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)

Borac Čačak - FK Partizan 0:2 (superliga, round 8)

Routine victory. We won over Borac with two confident goals.

Vulićević was the team captain

The match started in the usual style. We attacked heavily in the first 20 minutes trying hard to score, with no success though. While for Borac, the only thing they could gain was a red card in the 18th minute, when Maslać got his second (!) yellow card and had to leave the pitch. From then on Team Čačak played with 10 players.
The first mentionable attempt was in the 26th minute. Bojinov crossed from the right, Đurđević in the middle missed it with just one step. It ended with a corner kick.
After the strong start the pace started to slow down around the 30th minute. Average Fan thought - with a tired sigh - that the game would be again like the others earlier, we make it until the end with the most simple passing around. But in the 38th minute a free kick came from the right side. Jevtović pushed it with his head, then Miletić jumped up and headed it into the box. Goal! 0:1

What is more.
Barely 2 minutes passed, when Borac’s defense made a great mistake. Mihajlović took advantage, grabbed the ball, tackled the goalkeeper, then the entire defense line and sent a cannon shot into the box. 0:2

Mihajlović shoots...

...and it’s celebration time

Đurđević had one more try at the end of the first half, shooting it just a little bit too wide.
In the second half we had a great attempt in the 58th minute (until then there wasn’t much to mention). Vulićević crossed to the middle, there the goalkeeper performed a great save from Đurđević.

This game was in fact rather good. There was pace, there was fight, sometimes it was even spectacular. We attacked. A lot. With conception in our attacks.

There was still some cabaret in the 80th minute. Vulićević crossed, someone shot, the goalkeeper had a great save. The ball dropped downfield, again someone shot. The goalkeeper again saved, but he dropped the ball out of his hand. Bojinov was right there, "zicer" situation, all doors and windows were open, the problem was that he was on an XXL-sized offside. He shot the ball into the box, but the referee had whistled it off before he raised his leg to shoot.
Đurđević had one last try in the 85th minute (too high), then in the 88th Janković sent a flat shot to the box, the goalkeeper saved.

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Stadium FK Borac, Čačak
Number of spectators: 6000
Official: Majo Vujović (assistants: Dejan Petrović, Dejan Potočan - 4th official: Róbert Kis-Csepegi)

Borac Čačak: Aleksić, Tanasin, Maslać, Drašković, Obradović, Bogdanović, Delić (Marčić, 61.), Stanković (Krstić, 24.), Zoćević (Baldé, 86.), Sajčić, Thiago
Head coach: Ljubiša Dmitrović

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Milenković, Balažic, Miletić, Marjanović (S. Ilić, 65.), Jevtović, Mihajlović (Janković, 63.), Leonardo, Đurđević, Bojinov (Vlahović, 85.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Goal scorers: Miletić (38.), Mihajlović (40.)
Yellow card: Maslać (10.), Milenković (33.), Tanasin (79.)
Red card: Maslać (18.), second yellow card

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 22 points
2. Vojvodina 17 points
3. Radnički Niš 16 points
4. Metalac 14 points
5. FK Partizan 13 points
6. Spartak Subotica 13 points
7. Napredak 12 points
8. Mladost 12 points
9. FK Voždovac 11 points
10. Rad 10 points
11. Novi Pazar 8 points
12. Javor 7 points
13. Radnik 6 points
14. Čukarički 5 points
15. Borac 5 points
16. OFK Bačka 4 points

(photos: partizan.rs)

FK Partizan - Mladost Lućani 4:0 (superliga, round 30)

This was that match when I seriously asked myself why I’m doing this. Why I undergo this torture over and over again to watch terrible, awful football games, where nothing ever happens out of boredom. Why I’m watching stuck-up, talentless monkeys and fumbling little beginners, when I could watch a thousand times better games with much higher standard, professional players and professional coaches. And especially why I’m getting upset and mad over and over again by the disgusting level of the games, the absolutely amateurish attitude of players and managers, while I should just look around to find countless other football matches, where everything is about the fans and to make them feel good and special.

I’m very seriously considering to give up writing about football matches for a while. I’m fed up with this amateurism and I’m not willing to write about it, while the team is on the level of garbage, mentally and morally. I’m not willing to give my (nick)name to this, nor to invest any more energy into it than it deserves.

Of course I’ll keep on watching football games, I just won’t write about them.

