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

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)

OFK Beograd - FK Partizan 1:3 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 22)

OFK players were holding a banner while walking out of the tunnel. The banner had a Cyrillic script that said "Rešenje za Omladinac - hitno" (in English: Help Omladinac - urgently).
Omladinski Stadion is the home of OFK Beograd, they play all their home matches there. Or, better said, they used to play. The stadium’s condition is disastrous and the team have no financial resources for a renovation. The story is not new, the building has been ruining for 3 years now. It has been so dangerous that OFK plays their home matches in Obilić Stadion, in the Vračar district of Belgrade. They get no help, everyone pushes their head into the sand like ostriches

again something that could be solved with privatization, dear melon-headed idiots up there in the skupština

and the team took this step by sheer desperation.
Before the starting whistle the banner was hung at a visible side of the stadium. It stayed there until the end of the match.
In the 2nd minute OFK defenders lost the ball

this was a mistake they made quite a few times during the match, and they had to pay the price for it

Šaponjić grabbed it, but the goalkeeper was quicker.
In the 4th minute Drinčić’s free kick came in from the left. Volkov was standing in the goalmouth, he even made an attempt to score, but the goalkeeper kicked the ball out (!) almost to the half-line.
Meanwhile residents of the surrounding blocks appeared at the windows and on the balconies to watch the game.

It’s amazing. No matter how many times there is a match on this Vračar field, residents always watch it through their windows or come out to the balconies. It always has a fantastic, mellow and peaceful atmosphere. The sun is shining, brave young men kill each other on the field, fans are singing and chanting, residents have a smoke and a coffee watching the game, while gossiping. One more reason to love Belgrade.

In the 5th minute OFK got a chance that almost ended in goal. Živko Živković saved, but couldn’t catch the ball appropriately. It dropped away from him, finally defenders cleared the area.
In the 11th minute Volkov passed the ball ahead. Šaponjić ran for it, but goalkeeper Čupić was again faster. A minute later Andrija Živković was terribly knocked down to the ground. The midfielder was rolling on the grass with painful face, he couldn’t even stand up. Finally he walked off the ground with the help of two medicals to get proper treatment. Referee Glođović

yes, we got this holy madman again... We surely made some major sin in the past that God punishes us with him

didn’t whistle.

He probably found no reason to whistle.
Yet just a minute before he did whistle a foul on Šaponjić, reasoning that the young striker attacked goalkeeper Čupić. I’m sure nobody saw this foul, only the referee (maybe the Heavenly Father, but maybe even He didn’t see anything). What actually happened was that the goalkeeper jumped up to catch the ball. Partizan’s striker was standing in front of him, also jumping up for the ball. They didn’t even touch each other, but the referee saw it as Šaponjić attacking Čupić... The headlines include this scene, at 1:08.

Then in the 15th minute OFK got a free kick, about 30 metres from the goal line. It ended as a Partizan counter-attack. Saša Ilić passed the ball to Andrija Živković. The young midfielder, who looked like a war crippled hero just a few minutes ago, now ran up, had a giant solo, then kicked the ball into the net, lobbinb it above the goalkeeper. 0:1

Volkov arriving from the right: priceless

In the 25th minute OFK got a free kick. The ball was placed about 25-30 metres from the goal line. The kick flew in to our penalty area, Savić rose up and headed the ball to the goal. Živko Živković jumped and caught it.
In the 30th minute an OFK-player was fooling around with the ball at our penalty area. Two of our defenders were watching him from close, then he suddenly shot from 18 metres. Živko Živković had a great save.
In the 42nd minute we got a free kick, about 25 metres from the goal line. Drinčić shot, Balažic headed it, but it was too wide. (He was also on offside, well, at least for Glođović it was offside.) The last action of the first half happened in the extra time, but even that was about the referee again, taking a Partizan goal-kick as an OFK corner. Thankfully it was missed out, we could go and have a 15-minute break.

Darko Brašanac, some time during the match

In the beginning of the second half Babović was dribbling around the penalty area of the home team, without much success. Then in the 50th minute Šaponjić got the ball at the half-line. He immediately started to run up with it, but an OFK-player stopped him with a bodycheck. The striker fell and was just laying painfully hunched-up. Glođović again didn’t whistle, but Brašanac lashed out of nowhere, grabbed the ball and ran up fast to the goal line. Inside the penalty area he passed it very selflessly to Andrija Živković, who was sneaking up behind the goalkeeper’s back

Fair Play Award for Darko Brašanac!

Živković thanked and shot the ball into the net with the inner side of his left foot. 0:2

In the 53rd minute fans started to chant "Jer je Sale samo jedan". Saša Ilić appreciated it.

