Borac - FK Partizan 1:3 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 7)

The field of the Čačak stadium got soaky wet after days of heavy raining. It was covered with mud when the players walked out for the match. It was raining even during the game, the slippery grass made it even more difficult for both teams. As an extra, the stadium lights were just glimmering during the evening. At the goal area it was semi-dark.

Warming up

(photo: partizan.rs)

The game started with a minute of silence for the memory of Srđan Jovanović, former referee and president of FSS’s referee committe, who passed away earlier this week.
Then, right after the starting whistle Borac attacked. Their striker ran up on the right side, Bandalovski threw himself into the way. (It was barely a few millimetres that it didn’t end as an own goal. Thankfully it didn’t, Borac got a corner kick.)

Bandalovski wrestling with Knežević

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 8th minute the home team attacked again. Jovančić shot from 18 metres. Živko Živković performed a great save, then he stayed on the ground holding his waist with a painful face.
In the 10th minute again the home team could run up on the right side.

The left side of our defense line was again like a passage-way. Something must be done, it cannot remain like this for the CL-game on Wednesday.

Knežević ran up all alone and shot. Živko Živković saved with his leg. Then again he stayed on the ground. Now he got medical attendance, what is more, on the screen appeared Filip Kljajić, the substitute goalkeeper as he was warming up. Finally Živko Živković didn’t need any substitution, though he visibly had pain during the match.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 23rd minute, while Average Fan tried to resurrect the dying stream, we got a free kick about 25-30 metres from the goal line, on the right. Babović stood behind the ball, he shot it inside the penalty area, but defenders cleared it.
In the 30th minute again Borac attacked, again from the right side. They passed the ball to the middle, Živko Živković caught it. Five minutes later Babović got the ball on the left. He headed it to the goal line, but it was too high.
Then in the 38th minute we tried to break Borac’s defense in the middle. The ball dropped from a defender to Trujić, who was standing on the right. For everyone’s surprise Trujić shot, and the ball dropped into the upper left corner of the net like a cannon ball. 0:1

(photo: partizan.rs)

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 42nd minute Petrović got a great pass from Saša Ilić on the left. He shot, the ball would have needed just millimetres to get into the net. Borac started a counter-attack, our defense line cleared in the last moment. Corner kick, the ball is shot to the middle, where Mićić jumped up to head it into the net, but it slipped on his bald head. Živko Živković again presented an amazing save.

Match action: Saša Ilić and Trujić

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the second half, in the 49th minute we got a corner kick. Babović shot...
...and Balažic plain and simply headed it into the net. 0:2!!!!
In the 55th minute Saša Ilić passed the ball out to the right side to Trujić. Trujić kicked it back to him, then the Captain shot from 8 metres. Goalkeeper Bajić saved, Borac could ran up for a counter-attack. On the right side

from where else?... Nemanja Petrović, my dear son, have you been just an accessory on the left?...

Tanasin arrived with the ball. The ball dropped out of the line, but neither the referee, nor the assistant bothered about it. Tanasin passed to the middle to his teammate who headed it to our goal line, missing it with just millimetres. We started a counter-counter-attack. Šaponjić got the ball, he ran up in the middle and shot with full power. The goalkeeper made a huge save.
In the 64th minute the home attack came again from the right. Knežević (if I could see well) got the ball and shot immediately. Marko Jevtović selflessly threw himself into the way, making the attempt end as a corner kick. The shot was headed by a Borac-player (Mićić maybe?... I’m not sure, maybe it was his bald head there), but it was too high.
Cardial arrest came in the 69th minute. Our defense line lost the ball, substitute player Đerić grabbed it at once. He attacked our goal all alone, all doors and windows were wide open...
...and Živko Živković made one of the greatest saves of his life with HIS LEG!
In the 71st minute we got a free kick on the right. Babović shot to Trujić, he passed it ahead to Lukić. Lukić got the ball, shot and scored a fantastic goal. 0:3!!!!

(photo: partizan.rs)

We immediately got the answer, practically right after the kickoff. After a wrong pass lost by Partizan-defenders Knežević grabbed the ball. He rushed up to the goal and kicked the ball into our net passing it by Živko Živković, who ran out of the goalmouth. 1:3
In the 78th minute Milojević had a huge chance, but Živko Živković had an even more huge save. Meanwhile Lukić stayed on the ground laying; a Borac-player kicked him on his back. Lukić couldn’t continue the game. Kosović, his substitute debuted in Partizan.

