FK Partizan - Vojvodina 3:2 (superliga, round 37 - play-off, round 7)

Despite it was the last round of the season, again there were less than few spectators in the stadium. (The official report mentions 4000.)

Saša Ilić warming up

(photo: partizan.rs)

A few minutes before start

I could catch this image, and it’s too beautiful not to share it with you. Partizan stadium’s tribunes in the foreground, St. Sava Cathedral in the background

(screenshots)

(photo: Twitter)

Teams arrive

(screenshot)

The match had a heavy start, Vojvodina got a free kick already in the 3rd minute, about 18 metres from the box. The shoot was too wide. Two minutes later they got another free kick. The cross arrived from the left, but the referee whistled it off, as one of our defenders was pushed down to the ground.
Then came the 6th minute. We got a corner kick, Mihajlović kicked it to the goalmouth, where Milenković raised up and headed it into the net with a classic movement. 1:0!

(photos: partizan.rs)

Both teams attacked and ran a lot, there could be no complain for the pace. Vojvodina started an attack right after the kick-off. A cross came from the right, Meleg shot it to the box, missing it just with a few centimetres. In the 13th minute Saša Ilić ran up on the right with the ball and crossed it to Bojinov in the middle.
Seriously I haven’t seen such fumbling in my life as that was presented by Bojinov here. (Or if I still have, it was very long ago.) All doors and windows were wide open, but he could still fumble it away. You can watch it in the highlights at the end of the blogpost from 1:40, but only for those with strong nerves. (I warned you.)
In the 15th minute Vojvodina got another free kick, 20-22 metres from the box. Meleg shot, Kljajić had a fantastic, spectacular save.
Meanwhile on the southern tribunes fans made an amazing demonstration. They hung a rope across the tribune and hung all those T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoods they stole/robbed/tore off from Crvena Zvezda-fans. There were those with CZ-logos, Delije Sever-logos, even with Olympiakos-logos. Then they ritually burned these (often terribly dirty) clothes to ashes, while chanting tongue-in-cheek, vulgar rhymes.
You get photos:

(photos: Twitter)

There’s even a video about it:

In the 18th minute Brašanac got the ball after a free kick. He shot it to the box, it was too high. It was his turn again in the 22nd minute. He ran up, dribbled, then shot, but it wasn’t powerful enough to land in the net. The goalkeeper caught it.

Darko Brašanac some time during the game

(photo: partizan.rs)

After this Vojvodina made an immediate counter-attack. Bogosavac stopped them in the last minute, making the attempt end in a corner kick. In the 25th minute another Vojvodina-attack arrived from the right. Rosić (if I could see his shirt number well) crossed to the middle, someone headed it to the box, barely missing it.
A minute later Mihajlović arrived at Vojvodina’s penalty area from the left. He dribbled himself to the middle, then shot and scored, like it’s written in the Big Book of Football. 2:0!

(photo: partizan.rs)

The 29th minute brought another of Bojinov’s great (?) moments. Mihajlović crossed to the middle, Bojinov attacked, he even shot, right into the goalkeeper.
Vojvodina’s first goal came in the 32nd minute, after an embarrassing ball-losing by Partizan. Meleg was right there, he grabbed the ball, ran up and shot it into the box next to Kljajić, who ran out of the goalmouth. 2:1
Two minutes later Nastić had a shot from the left, Kljajić had a great save.

This was the point when I realized there was a relatively peaceful atmosphere on the pitch (despite the usual fouls that always happen on football games). No fights, no yelling, no pushing each other around, yet there are goals, attempts, pace, like on an average football match.
Oh, wait. Everton didn’t play today, so there was no one to pick up useless fights with the opponent.

In the 38th minute we made Vojvodina stuck a bit into their penalty area. We passed the ball around, finally Mihajlović shot from the left, onto the side net.
The last minute brought another dangerous-looking action - well, it would have been dangerous if the ball hadn’t ended at Bojinov. Golubović passed it to the middle, but I have no idea what was going on with the Bulgarian, whether he fumbled it away again, or - AGAIN!!! - he was slower than a snail, nevertheless a defender from the guests tackled him easily.

To the neighbourhood, with lots of love

(photo: Twitter)

The pace slowed down for the second half. The first actual attempt came in the 53rd minute. Lukić ran up in the middle, then passed it to Saša Ilić. The Captain passed back to him. Lukić wanted to shoot, but he kicked the air instead of the ball.
We were leading to 3:1 in the 61st minute with an own goal that literally ached. Rosić wanted to block one of our attacks, but either the ball hit him and flew away in the most possible twisted way, or he kicked the ball into the worst direction, nevertheless instead of the (probably original idea) kick-out/downfield kick the ball flew into the middle of the net with such a fantastic arch you can barely see even at action goals. The goalkeeper desperately ran back to the box, but it was impossible to save this, even if he had stood on the goal line. 3:1

Deep inside I felt for Rosić. It could be a terrible feeling.