Even at the beginning of the game the team was like eleven sloths on the field. They were slow, they were fumbling, they were just passing the ball here and there, even at this point it came to my mind that I should switch to another stream link where a Bundesliga-derby was running.

To all those who are about to yell me off: I’m a Partizan-fan and Partizan above all, but I’m not that perverted to deliberately torment myself.

Then in the 5th minute a miracle happened.
Šatara wanted to tackle Mihajlović, but instead he kicked Partizan’s player on the ground inside the penalty area. The referee immediately pointed at the white dot.

(photo: partizan.rs)

Bojinov stood behind the ball. The teammates probably allowed him to do so just because to be able to score and then to celebrate himself on Instagram.

He scored. 1:0

(photo: partizan.rs)

It did not make the pace any faster, nor - God forbid - the level any higher though.

Why would it?...

In the 7th minute Mladost got a free kick, approx. 25 metres from the box. If I could see well, it was Gavrić, who shot. Šaranov saved.

In the 13rd minute Everton got a pass on the right side from Gogoua. He ran up, shot, missing the goal line just with centimetres. A minute later we started a counter-attack after a Mladost-attempt. Everton tried again, but he was tackled. We still wanted to continue, but Bojinov (as usual) got stuck in an offside position. 

Then an incident happened. (I’m not sure though if it was at this point or later during the first half.) In the western stands fans attacked the team’s management sprawling sitting in the VIP-lounge. Literally they attacked them. Suddenly they jumped up and started to throw eggs on the presidency, while others were chanting "Uprava napolje".

(photos: Twitter)

They deserved it.

There’s a video about it, too. (It’s worth to watch and listen, even if you don’t speak Serbian, you can hear other fans cheering as the management gets showered by extra protein.)

Seriously, this was the top moment of the match.
Otherwise, nothing ever happened. We attacked, we possessed the ball more than the opponent, but we couldn’t build up one single useful attempt. The pace was very slow, it all looked like both teams hated it and wanted to get over it as soon as possible.
In the 21st minute someone headed the ball too wide after a Partizan corner kick. In the 27th minute Gogoua sent a painfully imprecise cross ahead. He wanted to forward the ball probably to Kosović, but the goalkeeper caught it with no special effort.
In the 29th minute Everton had the ball and could run up. He passed to Bojinow, who forwarded it to Mihajlović. Mihajlović attacked, the goalkeeper threw himself into the way.
In the 31st minute Mladost had a very weak attempt. Jovanović tried with a shot-alike action, but it died away in Šaranov’s hands. A minute later Bojinov possessed the ball and ran up towards Mladost’s goal line. Then Mihajlović continued with the ball, he shot, the ball hit the goalkeeper, corner kick.
In the 36th minute Mladost could have scored a goal, but Milosavljević touched the ball with his hand before shooting, the referee invalidated the score.
In the 42nd minute Kosović tried with a terribly weak shot, it was way too high. Then in the 45th minute Everton ran up with the ball on the right and served it with a cross (on a golden plate, wearing tuxedo and bow tie) to Bojinov. The Bulgarian just had to walk into the box with it. 2:0

Hey, people! A miracle happened! He scored a goal! Never mind it was a "sitter" one, but there is his name among the goal scorers, even twice! What a great dude, isn’t he?...

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the second half, at the 48th minute Bogosavac got the ball after a corner kick. He crossed it to the middle, but nobody knows what he wanted with it, because it was way too weak for a goal attempt, and way too imprecise for a pass. Finally the goalkeeper caught it.
In the 54th minute Bogosavac tackled a Mladost-defender and forwarded the ball to Mihajlović. Mihajlović ran up, shot, the goalkeeper had a great save.
A minute later Miroslav Vulićević appeared at the sideline as a substitute player. He joined the game after a long time of absence.

It was high time for this

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 57th minute Mladost’s goalkeeper again had a great save, now it was Bojinov’s try.
Almost immediately Bogosavac ran up with the ball on the left and crossed to the middle. There Bojinov forwarded it ahead

Bojinov is so great in forwarding the ball. Can anyone tell why he plays striker then?...

to Saša Ilić. Saša Ilić adjusted the ball a bit, then shot among the defenders who fell onto each other, right into the box. 3:0

(photo: partizan.rs)

The next action came in the 74th minute, but then it was another goal. Everton ran up again with the ball, crossing it out to the left. It arrived back from there to the middle. Vlahović got it, he forwarded it to Saša Ilić, and the Captain calmly shot it into the net from 16 metres. 4:0

(photo: partizan.rs)

Mladost had something that looked to be an attempt in the 78th minute, but it caused absolutely no headache for Šaranov.
The end was a physical pain to see. Nothing ever happened, only total boredom.