A minute later Živko Živković again demonstrated his outstanding reflex skills while saving Aksentijević’s shot.
In the 63rd minute OFK defenders made a big mistake. Volkov ran up, Janković tackled him, then he wanted to pass the ball to their goalkeeper. Šaponjić suddenly appeared out of the blue and grabbed the ball. He ran up to the goal line and shot, first right into the goalkeeper. The ball dropped back from Čupić, back to Šaponjić. Now he didn’t miss the chance but kicked the ball into the net lobbing it above the goalkeeper, who was laying on the ground. GOAL! 0:3

In the 68th minute Paločević sent a sudden, distant and powerful shot to our goal line from 20 metres. It was again foregone by long scenes of pass-the-ball-here-and-there-to-make-us-look-as-we-are-out-of-ideas, but no wonder Partizan have Živko Živković at the goal line, the ball couldn’t touch the net.
Then Volkov had to come off, because he got injured. Nemanja Petrović joined the game as his substitute.

In the 71st minute Zdjelar made Partizan-fans upset with another distant shot, but it was too wide. In the 77th minute Drinčić’s corner was pushed out by the goalkeeper, but we still possessed the ball. Drinčić got it again, shot again, the goalkeeper saved again, with his fingertips. Finally defenders cleared the area.
Then in the 85th minute, no one knows how

it was like a power blackout in Partizan’s defense line or something

Zarubica got the ball. He didn’t waste time, but shot it from 7 metres. 1:3
But victory is victory and our advantage is still 5 points.

Match highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Obilić Stadion, Belgrade

Number of spectators: 3000 (+ residents)

Referee: Vlado Glođović (assistants: Uroš Stojković, Srđan Kaurin - 4th assistant: Bojan Stanojević - goal line assistants: Aleksandar Vasić, Dejan Dimitrijević)

OFK Beograd: Čupić - Aksentijević, Liščević (Antić, 61.), Savić, Antonov - Zdjelar, Gajić, Dautović, Janković (Zarubica, 76.) - Dražić - Jovanović (Paločević, 61.)

Head coach: Dejan Đurđević

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Bandalovski, B. Ilić, Balažic, Volkov (N. Petrović, 70.) - Drinčić, Brašanac - S. Ilić (Grbić, 66.), Babović, A. Živković - Šaponjić (Ninković, 80.)

Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Goal scorers: A. Živković (15., 50.), Šaponjić (62.), Zarubica (85.) 

Yellow card: Liščević (52.), Antonov (55.), Šaponjić (55.), Janković (74.)

Current championship standings:

1. Partizan 53 pont

2. Crvena Zvezda 48 pont

3. Čukarički 43 pont

4. Vojvodina 37 pont

5. Novi Pazar 36 pont

6. OFK Beograd 32 pont

7. Rad 31 pont

8. Jagodina 30 pont

9. Mladost 29 pont

10. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 24 pont

11. Napredak 23 pont

12. Radnički Niš 22 pont

13. Donji Srem 21 pont

14. Borac 20 pont

15. FK Voždovac 18 pont

16. Radnički 1923 15 pont

(Photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

FK Partizan - OFK Beograd 1:1 (Jelen SuperLiga, previously postponed match)

First, I start with an image that says all about this match.

(photo: Google)

Škuletić kept up his habit of saying hi to the goalkeeper with a shot in the first minute. His distant kick was too wide, it flew out of the field near the goalpost. Apart from this the opponent had a stronger start. They tried Lukač’s nerves in the 3rd minute. A pass came from the right side, Janković shot dangerously, he barely missed.
About a minute later it was Lazović laying on the grass after being kicked off hard. Free kick for Partizan, the distance from the goal line is approx. 18 metres. Goalkeeper Čupić made a great save, followed by an upheaval in front of OFK’s goal line, finally the ball rolled out through the line. Corner for Partizan.
In the 7th minute Partizan’s defense line made a mistake. Janković immediately grabbed the ball and made a distant but powerful shot. Lukač caught it.
OFK started to pressure Partizan, and it got more and more uncomfortable. In the first 10 minutes the game was going on almost only on our half. We had a try in the 10th minute, Ninković dribbled himself through OFK’s half. The ball was dropping here and there, finally Škuletić got it, but headed the ball too high above the goalpost. After this OFK continued to pressure.

In the 13th minute Živković had a big sprint at the opponent’s penalty area. Upheaval, the ball was headed out, Branko Ilić was knocked on the ground. Corner for Partizan, someone made a balloon shot, finally the goalkeeper punched the ball out of the penalty area.
OFK kept on running, they seemed to be stronger and more creative about building up attacks than the rather exhausted-looking Partizan. Škuletić was knocked off in the 17th minute, about 20-22 metres from OFK’s goal line. The goalkeeper saved the free kick easily.
In the 20th minute Partizan had a great chance. Škuletić got the ball and ran up immediately to the opponent’s penalty area, with only one desperate defender behind him - and he shot the ball right into the goalkeeper.

At this period nothing much happened. There were lots of stolen balls by OFK, but they could never turn them for their own advantage.
In the 35th minute it could have been 1:0, but Lazović was on offside after Škuletić passed him the ball.

I swear at this point even ArenaSport’s presenter yawned.