Nebojša Kosović

(photo: partizan.rs)

In the 82nd minute Borac got a free kick from a distance, on the right. The ball was passed into our goalmouth and headed to our goal line, but it was too wide.
In the 87th minute we led a counter-attack after a Borac-corner. Trujić ran up on the right side and passed it to the middle. Šaponjić arrived, but defenders cleared the area.

(photo: partizan.rs)

Corner kick, the shot was saved by the goalkeeper.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

(photo: partizan.rs)

Facts:

Venue: City stadium, Čačak
Number of spectators: 5000
Referee: Danilo Grujić (assistants: Dalibor Đurđević, Milan Minić - 4th assistant: Slađan Rajković - goal line assistants: Milan Ilić, Dejan Anđelković)

Borac: Bajić - Tanasin, Miletić, Jablan, S. Živković - Mićić, Jovančić - Milan Jevtović (Krstić, 72.), Vukmirović (Đerić, 59.), Knežević - Vujaklija (Milojević, 35.)
Head coach: Nenad Lalatović

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Bandalovski, Balažic, Fabricio (Ćirković, 46.), N. Petrović - Lukić (Kosović, 81.), Marko Jevtović, Babović, S. Ilić (Golubović, 75.) - Šaponjić, Trujić
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Goal scorers: Trujić (38.), Balažic (49.), Lukić (71.), Knežević (72.)

Ladies and gentlemen, please, stand up in attention for a minute: in this game no players were booked.

I add the league table later, tomorrow there will be still games of this round.

Update:
Current championship standings:

1. Crvena Zvezda 17 points
2. Javor 15 points
3. Vojvodina 13 points*
4. Partizan 12 points*
5. Radnički Niš 12 points
6. Borac 10 points
7. Novi Pazar 9 points
8. Metalac 9 points
9. Čukarički 8 points
10. Rad 8 points*
11. Mladost 8 points
12. FK Voždovac 6 points
13. OFK Beograd 6 points
14. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 6 points
15. Surdulica 6 points
16. Jagodina 2 points*

Teams marked with * played only 6 matches.

FK Partizan - Steaua Bucharest 4:2 (Champions League round 3, return match)

WE WON!!!
WE QUALIFIED TO THE NEXT ROUND!!!
My God, what a game it was.
It contained everything that's needed for a great match. Drama, tension, death and resurrection.
There was an unbelievable full house in ul. Humska, so full that even the otherwise always locked northern tribune was open this time. And even that was full.

30 minutes to go and the stadium is already full

(photo: Twitter)

(screenshot)

There were quite a few famous guests at the VIP-section, e.g. former Partizan basketball player and trainer Željko Obradović, who is currently the head coach of Fenerbahce basketball team.

(photo: Twitter)

Nikola Peković was also present, whom fans call "Pekmen".

(photo: Twitter)

And there was someone else, too, who got a very warm welcome by fans.

Yes, it was Milan "Maki" Mačvan personally

(photo: mozzartsport.com)

Teams walked out to the pitch for a warming-up.

(photo: Twitter)

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

The referee was István Vad from Hungary.

(screenshot)

Who was this funny guy at UEFA who thought a Hungarian (!) should be the referee at a match between a Serbian (!!!!) and a Romanian (!!!!!!!!!!) team? Who was this perverted, crazy idiot?
By the way, big congratulations to István Vad for his job at this not so easy game. He was stern, impartial (!) and consistent. And the most important is that he was invisible.
Dear Mr. Referee, keep up this great job!

The full stands were watered from water-cannons against heat and heat-stroke.
The match started with a moment of silence for the memory of the victims of Operation Storm 20 years ago.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Then the match started. The Grave Diggers of the southern tribune performed an amazing coreography.