In the 65th minute Jovičić sent a distant shot to our box after a free kick, it was too wide. Then in the 73rd minute it was already 3:2. Meleg got a pass in the middle and shot right there, from 20-22 metres. That’s what they call cannon shot.
Vojvodina sped up, they definitely wanted to equalize. In the 77th minute Vukčević (if I could see well) sent a distant cannon shot to our goal after a free kick, but instead of hitting it, he sent the ball out of the stadium. In the 82nd minute Vojvodina got another free kick. Now Meleg shot, Partizan-defenders cleared, though as I could see, it was very close. Another Vojvodina free kick came in the 85th minute, again by Meleg, it ended in a corner kick.

Young Birmančević arrived in the 88th minute as a substitute for Mihajlović

(photos: partizan.rs)

Vukčević sent another cannon shot to our box in the 90th minute, Kljajić saved. Finally, in the 93rd minute there was one free kick left for Vojvodina at our penalty area line, but it ended in the wall. This was the moment of the final whistle as well.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

This is one of the most touching moments of the game, if not the entire season. This photo says more than a million words

(photos: partizan.rs)

Match highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 4000
Referee: Bojan Nikolić (assistants: Nenad Kurčubić, Srđan Minić - 4th assistant: Uroš Stojković - goal line assistants: Dejan Dimitrijević, Novica Anđelovski)

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Vulićević, Milenković, Jovanović, Bogosavac - Brašanac, Jevtović, S. Ilić - Golubović (Lukić, 46.), Bojinov (Vlahović, 65.), Mihajlović (Birmančević, 88.)
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Vojvodina: Kordić, Lakićević, Rosić, Miletić, Nastić - Sekulić - Malbašić, Paločević (Jovančić, 58.), Babić, Meleg - Ašćerić (Vukčević, 68.)
Head coach: Nenad Lalatović

Goal scorers: Milenković (6.), Mihajlović (26.), Meleg (32., 72.), Rosić (61. - own goal)
Yellow card: Vulićević (35.), Rosić (58.), Brašanac (62.), Jevtović (74.)

End result of the play-off:
1. CZ 54 points
2. Partizan 40 points
3. Čukarički 39 points
4. Vojvodina 36 points
5. Radnički Niš 35 points
6. Borac 30 points
7. FK Voždovac 25 points
8. Surdulica 25 points

End result of the play-out:
1. Mladost 31 points
2. Spartak Subotica 29 points
3. Metalac 28 points
4. Rad 27 points
5. Javor 26 points
6. Novi Pazar 25 points
7. OFK Beograd 18 points
8. Jagodina 15 points

We-know-who’s are the champions, hooray, applause and congratulations.
LOL, just kidding.
Eventually we made it to the 2nd place. Thanks to this and to our cup winning we can enter Europa League. Čukarički and Vojvodina will join us. What is already sure that we enter the Liga in the 2nd round of the qualifyings. The draw will be on 20th June.
As for the play-out: Jagodina is dropped out together with OFK Beograd that had a surprisingly terrible performance this season. Napredak and Bačka Palanka qualified from the prva liga, for the latter one this will be the first season in the superliga.

FK Partizan - Borac Čačak 2:0 (superliga, round 33 - play-off, round 3)

The day had an excellent start, because early in the afternoon unknown people attacked Miloš Vazura in front of Partizan stadium, when he arrived at the club’s headquarters. The ugly, fat, pig club’s general director could escape, but the attackers injured a security guard, who arrived to help Vazura.
The club made a press release full of empty phrases, where they go into details for long paragraphs about nothing. Meanwhile Vazura had a tour in the entire Serbian sports media complaining that he was threatened with death. He also told the public that he knew well who had been behind the attack.
He even told the name of the (suspected) scapegoat, who is not else than Nenad Bjeković, Partizan’s former class player, who is aspiring for the club’s presidental seat now. Bjeković instantly laughed it off and told Vazura what to do and with whom.
You can get horrified on these events, you can get shocked, you can moralize, search for a scapegoat, or cross yourself, but there’s one thing you can’t do: get surprised. It was in the air for a while. The egg-throwing case was the last drop. After that it was just a question of time when the fans’ fury will manifest in an open attack. By the way, it surely didn’t shock Vazura too much, as he had enough energy afterwards to have a tantrum in the media and hold others suspect.