I swear, if I wasn’t a Partizan-fan, I’d say it was a bribed game. Not just this one, but even the previous ones. We won with goals on terrible games. I can’t believe Mladost (and the other opponents) couldn’t attack us with a blood-thirsty grin seeing us fumbling around, without any ideas. Seriously, did nobody notice that our opponents practically let us win?
Just one more thing: next week will be derby week, as the first round of the play-off. Nobody should ever try to tell me that this ass-scratching and fumbling will be enough against Crvena Zvezda. Either we pick ourselves together or it will end up in a huge fiasco, because those in the neighbourhood want our blood and scalp.

In the 87th minute it could be considered as an event that Mladost’s goalkeeper had to undergo a small medical assistance. The guests had two more attempts, the first in the 88th minute, when they sent a 30-metre free kick up in the sky. Then they had something looking like a try in the 90th minute. Finally, after 3 minutes of extra time the referee ended our sufferings.

(photos: partizan.rs)

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Referee: Aleksandar Vasić (assitants: Vladimir Čađenović, Matija Olajos-Nagy - 4th assistant: Dragan Bogićević - goal line assistants: Novica Anđelovski, Igor Stojilković)

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski (Vulićević, 55.), Milenković, Gogoua, Bogosavac - Kosović, Everton, Saša Ilić - Mihajlović, M. Golubović (Lukić, 70.)  - Bojinov (Vlahović, 69.)
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Mladost Lućani: Krznarić - Šatara, Živanović, Rakočević, Saničanin - Luković, Protić (Vajan, 56.) - Gavrić, Milosavljević (Lepović, 62.), Jovanović - Čečarić (S. Golubović, 86.)
Head coach: Nenad Milovanović

Goal scorers: Bojinov (5. - pen., 45.), Saša Ilić (57., 74.)
Yellow card: -

End result of the regular season:
1. CZ 82 points
2. Partizan 54 points
3. Čukarički 53 points
4. Borac 46 points
5. Vojvodina 46 points
6. Radnički Niš 45 points
7. FK Voždovac 40 points
8. Surdulica 38 points
9. Javor 35 points
10. Metalac 35 points
11. Mladost 33 points
12. Novi Pazar 31 points
13. OFK Beograd 28 points
14. Spartak Subotica 26 points
15. Jagodina 26 points
16. Rad 26 points

The first 8 teams qualified to the so-called winners’ stage, where they’ll play against each other by the same system as in the regular season and the first place team will win the championship title. Those teams on the 9-16th places will play for the losers’ stage, the last one will be dropped out. Games start next week, and as I said earlier, it starts right with the eternal derby. It will take part on Saturday from 18:00, ArenaSport 1 will broadcast it from 17:00 starting with an one-hour warm-up programme.

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

Victory: check.
Qualfiying for the next round: check.
Another serious injury for Vulićević: check.

All right, all right, I won’t speak too soon, let’s just see all events in order, one after the other.

I don’t know whose idea it was to put a football match for Wednesday, early in the afternoon. Whomever it was, I send them my warmest greetings packed in a mail bomb.

The beginning of the game was eventless. There was a free kick for the home team in the 5th minute, it was an easy task for Živko Živković.

Other than this nothing happened. Really nothing. One could have peeled potatoes, played with electric train, cut fingernails, installed a plug into the wall or anything else. Nobody would have missed out anything. (Maybe only Aboubakar losing the ball every now and then...)

In the 12th minute we got a free kick, approx. 20 metres from the goal line. Ninković ran up, shot, it was too high. We were trying with attacks, pretty much with half speed, so that our attempts died away. Then in the 16th minute Babović was trying on the left side, then passed the ball to Ninković. Ninković crossed it to the middle, the ball rolled out through the baseline. Corner-kick, the goalkeeper caught the ball.
In the 19th minute Stojanović had a sudden, distant shot (he probably got fed up with the general fumbling and slow pace), it was way too high.