(photo: Twitter)

(photo: Twitter)

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

(photo: Twitter)

(photo: Twitter)

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

We attacked in the 2nd minute, the answer was a Romanian counter-attack. It was dangerous, not much would have been needed for a goal, but finally it ended as a corner.
In the 4th minute we were back again at Steaua's penalty area. Babović’s pass ended in a corner. There was a goalmouth scramble, then the ball dropped in front of Andrija Živković. From him it got to Balažic. He shot - the goalkeeper saved, but only 1-2 millimetres from the goal line.
Then in the 8th minute Vulićević ran up with the ball on the right and passed it to the middle. The ball hit the defenders and dropped in front of Babović. Babović wasted no time, he shot and scored a giant goal, right into the middle of the net.
1:0
1:0!!!
WE ARE LEADING!!!!

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

I have scolded Babović earlier quite a few times on this blog. You can decide yourself whether I was right or wrong. But it is a fact that on this match Babović played very well - independent of this goal or not. He ran a lot, passed a lot, dribbled, he was even there when building up attacks. Keep it up, Babinjo! We want more of this.

But the sad fact is that the fans’ happy screaming after the goal hasn’t faded away when Steaua equalized. They ran up on the right, passing the ball into the middle. A Partizan-defender headed it out, and the ball dropped in front of Muniru. The Ghanian player shot and scored. 1:1, cold shower, the bitter type.
Oh, well. Nothing is lost yet. In the 18th minute Aboubakar shot from 25 metres, but missed. Two minutes later he passed to Vulićević on the right side. Vulićević then passed it to Babović to the middle. Babović shot with a bicycle kick. Pity it was too wide, it could have been a spectacular goal.
The thing is, Romanian players weren’t so technically skilled, but they were very fast and made counter-attacks in a moment. They were also very aggressive, kicking and pulling Partizan-players to the ground. Despite this they got a free kick in the 25th minute, 22 metres from the goal line. Chipciu stood behind the ball, but his shot flew out above the crossbar.
A minute later Aboubakar got the ball. He passed it to the middle, but the Romanian defenders caught it and kicked it to their midfielders for a counter-attack. Tade got the pass at the corner of the penalty area. He shot, Živko Živković touched it, the ball hit the goalpost. Corner kick. Then another corner kick that flew out, far from the goal line. Goal-kick, for us.
In the 29th minute Steaua got another free kick, about 30 metres from the goal line, on the right side. The kick was headed to the goal line by Varela, but it was too hight.
In the 31st minute Vulićević got the ball and ran up immediately to the Romanian penalty area, but his pass was caught by the goalkeeper. A minute later Fabricio lost the ball. Hamroun grabbed it, ran up on the right side and passed to the middle. For our luck the attackers in the middle were too slow to kick or head it.
Then in the 33rd minute Romanians took the lead. Popa arrived on the right with the ball and passed it to the middle, where Hamroun was waiting. The French player got it, thanked and shot it into our net. 1:2

Collapse. Death. No, just no. I can’t believe it. There is always an icy hand around your heart when such a thing happens, then it slowly turns into anger. Average Fan made it through the entire scale of political incorrectness within a short period of time. In hindsight I feel ashamed; for my defense, in the heat of the match common sense has waved me goodbye quite early and travelled to the Bahamas, probably.

In the 38th minute we got a free kick, about 30 metres from the goal line, on the left. Babović stood behind the ball, he kicked..
...and scored!!! GOOOAAAAAL!!!!
No way. It was never a goal. At the moment of the kick the assistant waved offside. Bojinov got stuck in the front lines. The referee invalidated the goal. There was not even a chance to question it, the slow motion replay clearly showed the offside.
In the 42nd minute Romanians attacked again. Tade kicked it in from the left side, but thankfully the others were too slow for it. We immediately started a counter-attack. Aboubakar got the ball from Babović, but the goalkeeper ended their attempt.

Brašanac some time during the match against Brazilian player Guilherme

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the beginning of the second half the referee showed the red card to Varela in the 48th minute. The Cape Verde player pulled Brašanac to the ground, who was running up to the goal line. Foul as last person, plus inside the penalty area.

In the second half István Vad left his mild-tempered attitude in the locker-room and used a stern approach towards the rough Romanian players, who sometimes used acting (rolling on the ground with a painful face) to convince the referee about Partizan players’ alleged fouls. In the first half Vad just warned those who fouled, but in the second half he started using the cards.