I’ll be honest: one side of my mind was laughing hard on it and the only thing it was sorry for is that the attackers couldn’t catch this Mangalica. The other side was a bit more sober, it said, even if they had caught him and beat the hell out of him to make him remember it years later, it still wouldn’t have solved anything. The team would still be in a rut, the management would still be dilettant and the players wouldn’t play any better.

One more thing.
The club’s press release was written on the level of a stupid, spoiled teenage bitch. I find its last sentence especially disgusting that says "all those who don’t condemn this attack, is no longer entitled to be called a Partizan-fan".

Dear everyone, fellow fans, Grave Diggers,
Dear Friends,
I owe you a confession. 
I’m not a Partizan-fan.
As you can see, the management of the team thinks they are allowed to determine who is Partizan-fan and who is not. Heart doesn’t matter. Dedication doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that you have been a Partizan-fan since birth and the Team is your life and soul. They will tell you who and what matters.
It means, I’m not a Partizan-fan. 
From now on please, read this blog knowing that it’s written by someone who is not a Partizan-fan. (Obviously I’m writing it only because I have nothing else to do.)

A message to the management and especially to the person who handed this press release out (signed as FK „Partizan“, with quote marks): fuck you all and kill yourselves.

Now about the match.

Southern tribune, right before the start

(screenshot/ArenaSport 1)

One last group hug before the game

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

The first attempt came in the 4th minute. We got a free kick on the left side, from a sharp angle, approx. 25 metres from the box. Mihajlović kicked it to the goalmouth, the defenders headed it out.
In the 7th minute Saša Ilić forwarded the ball to Bandalovski in the left. Bandalovski crossed it to the middle, but everyone else were far behind to catch the ball.
In the 11th minute Saša Ilić passed to Bojinov in the middle. Bojinov forwarded it to Golubović, he shot, missing the box with a few centimetres.

This was the first real attempt. Otherwise we tried to build up attacks, Borac was stuck in their half, but we didn’t mean any danger for their goal line.

In the 18th minute Bojinov crossed to Golubović from the left. Golubović headed it to the box, it was too high. Then in the 24th minute Bojinov got the ball from Brašanac. He ran up, dribbled a defender (which was a big surprise, because so far Bojinov could operate only with attempts when the ball is served to him on a golden plate), shot, the goalkeeper saved.
Borac could reach to our penalty area only in the 28th minute, but the referee whistled it off, because they were on offside.
Other than this nothing really happened. The pace was slow, Borac passed the ball forth and back, sometimes tackled Partizan’s players, but they couldn’t make it up to our goalmouth. We kept on attacking (or at least trying), but we were blocked most of the time.
Partizan looked to be in pieces. The players were just wandering all around on the field, they seemingly had no idea what to do.
In the 34th minute Everton got the ball in the middle and passed it to Bogosavac. Bogosavac forwarded it to Saša Ilić, he sent it ahead to Bojinov. Bojinov shot from 20 metres, it was way too high.
In the 27th minute we got a free kick from 30 metres, on the left. Mihajlović stood behind the ball, crossed it to the middle. There Bojinov shot, the goalkeeper had a great save. The ball dropped to Golubović, he shot from the five-metre-line, but he sent the ball up to the sky.
In the 39th minute came Šaranov’s usual "show": he wanted to do a goal-kick, but he screwed it up. Vujaklija was hanging around there, he grabbed the ball and shot. The ball hit Miladin Stevanović, ending it in a corner kick. After the kick we made a counter-attack. Bandalovski crossed from a sharp angle into the middle. Brašanac shot, it was too wide.

His facial expression says it all

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 45+1st minute Mihajlović shot to the box after a throw-in. The goalkeeper again had a great save. The ball dropped to Golubović again, and the young player didn’t miss it out this time, but shot it into the middle of the net. 1:0

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

For the beginning of the second half Borac seemed to come back to life. In the 51st minute Maslać shot after a corner kick. (The ball hit Bogosavac before flying out through the baseline, but still the referee whistled for goal-kick. Oh well. Not as if I wanted to complain.)
In the 55th minute Mihajlović ran up on the left side and crossed to Brašanac in the middle. Brašanac shot, it was too high.
Two minutes later Kostić crossed from the left, Šaranov easily caught it.

