henriksen on the right. The Norwegian midfielder shot, and scored. 3:2

It was still a well-deserved celebration at the end

(photo: hotsport.rs)

I would very much like to put here a video with all the goals, but UEFA and its elephant-sized ass made them all unavailable, referring to copyright issues. UEFA should dance polka in a barrel of slugs... here are the Grave Diggers and some match atmosphere.

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 12 000
Referee: Daniele Orsato (assistants: Lorenzo Manganelli, Riccardo di Fiore - 4th assistant: Alessandro Giallatini - goal line assistants: Paolo Valeri, Andrea Gervasoni) - ITA

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Vulićević, Balažic, Fabricio, Leković - Babović, Jevtović, Brašanac - A. Živković (Ninković, 90.), Šaponjić (Bojinov, 66.), Aboubakar (S. Ilić, 83.)
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

AZ Alkmaar: Rochet - Johansson, Gouweleeuw, van der Linden, Brežančić - van Overeem (dos Santos, 63.), Rienstra - Hupperts, Henriksen, Haye (Tanković, 73.) - Janssen (Muhren, 73.)
Head coach: John van den Brom

Goal scorers: Aboubakar (11., 39.), van der Linden (33.), A. Živković (89.), Henriksen (90+3.)
Yellow card: Brežančić (23.), Balažic (33.), Hupperts (42.), Šaponjić (66.), Leković (87.)
Red card: Hupperts (77.), second yellow card

Current standing of Group L:

1. Athletic Bilbao 3 points
2. Partizan 3 points
3. Az Alkmaar 0 point
4. Augsburg 0 point