Penalty for Partizan!
But we couldn’t stand up to kick it, because Varela didn’t want to walk off the ground, the referee had to push him towards the tunnel.
Then world peace was settled back. Bojinov stood behind the ball.
Whistle.
Bojinov ran up...
...and the ball hit the goalpost. Goalkeeper Cojocaru had a short dance of joy at the goal line.
Brain death. Catatonia. Someone, please, wake me up, it is surely just a bad dream.
But the match continued. About 10 minutes passed, both teams were continuously attacking. Referee Vad gave out 4 yellow cards to Steaua during these 10 minutes.
Then in the 57th minute Andrija Živković was kicked to the ground at the corner of the penalty arae. Free kick, Babović shot, the goalkeeper caught it.
And then came the 60th minute...
...AND GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!! 2:2!!!!!!!
Aboubakar passed the ball to the middle from the left, to Jevtović. Jevtović didn’t waste any time, but sent a 25-metre bomb shot to the goal line. And he scored!!!! And what a goal it was!!!! Oh, my God, what a goal! We equalized!!!

(photo: Google)

In the 61st minute Babović was brutally kicked to the ground. Free kick, from 30 metres. Fabricio stood behind the ball. Then "Fabi" shot, it was quite a good one, the flat shot was caught by Cojocaru. In the 63rd minute Tade broke out and ran up to the goal line all of a sudden. He shot, thankfully it was too wide. A minute later Steaua tried again. The ball came from the right, ending in a corner kick, which was kicked out by our defenders.
In the 65th minute Partizan got a free kick. Andrija Živković shot.
And at this moment the net died here (me too, a bit). It wasn’t too long, maybe only 3 minutes, but when connection got back to normal, I could see the referee invalidating a Romanian goal. The situation seemed to be the same as with Partizan in the first half: one of their players got stuck in an offside position. The standing was still 2:2.
Not for long.
In the 69th minute Aboubakar was dribbling on the left side, then passed to Andrija Živković.
AND ŽILE SCORED SUCH A FANTASTIC GOAL THAT MADE THE NET TORN TO PIECES!!!! 3:2, PEOPLE!!!! WE ARE ON THE LEEEEAAAAAAAD!!!!!

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Oh. My. God. We came back from the grave.
In the 73rd minute Steaua got a free kick. Živko Živković caught the ball with a crushing elegance. The pace was quite fast even until now, but after the goal it got even faster. The Romanian team was fighting for their survival, while Partizan’s players got an extra amount of courage from the goal. Fans were chanting "Srbija, Srbija". We attacked more and more, Steaua got a bit stuck in their half. In the 84th minute Brašanac shot from the penalty area line, but it was too high. A minute later we ran up to a counter-attack after a corner. Andrija Živković had the ball with himself, but the referee whistled it off, Saša Ilić was on offside.
In the 89th minute Aboubakar got the ball on the left and ran up immediately. He dribbled and passed it to Andrija Živković. Žile also dribbled, then passed it back to the middle, but it was too long for Aboubakar.
This was the point when the 4th assistant raised the board showing that the extra time would be 5 minutes. Fans were booing and whistling, but afterwards we could see how these 5 minutes came to hand for us.

Such things come to light always in hindsight.

In the 90+1st minute we got a corner. This time it was just a short kick, then someone passed it to the middle. Trujić, who just joined the game as a substitute, headed it to the goal line. The goalkeeper saved, the ball dropped back to Trujić. This time he didn’t miss it out, but headed it into the net. 4:2
4:2!!!!!

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Unbelievable, just unbelievable. We came back from death, performing such a resurrection that only Partizan can do.
There was a Steaua-attack left for the last minute, but Živko Živković saved it with a French-styled elegance. And then came the final whistle. WE WON! WE WON! WE WON! WE QUALIFIED!!!

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Party-time at the end :)

✌✌✌✌

A video posted by Valeri Bojinov Official (@valeribojinov86) on Aug 6, 2015 at 3:23am PDT

Old friends, former teammates celebrated, too.