A Notts County-flag above Gate M

(photo: partizan.rs)

The two teams were running up and down on the field without building up one single attempt. Finally in the 63rd minute Mihajlović sent a 35-metre-long free kick to the box - but instead it landed right in the hands of the goalkeeper.
In the 64th minute Zec suddenly appeared at our goal and it could have been dangerous, but Bogosavac made an end to it. In the 69th minute Borac got a free kick. Kostić got the ball, he passed it out to the left. A cross came from there, Šaranov caught it.
In the 72nd minute we got a penalty.
Mihajlović was kicked to the ground inside the penalty area. The referee immediately pointed at the white spot. Brašanac stood behind the ball and calmly shot it into the box. 2:0

(photos: partizan.rs)

After the penalty the match just died. Nothing happened, just nothing. There were a few substitutes, sometimes Borac appeared at our penalty area (they had one counter-attack to mention, Bangura headed the ball to the box, if I could see well, but it was too high).

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 1500
Referee: Dejan Anđelković (assistants: Nemanja Petrović, Vladimir Čađenović - 4th assistant: Marko Dimitrijević - goal line assistants: Milorad Milićević, Igor Kocić)

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski, M. Stevanović, Jovanović (Kosović, 75.), Bogosavac - Brašanac, Everton, S. Ilić - Golubović (A. Stevanović, 72.), Mihajlović - Bojinov (Vlahović, 67.)
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Borac Čačak: Bajić - Tanasin, Krstić, Maslać, Kostić - Balabanović (Adžović, 71.), Petrazzi - Jovanović, Zorić (Bangura, 82.), Zec (Sotirović, 86.) - Vujaklija
Head coach: Tomas Vasov

Goal scorers: Golubović (45+1.), Brašanac (72. - pen.)
Yellow card: Kostić (19.), Vujaklija (36.), Bandalovski (42.), Balabanović (51.)

Current standing of the play-off:
1. CZ 42 points
2. Čukarički 36 points
3. Partizan 31 points
4. Radnički Niš 29 points
5. Vojvodina 27 points
6. Surdulica 25 points
7. Borac 23 points
8. FK Voždovac 21 points

Javor Matis - FK Partizan 1:2 (superliga, round 29)

I have to confess you all: in secret I can’t wait in every season for Partizan to play against Javor at an away game. Every single time I’m amazed by Ivanjica, the town where the stadium of Javor Matis can be found. It’s surrounded by mountains, with thick forests on the mountain-sides and beautiful little houses around the place.

(photo: groundhoppingsrb.blogspot.com)

(photo: blueunionbelgrade.com)

As an extra the sun was shining beautifully above the Dinari Alps

(screenshot/ArenaSport 1)

In secret I’d love if Partizan played more against Javor. Or if Partizan had a stadium in Ivanjica (as well), and played there (as well).
As for the match, we didn’t waste much time. In the 5th minute Saša Ilić passed to Bojinov in the middle. He forwarded the ball to Mihajlović. Mihajlović dribbled among the defenders, then kicked the ball with a flat shot right into the box. 0:1
In the first 20 minutes we possessed the ball quite a lot. We had been continuously there around Javor’s penalty area - just with no goal attempts. Still the home team was stuck on their half. They could break out once, in the 7th minute, but Šaranov interfered.
In the 19th minute Lukić got the ball after a corner-kick. He shot, it was too high. The home team immediately ran up for an attack. Miletić arrived on the left and crossed to the middle. Bandalovski blocked. Throw-in for Javor, they were back right there to our goalmouth, finally, if I could see well, Gogoua cleared the area.
Afterwards we got a row of corner-kicks, at least four, and we missed out all four chances. Once Mihajlović crossed to the middle from the right. Bojinov was about to receive, but once again, not for the first time, and for surely not the last time he missed it out, with just a step behind the ball, it was a pain to see.

My previous blogpost came to my mind when I was grumbling about strikers. I was sure, we would be totally useless even with a striker - I’m not happy that finally I was right (more or less).

Then in the 29th minute Bogosavac passed to Lukić. Lukić arrived on the left, then crossed to the middle - most probably to Bojinov, but Crnomarković appeared out of the blue. The defender obviously wanted to block, but for his unluck the ball dropped from his feet right into the box. Own goal. 0:2

Never mind, we can still celebrate

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 32nd minute Javor got a free kick approx. 25 metres from our goal line. The kick left the field above the crossbar. In the 36th minute the ball dropped onto Dražić’s head after a throw-in. Dražić forwarded it, it was dangerous, but Šaranov caught it.
As the game passed by, Javor possessed the ball more and more. In the 37th minute an attack came on the right. Docić got the pass, he immediately shot from the distance, it was too high.
Three minutes later they missed out a great chance. Javor attacked on the right side, then the attacker crossed to Gafurov on the other side of the field. Gafurov barely missed it. One of our defenders pushed the ball out through the baseline. After the corner-kick there was a big goalmouth scramble, finally Jovanović kicked the ball downfield. In the 43rd minute Javor again tried. Dražić possessed the ball, our defenders desperately tried to tackle him, without success. Finally Šaranov punched it downfield.
Javor kept on pushing, but they didn’t have too many actual attempts. Here at the end of the first half we got a bit stuck on our side and it seemed that we didn’t really know what we wanted.
It didn’t get much better even later on.