Subić and Ninković inactivate Stanković

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 20th minute Aboubakar got a cross from the left. The striker was standing right in front of the goal line, but the goalkeeper caught the ball. Two minutes later we got a free kick at the left sideline. Ninković shot it inside the penalty area, the defenders pushed the ball out through the base line. Corner-kick.
Then in the 24th minute the team captain of Voždovac and Vulićević clashed. Vulićević fell on the ground in such a misfortunate way that he had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.

The moment Vulićević falls

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Here you can see there’s big trouble - Vulićević is laying on the ground, Partizan-players are horrified, while home team members wave for medical assistance

(photo: partizan.rs)

Medicals arrived in a hurry and carried Partizan’s defender off

(photo: hotsport.rs)

An ambulance car took him to hospital

(photo: mozzartsport.com)

The first news were very worrying: broken arm, urgent operation, long weeks of recovery. Soon before writing this blogpost though mozzartsport.com cited Partizan’s team doctor, Dr. Ilija Rosić. He accompanied Vulićević to the hospital and he said, Partizan’s defender has no broken bones. His elbow has dislocated though and his ligaments are torn. He’ll have to wear plaster on his arm for at least 3 weeks.
In the 29th minute we started a counter-attack after a Voždovac-free kick. Ninković ran up, crossed to Aboubakar in the middle - all the Cameroonian striker had to do is to head it into the net. He did so. 0:1

(photos: partizan.rs)

(photo: hotsport.rs)

The next event was just a small pause in the 42nd minute. The field was covered with smoke, Grave Diggers lighted their torches and made a happy bonfire.

(photo: Twitter)

The last action of the first half happened in the 43rd minute. Andrija Živković was dribbling, then passed the ball to Aboubakar. He forwarded it to Babović, Babović to Ninković, Ninković shot, the goalkeeper saved.

Saša Ilić in the half-time

(photo: partizan.rs)

Albert Nagy was also present at the stands

(Does anyone know where I could buy such a cap?)

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Like a boss - creative way to watch a football game for free

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the second half, at the 49th minute Brašanac possessed the ball. He crossed it to Ninković in the left. Ninković served the ball with a fantastic pass (it looked as if Džigi was holding the ball on a golden plate) to Babović in the middle. All doors and windows were open, but Babović again made that typical mistake that instead of shooting he started to position himself. The defenders easily tackled him.
In the 53rd minute Brašanac and Andrija Živković were playing "pinball" with the ball, then Živković crossed it to the middle to Ninković. Ninković shot with a fantastic bicycle kick, but defenders blocked his attempt. The ball dropped to Jevtović, he shot from the distance, the goalkeeper saved.
In the 57th minute Srećković had a sudden, distant shot, too high.
Then nothing happened for more than 10 minutes. The game was going mostly on our half, but Voždovac didn’t have even a shot on target. Finally in the 69th minute we started a counter-attack. Andrija Živković ran up, passed to Ninković, Ninković shot, the goalkeeper saved. Two minutes later Saša Ilić got the ball inside Voždovac’s penalty area. He passed it ahead to Aboubakar, Aboubakar shot, too wide.
In the 79th minute Andrija Živković got a pass, ran up and crossed it to the goalmouth. Ninković arrived, but the goalkeeper caught it. A minute later we again started a counter-attack after a corner-kick by Voždovac. Saša Ilić passed to Andrija Živković, he forwarded it to Ninković. Ninković shot, too high.
In the 83rd minute after a free kick by the home team Ninković clashed with a Voždovac-player. It looked to be an ordinary foul, that kind which happens a million times at every football game. The retorsion is usually just a free kick, then everything is back on track.
But not this time.
Referee Stoilković showed the yellow card to Ninković, nobody knows why. It was a disproportional punishment for such a small foul. The entire Partizan-bench jumped up, Ljubinko Drulović explained something to the referee with big gestures, but he couldn’t convince him.

(photo: partizan.rs)

Voždovac attacked desperately. In the 85th minute Zlatković got a cross from the other side of the field. He shot, it was too wide.
There was one attempt left for the very last minute. Bojinov shot from the distance, the ball almost flew out of the stadium.