Bravo grobari !!! Svaka cast !! Mnogo srece u zrebu i sledecem kolu ! Idemo dalje ! #Partizan #championsleague
Posted by Bogdan Bogdanovic on Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Ideeeemoooooooo 💪💪💪 ⚪⚫⚪⚫ Svaka cast fudbalerima ⚪⚫⚪⚫ #partizan #institucija

— Edo Murić (@Edo_Muric) August 5, 2015

Grobariii 🙏🙌🏼 bravoooo

— Lazar Markovic (@LMarkec50) August 5, 2015

Congrats to Serbian team @FKPartizanBG! Great game by @justandrija. Hope #partizan will play #ucl @ChampionsLeague

— Nemanja Matić (@matic) August 5, 2015

Bravoo fudbaleri! Bravo Grobari! 👏💪 Idemo dalje ⚫️⚪️

— Danilo Andjusic (@Djusa33) August 5, 2015

Čestitke za @fkpartizanbg Mismo jaci ⚫⚪

— Joffrey Lauvergne (@1JOLOLO) August 5, 2015

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 30 000
Referee: Istvád Vad (assistants: Péter Berettyán, László Viszokai - 4th assistant: Sándor Andó-Szabó) - HUN

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Vulićević, Balažic, Fabricio, N. Petrović - Brašanac, Jevtović - Aboubakar, Babović (Trujić, 90.), A. Živković - Bozsinov (S. Ilić, 60.)
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Steaua Bukarest: Cojocaru - Alcenat, Papp, Varela, Tosca - Breeveld (Tudorie, 72.), Muniru - Popa, Hamroun (Iancu, 70.), Chipciu (Guilherme, 50.) - Tade
Head coach: Massimo Pedrazzini

Goal scorers: Babović (8.), Muniru (11.), Hamroun (33.), Jevtović (60.), A. Živković (69.), Trujić (90+1.)
Yellow card: Alcenat (54.), Hamroun (56.), Guilherme (57.), Breeveld (61.), Trujić (90+2.)
Red card: Varela (48.)

The play-off's draw takes part tomorrow.

Novi Pazar - FK Partizan 3:2 (Jelen SuperLiga, round 3)

This was once again a match we won’t put on display.
Yes, I get it, of course I get that 90 % of the team consisted of young players (Zoran Milinković probably wanted to save the top guns for the upcoming CL-qualifying). I get that the football association sent Glođović as a referee, who is not the model of impartial judgement, to say the least. I get it, too, that Partizan-fans were not allowed to the match, yet the extremely violent, blood-thirsty, vindictive ultras of Novi Pazar were there all over.
But never mind, because Kojić

my jaw dropped on the floor when I saw Koja Vitez in the starting eleven. So, despite all rumours Kojić still plays for Partizan, hoorayhoorayhooray

tried the reflexes of goalkeeper Zečević right at the beginning. The trying ended in a corner, while local fans threw firecrackers to the field. It was so heavy that Glođović paused the game for a short while.
Later, in the 5th minute Novi Pazar attacked, but Bogosavac cleared the area quickly and well. A minute later we got a free kick, about 30 metres from the goal line. Ninković stood behind the ball, he shot, but the goalkeeper caught it.
In the 7th minute again Novi Pazar led an attack on the left side. It was dangerous, but Živko Živković threw himself to the way, pushing the ball to corner. The kick was headed out by Partizan’s defenders.
In the 9th minute Grbić was pushed to the ground very roughly (he was just laying there, Partizan’s physicians picked his pieces and put them together like a puzzle game, and took the enervated striker off the field to give him medical assistance). Then in the 13th minute Lukić ran up on the left side and passed to Saša Ilić, who was standing at the other side. The Captain forwarded it to Grbić, who was back in his full power again. Grbić shot from 5 metres, but the goalkeeper saved. The ball dropped to Trujić, he didn’t waste his time, but shot it into the net near Zečević, who was slowly falling to the ground. 0:1, we’re on the lead!

At this point ArenaSport’s broadcast had a constant hiccup. No, not the stream, but the live broadcast itself. First the timestamp from the upper left corner (that shows the elapsed time of the match) disappeared, so in the next approx. 8 minutes I had no idea when happened what. A Novi Pazar-attack came from the left side, Radivojević shot from 8 metres, Živko Živković had a great save. We made a counter-attack, Kojić passed to Grbić, but he lost the ball. Ostojić threw himself into the way of another attack...
...and at this point the broadcast died. There was only an error message by ArenaSport on the screen.
And it was like so for a while.
And of course the live broadcast returned just in the very moment when Novi Pazar equalized. Like in an especially bad screenplay of a sports drama full of clichés.
The home team equalized from penalty. What else.
Later I could put together what happened. In the 22nd minute Novi Pazar attacked again. Aškovski ran up with the ball on the left while wrestling with Lukić. Then the player of Novi Pazar slid inside our penalty area