By the way, does anyone know what’s going on with Brašanac? Since the eternal derby he is like his own shadow. Earlier he was always in play, organizing attacks, tackling opponents, passing, crossing the ball and he was dangerous to the goal line numerous times. Now he has been invisible for weeks. I can barely hear his name during matches. Even if he gets the ball, he seems to try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. What happened to him? What’s wrong with this otherwise great, loyal Partizan-player, who is typically this "silent, reliable basic player" of the team?

Second half, 47th minute. Jovanović ran up in the middle with the ball and passed to Bojinov. He wanted to forward it to Mihajlović, but a defender blocked.
I mentioned it only because this was the one and only event for long minutes that was worth to mention.
In the 56th minute Bogosavac and Dražić were wrestling for the ball on the right side. Finally Javor’s player won and dribbled himself to the middle. He wanted to pass to his teammate arriving right there, but Bandalovsik threw himself into the way.
In the 63rd minute Mihajlović suddenly ran up, after Javor’s entire defense line seemingly fell asleep. For the home team’s great luck their goalkeeper was still awake, ran out of the goalmouth and saved.
Javor continued to pressure us, all in vain. We played this "come what may"-kind of game, as if we entered the field with absolutely no tactics.
Then in the 73rd minute Miletić had a distant shot to our goal. Šaranov wanted to save, but... as if he wanted to catch a butterfly instead. He jumped to save Miletić’s shot, but the ball dropped out of his hand and rolled away. Dražić was right there, he took the chance and shot, right into the middle of the net. 1:2, one of the most embarrassing goals we got, seriously.
The goal fired Javor up, they attacked even heavier. They couldn’t break through our defense though, even though, well, to be very honest, our backline wasn’t on top either. Our defenders kicked the ball to wherever they were looking at. We didn’t even try to pretend anymore that we know what we were doing. We played the most outrageous football.
In the 87th minute we could somehow build up an attempt. Bogosavac ran up on the left and crossed to Kosović on the other side. Kosović shot and hit the crossbar with the ball.
Javor kept us under pressure, but they couldn’t equalize. At the very end, in the 94th minute Stojaković had one last shot left to try with, but Šaranov saved.

(photo: partizan.rs)

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: FK Javor stadium, Ivanjica
Number of spectators: 2000
Referee: Dejan Santrač (assistants: Dejan Potočan, Jovica Milin - 4th assistant: Matija Olajos-Nagy - goal line assistants: Aleksandar Vasić, Róbert Kis-Csepegi)

Javor Matis: Đogatović - Gajić, Crnomarković, Milović, Miletić - Eliomar (Josović, 24.), Docić, Ajuru (Stojaković, 62.) - Đokić, Dražić - Gafurov (Zečević, 78.)
Head coach: Mladen Dodić

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski, Jovanović, Gogoua, Bogosavac - Kosović, Brašanac, S. Ilić (Jevtović, 57.) - Lukić (Golubović, 86.), Mihajlović - Bojinov (Vlahović, 57.)
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Goal scorers: Mihajlović (5.), Crnomarković (29., own goal)
Yellow card: Gajić (26.), Gogoua (43.), Milović (90+2.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 81 points
2. Partizan 51 points
3. Čukarički 50 points
4. Borac 45 points
5. Radnički Niš 45 points
6. Vojvodina 43 points
7. FK Voždovac 40 points
8. Surdulica 38 points
9. Javor 35 points
10. Mladost 33 points
11. Metalac 32 points
12. OFK Beograd 28 points
13. Novi Pazar 28 points
14. Spartak Subotica 26 points
15. Rad 23 points
16. Jagodina 23 points

FK Partizan - FK Voždovac 3:0 (superliga, round 26)

We won!
It feels so strange to write it down after who knows how many lost matches.

By the way, prevention is better than cure, I made myself a big cup of coffee before the match not to end up like last time.

The stadium was suspended again. It was a punishment after the eternal derby, when the game had to be paused numerous times for the heavy smoke fans made with firecrackers and torches.

When will these get suspended?... Seriously, when that day comes, I’ll open a champagne

(photo: partizan.rs)

On the other hand, fuck them, just FUCK THEM ALL, together with their rotten double standards. When fans are not allowed to enter the stadium, why is this disgusting, fat, pig-faced, lousy worm is allowed with his 138 000 din + 4000 euro salary?...