(photo: hotsport.rs)m

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Obilić na Vračaru stadum, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 2000
Referee: Igor Stoilković (assistants: Vukan Gordić, Dragan Bogičević - 4th assistant: Milan Jeremić)

FK Voždovac: Milošević - Stanković, Mihajlović, Jovanović, Radivojević - Sinđić, M. Pavlović - Marinković, Stojanović (Ristović, 70.), Srećković (Odita, 62.) - Masović (Zlatković, 77.)
Head coach: Bratislav Živković

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Vulićević (Petrović, 27.), Bandalovski, Ćirković, Subić - Jevtović, Brašanac - A. Živković, Babović (S. Ilić, 68.), Ninković (Bojinov, 90.) - Aboubakar
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

Goal scorer: Aboubakar (29.)
Yellow card: Ćirković (28.), Mihajlov (64.), Babović (56.), Trujić (87.)

FK Partizan - OFK Beograd 2:1 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 8)

I’ll be honest and I won’t mind even if someone(s) will hate me for this. But I was utterly happy when I got to know that neither Babović, nor Fabricio would be in the starting eleven. I admit, I didn’t shed a tear for Petrović either. What is more: the talentless, but cocky Babović shouldn’t be more than a ball-boy at some recreational training. But only when nobody else is available.
And finally the left side of our defense line was not looking like a corridor for pedestrians.
Because there was our diligent, hard-working Ćirković...

...and the talented, reliable Bandalovski, who is useful on both the left and the right side and is able to play over his entire side, from the defense to the midfield, a typical "wildcard player".

Why, why, why must such players be bench warmers?!... Bandalovski should be the base of the defense line, being in the starting 11 at every game. Other trainers would fall over themselves to get such a defender, while over here he is stuck in the second team. And how many other players are there, who, like him, are talented but can barely make it to the A-team, or sometimes even to the bench, God damn it.

So, we walked out to the field and already in the 2nd minute Ćirković headed the ball to the goal line after a corner kick. Pity it was too wide. Two minutes later Saša Ilić got the ball in the middle. He shot from 16 metres. It was dangerous, the goalkeeper had a great save.

If I wanted to be mean now, I’d say, there it is, Babović is out of the team, and Saša Ilić immediately shows he still has a lot reserved.

Then in the 6th minute Aboubakar came up on the left side and kicked the ball to Saša Ilić. The Captain passed it ahead to Andrija Živković in the middle. The young world champion got it and walked right into the net with it. GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL! 1:0!!!

Saša Ilić passes it to the middle...

...Andrija Živković arrives from the background and shots

In the first 15 minutes Partizan dominated. OFK could barely get to our half, and even that didn’t last too long. The pace got slower, but we kept the game under control. OFK just assisted and they were busy mostly with keeping the ball as far from their goalmouth as possible.
In the 25th minute Andrija Živković was dribbling on the right side, then passed it to Brašanac in the middle. Brašanac headed it to the goal line, the goalkeeper caught it.
In the 30th minute OFK got a corner kick. Ješić shot, Partizan-defenders headed it out, right in front of Avramovski. The Macedonian player kicked into the air instead of the ball, it was painful to see. Finally the ball rolled out of the line. Goal-kick.
In the 32nd minute we got a free kick, approx. 25-28 metres from the goal line. Andrija Živković stood behind the ball. He shot, Balažic jumped up to head it, but Savić was quicker. It ended in a corner kick.
In the 35th minute a huge chance was missed out. Andrija Živković dribbled himself up on the right, then after this great solo he shot. He missed with barely a few centimetres.

A minute later Andrija Živković ran up with the ball on the right side. He passed it out to Vulićević, who kicked it to the middle. There Šaponjić rose up to the skies and flawlessly headed it into the net. GOOOOAAAAAAAAL, wonderful, perfect goal!!! 2:0!!!

There was a free kick left in the last minute before the end of the first half, 22 metres from the goal line. Andrija Živković kicked, the ball hit the wall.
The second half started with Subašić hitting Ćirković in the face, it brought a small pause for the game. Then in the 52nd minute OFK made it to Partizan’s penalty area after a long time. They came up on the left, the first attempt was saved by Živko Živković

it almost looked like an action that ends in a penalty kick, also the ball seemed to roll out of the field for a moment, but the refere didn’t whistle

the ball dropped right in front of Ignjatijević, who shot from a sharp left angle. And scored. 2:1
Two minutes later we got a free kick. About 25 metres, right side. Andrija Živković stood behind the ball. He kicked it inside the penalty area, Ćirković headed it, but the referee whistled it off.
The match started to slow down. Partizan’s first-half-pace disappeared. OFK didn’t want to speed it up either. The game was going on mostly the midfield, then in the 61st minute Andrija Živković grabbed the ball some time in the depths, near Partizan’s penalty area. He run up, with great solo, passed it to Vulićević on the right. Vulićević headed towards the penalty area and passed it towards Šaponjić in the middle, but a defender blocked the attempt.