I swear, I watched it again and again (x+1) times, and even then I didn’t see Lukić pushing him or kicking him

nevertheless Glođović was so amazed that he whistled penalty. Predrag Pavlović stood behind the ball. He shot and scored. 1:1
After this Kojić tried with a counter-attack, but the goalkeeper caught the ball.
Two minutes later Trujić missed out a great chance. He got an excellent pass and wanted to shot form the goalmouth, but the ball rolled out of the field about half centimetre near the goalpost.
In the 25th minute the referee again gave a penalty shot to Novi Pazar. The scene was almost the same (if not totally the same) as previously. Again Aškovski ran up with the ball and fell inside our penalty area

just this time he made it with an elegant arch, earlier he just fell on his ass

and Glođović immediately pointed at the penalty spot. Aškovski stood behind the ball, ran up...
...AND ŽIVKO ŽIVKOVIĆ SAVED IT!!!!
My God, what a scene it was.
Yet 5 minutes later Novi Pazar did score, goddamn it.
Siniša Stevanović ran up on the right and passed it to the middle. There Aškovski jumped up and headed the ball into our net. 2:1

Do you know what really infuriating is?... Aškovski is actually a player of Partizan. He is on loan in Novi Pazar, because head coach Zoran Milinković didn’t need him. 
I’m not an expert, I have no trainer certificate, but I still think it was a big mistake, a very big one.

In the 28th minute we got a free kick, 30 metres from the goal line. Ninković stood behind the ball, he kicked, but his shot was headed out. Two minutes later Ostojić tried at a corner kick, but he headed the ball out of the field.
It wasn’t a heart-warming match. Novi Pazar’s players were quick and very aggressive. And there was referee Glođović as the aggravating circumstance, who immediately whistled if a Partizan-player just sent a mad look at anyone from Novi Pazar. In the 32nd minute Radivojević ran up on the left side all alone, only one defender was following him. For our greatest luck Živko Živković was at his place and performed a fantastic save.
Two minutes later Grbić dribbled himself through the defense line and passed to Ninković. Ninković shot, but it was too high. A minute later Vuković sent a shot to our goal line from 20-22 metres, thankfully this one was also too high.
The pace was still fast, the match itself was aggressive, even violent. There were many rough kicks that ended on a shin or foot instead of the ball, and the referee whistled only when he was in the mood to. Novi Pazar was more aggressive, they attacked more and the it striked back that Partizan had a lot of players with no routine.
In the 40th minute Kojić had a try, but goalkeeper Zečević caught the ball. A minute later again Koja got the ball. A defender immediately put himself into action. The ball hit his hand, but Glođović was just watching it with poker face, no whistle.

The slow motion replay clearly showed the ball hitting the defender’s hand. Thanks, Glođović. We won’t forget this to you.

In the 45th minute Predrag Pavlović started an attack from the half line. He ran up to Partizan’s penalty area, leaving defenders behind him. Živko Živković ran out of the goalmouth, finally, for our luck Pavlović was dribbling too long and the ball rolled out of the field.
In the 46th minute Kojić and Saša Ilić were passing the ball to each other in the goalmouth, then Partizan’s striker took the chance and walked into the net together with the ball. 2:2!!! We equalized!