The match started the oddest possible way. Voždovac attacked and Gogoua carelessly passed the ball back to Šaranov. Our goalkeeper also didn’t waste time on thinking, just grabbed the ball.
Well, it was a big mistake.
The referee whistled, free kick inside the penalty area.

Has nobody told this guy NEVER EVER TO TOUCH THE BALL WITH HANDS when it’s passed back to him, even if nuclear bombs are dropping form the sky?...

The entire Partizan lined up on the goal. Marinković shot, and even though he missed it out, he hit Stevanović so hard with the ball that the midfielder fell on the ground with a painful face. The guests had another attempt in the 5th minute, Ćirković ran up with the ball on the right side. Šaranov ran out of the goalmouth and had a great save.
In the 10th minute we got a free kick 30-35 metres from the goal line, in the middle. Jevtović shot, the goalkeeper saved. A minute later we got a corner kick. Mihajlović sent it in, Brašanac pushed it with his head - right into the box! 1:0!

(photos: hotsport.rs)

In the 15th minute, after a free kick

there were a lot of fouls, someone was always rolling on the ground from pain. It all made the game a bit fragmented

we possessed the ball. Mihajlović crossed it from the left to the middle, where Brašanac was waiting for it. He shot, the ball hit a defender and just barely missed the goal. It was very close to an own goal.
In the 22nd minute Stevanović arrived on the right side. He crossed to the middle, Saša Ilić got it. The Captain shot, the goalkeeper had a big save.
A miracle happened in the 25th minute.
We got a penalty kick.
Mihajlović was pushed to the ground by a defender inside the penalty area. The referee immediately pointed at the white spot. Stevanović stood behind the ball.
Here another miracle happened.
Stevanović scored.
Yes. Him. From penalty. 2:0!!!

(photos: hotsport.rs)

In the 31st minute again Stevanović crossed from the right to the middle. First Saša Ilić shot, but he was blocked by defenders. The ball dropped to Brašanac, he shot, too, but it was too wide. A minute later Jevtović had a try and shot from the distance, it was too high.
We continuously attacked, Voždovac was stuck in their half. They could break free and reach our penalty area in the 37th minute. Marinković crossed to Odita from the left, but Šaranov deactivated them in time.
Here the pace slowed down a bit. Finally Marinković had a sudden, distant shot in the 43rd minute. Šaranov saved. Then we had two attempts, first Brašanac sent a flat shot to the goal line (too wide), then Mihajlović kicked the ball towards the box from the distance (too high).
At the very end Šaranov still did everything to tear my nerves to pieces. He wanted to make a goal-kick, but instead of downfield he shot it right into Odita, who was standing there just two steps away from Partizan’s goalkeeper. The ball made a dangerous curve, finally it flew out of the field.
The second half started right with Gogoua’s last-moment-save from Odita. Then nothing happened until the 57th minute, when we got a corner-kick. Brašanac possessed the ball, standing right at the goalmouth. He shot, but instead of the box he hit the goalkeeper and the ball flew out above the crossbar. Corner-kick, Kosović headed it towards the goal, but the ball hit a defender, earning us another corner-kick.
In the 60th minute again Šaranov had his moment. A cross arrived from the left, Odita was there waiting for it to shoot it right into the net. Šaranov wanted to save, but instead of the ball he grabbed the air. For his (and our) great luck the ball rolled out of the baseline and the attempt ended in a corner-kick.
In the 64th minute Stevanović shot from the right side, but he was blocked by a defender. The ball dropped to Saša Ilić, he shot, too, the goalkeeper caught it.
Then came the 70th minute.
Then came Kosović.
He scored such a FANTASTIC goal, with such an amazing bicycle kick, that he MUST get the Puskás-award right now.
It was such a marvellous goal that even ArenaSport’s commentator said "bravo" afterwards.

(photos: hotsport.rs)

In the 83rd minute Voždovac got a free kick approx. 22 metres from the goal. Marinković shot, making a goalmouth scramble, then Stojanović attempted with a heading, but it was too wide.
Then in the 86th minute something happened with Šaranov - nobody knew what it could be, because everyone else was at the other side of the field around Voždovac’s penalty area. Partizan’s goalkeeper was waving to the medicals to come, because he needed attendance. The only info source says that he was "not well", then the doctor gave him something to take or eat (probably vitamines or dextrose) then the game continued.
For the very end we had one spectacular attack left, then Mihajlović got the pass. He shot, but it was too high.