In the 67th minute Bandalovski gave a great pass to Brašanac. Brašanac ran up in the middle, shot, the goalkeeper pushed the ball out, ending the action in corner kick. The kick was headed out by OFK defenders, in front of Trujić. Trujić shot, from about 16 metres, but it was too high.

Question of today’s game: why did Brašanac have to come off in the 75th minute?... He wasn’t injured, he was the heart and soul of the midfield. Why, why, why?...

In the 78th minute Jevtović sent a distant shot to the goal, but the ball flew out above the crossbar.
Then in the 80th minute Gojkov passed to Ignjatijević. Ignjatijević attacked, it was dangerous, but we had Živko Živković at the goal line, who can save much more dangerous attempts as well. He could demonstrate his skills 3 minutes later, when Simić ran up to the goalmouth with two Partizan-defenders in his back. Simić shot, Živko Živković saved with his leg.

At long last Ninković got a chance to play, he even got the captain’s armband

At the very end, in the 90+1st minute Trujić was kicked to the ground inside the penalty area, but the referee didn’t whistle.

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 4000
Referee: Ilija Brdar (assistants: Uroš Stojković, Bojan Stanojević - 4th assistant: Vukan Gordić - goal line assistants: Vlado Glođović, Novak Simović)

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Vulićević, Balažic, Ćirković, Bandalovski - Jevtović, Brašanac (Lukić, 73.) - A. Živković, S. Ilić (Ninković, 84.), Aboubakar (Trujić, 55.) - Šaponjić
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

OFK Beograd: Čupić - Ješić, Planić, Savić, Ignjatijević - Damjanović, Stjepanović (Gojkov, 40.) - Jovanović, Avramovski (Rajevac, 46.), Liščević - Subašić (Simić, 74.)
Head coach: Dragoljub Bekvalac

Goal scorers: A. Živković (6.), Šaponjić (36.), Ignjatijević (52.)
Yellow card: Planić (42.), Bandalovski (54.), Liščević (75.), Savić (81.)

I’ll update the post with the league table later, on Sunday there will be more matches of this round.

Update: current championship standings.
1. Crvena Zvezda 20 points
2. Javor 16 points
3. Partizan 15 points
4. Radnički Niš 13 points
5. Vojvodina 13 points
6. Novi Pazar 12 points
7. Čukarički 11 points
8. Borac 11 points
9. FK Voždovac 9 points
10. Metalac 9 points
11. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 9 points
12. Rad 8 points
13. Mladost 8 points
14. OFK Beograd 6 points
15. Surdulica 6 points
16. Jagodina 3 points

(Photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Steaua Bucharest - FK Partizan 1:1 (Champions League qualifying, round 3)

The boys are arriving at the stadium

(photo: Twitter)

The match was played behind closed gates, UEFA banned Steaua at the beginning of this year for their fans' racist behaviour.

We attacked already in the 2nd minute. Petrović kicked the ball towards the goal line from the left. Two minutes later Romanians were running up to our penalty area, but up there they lost it in a way even an U6-player would feel ashamed. (Balažic thanked and passed the ball out of the danger zone.) In the 7th minute again Steaua attacked. Hamroun sent the ball to Alcenat with an Oxford trick. Alcenat shot, Živko Živković saved.
In the 10th minute Aboubakar got a great pass from Petrović on the left. He ran up and kicked the ball in the middle to Bojinov, but goalkeeper Cojocaru saved. Two minutes later again Romanians ran up to our hal, now Tade tried to shot, but missed. In the 13rd minute again the home team could have an attack, but Živko Živković was in the best place, at the best time.
The first 15 minutes brought a rather vehement pace. Both teams ran a lot, had dangerous attacks (Steaua had a bit more of them) and didn’t play it gently. Instead they were so rough, that in the 17th minute Bojinov left the field with a painful face. He was injured so much that he couldn’t continue the game. Šaponjić came as his substitute.