In the second half the referee kept on whistling for every (seemingly) suspicious movement of any Partizan-player. For Novi Pazar he was much more gracious.
In the 53rd minute Radivojević was wandering around our penalty area, again all alone. Thankfully Živko Živković was still at his place. We made a counter-attack, Ninković shot, missed.
In the 57th minute Ninković ran up on the left and passed to Saša Ilić. Saša Ilić was then kicked to the ground, but nobody gave a damn. Especially not Glođović, even though the Captain was complaining heavily.
In the 58th minute young Glavčić debuted in the senior team as the substitute of Grbić.
Around the 60th minute the pace slowed down. Players kept on passing the ball among each other, then in the 63rd minute Miladin Stevanović got a great pass and ran up towards the goal line. A defender pushed it to corner. It turned into a counter-attack, with Živko Živković kicking the ball up to the tribune at the end.
In the 65th minute Trujć passed the ball to the middle from the left, but the goalkeeper caught the shot. Two minutes later Ninković was brutally pulled to the ground in front of the penalty area. Needless to say, the refere again didn’t whistle. In the 68th minute Bogosavac had a distant, not too powerful shot, but it was too wide.
In the 69th minute Saša Ilić passed to Ninković to the right side. Džigi shot from 16 metres, the ball flew out above the crossbar.
In the 71st minute another youngster debuted: Golubović joined the team as the substitute of Trujić.
Despite Partizan’s pressure in the past minutes Novi Pazar took the lead in the 72nd minute. After we lost the ball, they started immediately an attack towards our goal area. Kostić got the ball on the right side and passed it to the middle, where Predrag Pavlović immediately shot. Živko Živković saved it, but the ball dropped in front of Aškovski. He pushed the ball into the net with a soft movement. 3:2
Then came Šaponjić as a substitute for Kojić

Did I hear well that the absolutely unsportsmanlike fans of Novi Pazar started to curse Šaponjić at this point?...
I hope very very much that I didn’t hear it well.

In the 80th minute Ninković got the ball (from Saša Ilić?...) and shot from 14 metres. The goalkeeper saved.
In the 82nd minute it was unbelievable to see that the attackers of Novi Pazar kept on passing the ball among themselves inside our penalty area, without being interrupted. It ended in a corner, then someone kicked the ball way too wide, out of the field.
In the 88th minute Golubović dribbled fought like a lion on the left side. Finally he kicked the ball to the middle to Šaponjić, but it was too long for Partizan’s striker. Two minutes later Lukić passed to Šaponjić. Šaponjić headed it to the goal line, but missed it.
In the 90+3rd minute Lukić passed to Ninković. Ninković forwarded it to Šaponjić, but the goalkeeper threw himself into the way.
Finally, in the last minute (90+4th) we got a free kick 35 metres from the goal line, in the middle. Ninković ran up and shot, but it ended in a corner. The corner kick was cleared by the defenders and at this point referee Glođović ended the match.

Facts:

Venue: City stadium, Novi Pazar
Number of spectators: 6000
Referee: Vlado Glođović (assistants: Dejan Petrović, Jovica Milin - 4th assistants: Darko Savović - goal line assistants: Novica Anđelovski, Ilija Brdar)

Novi Pazar: Zečević - S. Stevanović (Petar Pavlović), Vuković, Tintor, Kostić - Kadrić - Vusljanin, Predrag Pavlović, Aškovski (Adriano, 81.), Šarac - Radivojević (Obrovac, 68.)
Head coach: Petar Kurćubić

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - M. Stevanović, Ostojić, Ćirković, Bogosavac - Ninković, Lukić, Ilić - Grbić (Glavčić, 58.), Kojić (Šaponjić, 76.), Trujić (Golubović, 70.)
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Goal scorers: Trujić (12.), Predrag Pavlović (21., penalty), Aškovski (26.), Kojić (46.), Aškovski (71.)
Yellow card: Tintor (5.), Lukić (21.), Glavčić (58.), Ninković (89.)

Current championship standings:
1. Borac 9 points
2. Partizan 6 points
3. Javor 6 points
4. Crvena Zvezda 5 points
5. Čukarički 4 points
6. Rad 4 points
7. Mladost 4 points
8. Novi Pazar 4 points
9. Radnički Niš 4 points
10. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 4 points
11. Vojvodina 4 points
12. Metalac 4 points
13. FK Voždovac 3 points
14. OFK Beograd 3 points
15. Surdulica 2 points
16. Jagodina 0 point

(Photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

News from football fields

The football team signed a new (old) player. His name is Nikola Trujić, he started playing football in Partizan’s youth school. The 23-year-old winger played for Napredak Kruševac until now, before returning to ul. Humska. He signed for 4 years, his jersey number will be 92.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

***

Meanwhile the Serbian national U20 team is playing at the World Cup in New Zealand. The "Eagles" clashed with Mexico at 06:00 CET and won to 2:0. With this Serbia has already qualified from the group stage.
The second goal of the game, a 25-metre bomb shot was scored by Andrija Živković.

(photo: hotsport.rs)