40-minute-long highlights by SOS Kanal:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: -
Referee: Nenad Đokić (assistant: Vladimir Jovanović, Goran Stanojević - 4th assistant: Vladimir Šegrt - goal line assistants: Dejan Filipović, Dejan Dimitrijević)

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski, Gogoua, Jovanović, Bogosavac - Brašanac, Jevtović, Kosović (Lukić, 71.) - Stevanović (Golubović, 82), S. Ilić (Bojinov, 75.), Mihajlović
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

FK Voždovac: Popović - Terzić, Mihajlov, Ivković, Puzigaća - Pavlović, Radin - Ćirković (Stojanović, 59.), Marinković (Damjanović, 84.), Krasić (Asani, 76.) - Odita
Head coach: Bratislav Živković

Goal scorers: Brašanac (11.), Stevanović (25. - pen.), Kosović (70.)
Yellow card: Marinković (12.), Kosović (17.), Terzić (55.), Ivković (70.)

League table will be brought tomorrow.
Update: current championship standings*
1. CZ 71 points
2. Borac 43 points
3. Partizan 42 points
4. Čukarički 41 points
5. Radnički Niš 41 points
6. Vojvodina 39 points
7. FK Voždovac 36 points
8. Surdulica 34 points
9. Javor 31 points
10. Mladost 31 points
11. Metalac 28 points
12. Novi Pazar 28 points
13. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 23 points
14. OFK Beograd 23 points
15. Jagodina 22 points
16. Rad 21 points

*Novi Pazar - cz and Mladost - Čukarički are postponed

OFK Beograd - FK Partizan 2:1 (superliga, round 23)

Seriously.
It was senseless to start this spring season.
The entire winter comedy was senseless, with the scandal around Andrija Živković, with the struggles of the transfer season and the "should he stay or should he go" soap opera. The entire team should have been thrown out to the street and put it all back to amateur level.
Based on what we could see today it’s not worth more.
The starting eleven was full of newbies and youngsters, e.g. Birmančević, who will turn 18 in March.

(photo: partizan.rs)

For (my) great surprise Ivan Petrović was also there - that Ivan Petrović, who had been kicked out of the team earlier. It seems, the management could somehow convince him to come back.

(photo: partizan.rs)

 The team arrives at the field

(photo: hotsport.rs)

The match started with a minute-long silence for the memory of Slobodan Santrač, Partizan’s and OFK’s former class player, who passed away recently.

(photo: partizan.rs)

I could come up with this tasteless joke that this minute of silence could have gone for Partizan in general as well, but now I’m fucking not in the mood to be funny.

At the stand there was someone, too, whom we haven’t seen long ago - but whom many of us would like to see wearing Partizan’s jersey again

(photo: Twitter)

We had our first attack(-alike action) in the 2nd minute. Mihajlović got a pass on the left side. He was tackled by OFK-defenders, but we still possessed the ball. There was a big fight on the left side, finally OFK could clear the area. Two minutes they got a free kick about 30-35 metres from our goal. Vulićević pushed his head up to stop the ball, finally we could somehow kick the ball out downfield.

Partizan’s right side was desperately empty. Well, yes. We missed a lot Andrija Živković.

In the 9th minute OFK led an attack on the right side. They crossed the ball to the middle, it was dangerous, finally someone (maybe Birmančević?) headed it out.
In the 12th minute Andrić (if I’m not wrong) got a pass on the right side. He shot, Kljajić saved.
The first 15 minutes brought a spiritful, fast game. Both teams ran a lot, the game was going mostly on the midfield.
In the 16th minute we got a free kick about 25 metres from the goal line. Defenders headed out the ball. A minute later we got another free kick, now on the right side, almost at the sideline. Defenders again headed it out.
In the 21st minute we were attacking from the left, but the goalkeeper saved.
Then in the 22nd minute Brašanac got a pass on the left. He dribbled himself into the middle, then ruthlessly shot and scored. 0:1

(photos: hotsport.rs)

The truth is, the impress of the game didn’t change much after the goal. Partizan looked a tad bit of more self-confident, while OFK was a bit cramped.
In the 30th minute we got a free kick on the right side, again almost at the sideline. Defenders headed it out, but we still possessed the ball. Finally Fofana got it, he headed it to the goal, making a big upheaval in the goalmouth. Then someone (maybe Jovanović) pressed the ball into the net, but the referee whistled it off and invalidated the goal, because the goalkeeper was under attack.
OFK immediately started a counter-attack. A cross came from the right, Kljajić caught it.
In the 32nd minute Bogosavac was rudely kicked to the ground. Free kick, 25 metres from the goal. The goalkeeper punched it out, OFK ran up for a counter-attack. Partizan used the tactics of full court press, and it was successful, the attack died away.
In the 35th minute Kljajić caught a 30-metre free kick, then in the 40th he tore my nerves to pieces. OFK sent a big pass ahead, but Kljajić was somewhere outside the penalty area. When he saw the pass coming, he desperately ran back to the goalmouth, just the problem was that OFK’s attacker was a few steps ahead of him. Finally, for our great luck Jovanović (who stayed inside the penalty area) kicked the ball downfield.
Other than this nothing else really happened for the rest of the first half. Any time we tried with an attack, OFK defenders blocked us.