In the 24th minute Andrija Živković made a shot from 20 metres, but the Romanian goalkeeper saved. The ball got to Aboubakar, he also shot, Cojocaru performed a great save, ending the attempt in a corner. The kick was headed to the goal line by Jevtović, Steaua’s goalkeeper saved even this one with a spectacular movement.
Then around the 30th minute there were less and less attempts. The pace didn’t get any slower, but there were a lot of lost passes and rough movements, especially by Romanian players. None of the Partizan players had any memorable actions, maybe Aboubakar had some slight tryings, but without success. There was practically no attack at all, the two goalkeepers could have done crosswords at the two sides of the field. Only the 40th minute brought a momentum by Andrija Živković, passing it greatly to Šaponjić. Šaponjić shot, but a defender blocked his attempt, ending it in a throw-in.

There was one more attempt left at the end of the half by the Romanian team. Tade made a distant shot, Živko Živković saved.
At the beginning of the second half, in the 47th minute Popa dribbled himself inside of our penalty area. He shot, it was a dangerous try, for our great luck his shot flew out above the crossbar. A minute later Andrija Živković tricked himself through the right side, but his attempt ended in a corner. The kick was punched out by the goalkeeper. Šaponjić grabbed the ball, he shot, Cojocaru caught it.
In the 57th minute Hamround had a sudden, distant shot to our goal line. Živko Živković demonstrated his great skills and reflexes, pushing the ball to corner.
The second half was more or less the same as the first. There were barely any goal attempts, the pace was still fast (though not that fast as in the first half), with still a lot of wrong passes and many fouls. The battle on the field was equal, none of the teams could get the control into their hands. Sometimes Andrija Živković tried to run up and dribble, but his passes to the middle were always blocked by the defenders.

Finally in the 59th minute Vulićević passed the ball to Brašanac from the right to the middle. Brašanac headed it to the goal line, but it was too high.
Then in the 62nd minute Andrija Živković passed it greatly to Vulićević on the right. Vulićević thanked, then took a swing and shot the ball to the net from about 13 metres. 0:1

(screenshot)

In the 65th minute we got a free kick from approx. 17 metres from the goal line. Jevtović stood behind the ball, he shot, Cojocaru again saved with marvellous reflexes.

At this point came 10 minutes when nothing on Earth has happened. Players kept on running and passing, sometimes kicking into each other, but there were no goal attempts or shots. Maybe around the 76th minute a Romanian player kicked the ball towards the goal line after it was passed here and there around Partizan’s penalty area, but even that was too high. Average Fan in the meantime made a comfortable place, sat back and watched the game feeling satisfied. All right, all right, there aren’t many goals or humiliating the opponent, but we’re still on the lead with that one goal. How great it will be when Steaua come to Belgrade to play in front of crowded tribunes full of blood-thirsty Grave Diggers. We win over them easily and march into the play-off with chins high. Such thoughts come to the mind, and the unsuspicious fan even starts to hum a little song, something like "nanananaaaaa nananananana, parni valjak melje, nema stajanja".
In the 80th minute Živko Živković threw himself to the way of a shot, probably just to have some excersise.
Then in the 81st minute Steaua got a free kick, about 20 metres from our goal line on the right. The ball was shot into our goalmouth, where Varela rose up to the skies and headed it into our net. 1:1, God damn it.

Afterwards, in the 83rd minute the Captain, Saša Ilić joined the game. Babović came off. I swear, until this point I did not notice Babinjo on the field.

The stream collapsed in the 90th minute. Checking the official match report I didn’t miss out much, Brašanac got a pass from Andrija Živković, but shot it too high, above the crossbar.

Facts:

Venue: Arena Nationala, Bucharest, Romania
Number of spectators: -
Referee: Kevin Blom (assistants: Bas Van Dongen, Patrick Langkamp - 4th assistant: Danny Makkelie) - NED

Steaua Bucharest: Cojocaru - Alcenat, Papp, Varela, Tosca - Muniru, Breeveld (Tahar, 75.) - Popa (Tudorie, 65.), Hamroun (Mihalcea, 90+2.), Chipciu - Tade
Head coach: Massimo Pedrazzini

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Vulićević, Balažic, Fabricio, N. Petrović - Brašanac, Jevtović, Babović (Ilić, 83.) - Aboubakar (Ninković, 70.), Bojinov (Šaponjić, 19.), A. Živković
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Goal scorers: Vulićević (62.), Varela (81.)
Yellow cards: Popa (40.), Fabricio (58.), Varela (64.), Breeveld (73.), N. Petrović (76.)

Return match will take part next week.

(Unmarked photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)