However much it hurts, Fofana was practically invisible at this game. Either he is (still) not in shape or OFK had an especially good defense line - or both - nevertheless Fofana’s performance of today was not estimable.

Bogosavac some time during the game

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the second half, around the 50th minute Mihajlović got a fantastic pass from Fofana on the left side. He immediately ran up and sent a cross to the middle, the goalkeeper caught it.

Nemanja Mihajlović is the only one who had a performance worth to mention today

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 52th minute Kljajić punched out an OFK-corner. The ball dropped to Pejović, he immediately shot, it was too high.
In the 58th minute Andrić sent a great shot to Jovović, almost from the half-line. Jovović ran up, leaving our defenders behind, Kljajić was all alone, Jovović shot with a classic movement and scored. 1:1
Barely 6 minutes passed when OFK took the lead.
An attack arrived from the left, Stevanović headed it out. The ball dropped to Pavlovski and he shot right there, from 17 metres. The cannon shot fell into the middle of our net. 2:1
That’s all, folks.
The 70th minute brought the debut of Dušan Vlahović in the senior team. Vlahović just turned 16 a few weeks ago. He came as a substitute for Fofana.

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 72nd minute Avramovski ran up on the right side. The defender couldn’t tackle him, Avramovski shot - for our luck the ball hit the goalpost.
In the 76th minute Mihajlović got a pass. He ran up, dribbled among the defenders

it was so great to see these tricks

then he shot from 3 metres - it was too high. A minute later Saša Ilić crossed from the left. Vulićević arrived, shot, it was too high.

Right before this scene the ball flew out among the spectators. It came to my mind, what if fans would have told, they wouldn’t give back the ball, only when, let’s say, Vazura rolls into a load of hot pitch, then into white feathers. Or, maybe Andrija Živković must immediately join the game as a right winger, and from now on Iliev is allowed to function only as a paperweight in the stadium offices. Or something like that.

Only 10 minutes were left. OFK was playing for time every possible way. Their players stayed on the field with painful face after every clash. Their goalkeeper even got a yellow card for playing for time. As for us, we were out of ideas. Even if we had attacks, OFK-defenders easily blocked them. Around the 90th minute Planić got his second yellow card, the referee sent him off the field. Partizan-fans loudly demanded the beheading of the management ("Uprava napolje"), an angry fan threw a firecracker on the ground. In the last minute everyone was nervous, Partizan-players for the defeat and shame, while OFK could hardly wait for the final whistle. One of their players almost started a fight with the referee, his teammates pulled him away. In the very last minute we got a last free kick about 28 metres from the goal, but Mihajlović almost kicked it out of the stadium.

Sadness and shame

Saša Ilić’s expression tells more than 1000 words

Ivan Tomić is not happy

(photos: hotsport.rs)

Goals:

Facts:

Venue: Obilić stadium, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 2000
Referee: Dejan Filipović (assistant: Uroš Stojković, Vukan Gordić - 4th assistant: Bojan Stanojević - goal line assistants: Milan Jeremić, Nemanja Petković)

OFK Beograd: Čupić - Stojković, Planić, Liščević, Martinović - Vukobratović, Pejović - Belaković (Pavlovski, 53.), Avramovski, Jovović (Duronjić, 89.) - Andrić (Cuckić, 69.)
Head coach: Dragan Radojičić

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Vulićević, M. Stevanović, Jovanović, Bogosavac - Brašanac, I. Petrović, S. Ilić - Birmančević, Fofana, Mihajlović
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Goal scorers: Brašanac (22.), Jovović (58.), Pavlovski (64.)
Yellow cards: I. Petrović (3.), Martinović (23.), Planić (34.), S. Ilić (41.), Avramovski (53.), Čupić (87.), Vukobratović (90+3.)
Red card: Planić (89.) - second yellow card

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 65 points
2. Borac 40 points
3. Čukarički 38 points
4. Partizan 36 points
5. Vojvodina 36 points
6. Radnički Niš 35 points
7. FK Voždovac 32 points
8. Mladost 31 points
9. Javor 30 points
10. Surdulica 27 points
11. Metalac 25 points
12. Novi Pazar 24 points
13. OFK Beograd 22 points
14. Rad 19 points
15. Jagodina 19 points
16. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 16 points