In the 38th minute Škuletić got a pass from Branko Ilić, but the assistant waved offside. The slow motion replay didn’t confirm it clearly...
The 41st minute brought an attack by OFK from the right side. Ćirković tackled, but the ball dropped to Dražić. OFK’s striker - who had a unique haircut - dribbled a bit, then shot the ball into the net near Lukač, who slowly fell on the ground. 0:1
Then something interesting happened. Dražić stepped over the advertisement boards near the field. He ran up to the southern tribune and stood in front of the Grave Diggers without saying or doing anything. Partizan’s former youth academy player, prodigy Dejan Dražić scored against his own former team and didn‘t looked too happy at all.

In the meantime the referee started to collapse. He was whistling continuously, and it just got worse as time passed. Yet it was still a smash on the face for Partizan that the opponent was leading, while we could breathe only through our ears and stared out of our head with horror glaze. In the 44th minute Živković, the little hero tried something. He got the ball from Lazović, shook the defender off himself and shot. The goalkeeper had to throw himself to save it. The next attack came immediately. Škuletić fought himself through the defense line on the left side and shot to the middle, but the goalkeeper saved. The ball dropped back to the Montenegrin striker, who passed it to Branko Ilić. The defender kicked, the goalkeeper made a great save.
The second half’s keyword was "offside". Partizan picked themselves together in the half time and kept on attacking, while OFK played the "offside tactics". The game was fragmented, the referee was whistling without pause, I think this was the point when he absolutely lost control. Partizan missed a big chance in the 48th minute. Škuletić passed in the middle, but nobody was there. Upheaval, finally the assistant waved offside.
A minute later again offside. In the meantime Stanković almost got into a fight with a defender of the guests inside OFK’s penalty area.

The atmosphere heated up, the referee was unable to control it anymore. In the 56th minute Partizan got a free kick. The referee was yelling and fighting with the defenders about making the wall, everyone had only one nerve left and the yellow guy was dancing right on that one nerve... Finally Drinčić ran, kicked and the ball hit the goalpost.
Then until the 65th minute the game was only about Partizan trying to attack and the referee whistling for offside. Finally Petrović ran up on the left side and passed in the middle. Škuletić arrived sliding, but he just missed the ball with one step. But Lazović was there, appearing out of the blue, kicking the ball into OFK’s net. 1:1

A minute later again Škuletić attacked, but he slid out of the field together with the ball. The 68th minute brought again him into the spotlight, missing another huge chance. He got the ball, shot, the ball flew through the goalkeeper’s open legs - and hit the goalpost.
Two minutes later the guest team had a try. Gajić made a distant shot. Lukač caught it, but Partizan’s goalkeeper surely had Lady Luck behind him. Two minutes later again OFK attacked, Ješić had a distant and dangerous shot, saved this time by the goalpost.

After Partizan’s equalizing goal the atmosphere didn‘t get any more peaceful. OFK gave up offside tactics, but the players attacked rather each other, or the referee, or even once the assistant. One free kick followed the other, mostly by Partizan, OFK players made lots of fouls. In the 82nd minute they got a free kick (probably the referee thought they also deserve it after Partizan got so many...), but the shot flew too wide above Lukač’s goal line. The 88th minute brought another Partizan free kick, almost at the corner flag. The kick was headed out by OFK defenders, but Luka grabbed the ball and passed to Lazović. The referee whistled the attack off, for everyone’s surprise. (I can only guess, but for me it looked as the referee thought Partizan’s striker attacked the goalkeeper.)

The rest of the game was about how NOT to be a referee. Then thankfully it was over, we even got 1 point.

Branko Ilić: Come on, not now, not in front of the others...

Highlights:

Facts:

Location: Partizan Stadion
Number of spectators: 2000
Referee: Nenad Đokić (assistants: Dejan Petrović, Nemanja Petrović - 4th assistant: Bojan Stanojević - goal line assitants: Dejan Filipović, Igor Stoilković)

FK Partizan: Lukač - Stevanović (S. Ilić, 46.), Ćirković, Stanković, Petrović - Živković, B. Ilić, Drinčić, Ninković (Luka, 46.) - Škuletić (Fofana, 77.), Lazović
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

OFK Beograd: Čupić - Vasilić, Vasiljević, Savić, Antonov - Dražić, Gajić, Janković, Zdjelar, Andrić (Jesić, 66.) - Jovanović (Alempijević, 88.)
Head coach: Dejan Đurđević

Goal scoarers: Lazović (65.), ill. Dražić (41.)
Yellow card: Ninković (41.), Zdjelar (49.), Vasiljević (56.), Antonov (73.), Gajić (76.), Ćirković (80.)
Red card: Antonov (90+3.), second yellow card

Current championship standings:
1. Partizan 25 pont
2. Vojvodina 25 pont
3. Crvena Zvezda 23 pont
4. Čukarički 18 pont
5. Novi Pazar 16 pont
6. OFK Beograd 16 pont
7. Mladost 16 pont
8. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 15 pont
9. Rad 11 pont
10. Jagodina 11 pont
11. Donji Srem 11 pont
12. Borac 10 pont
13. Radnički Niš 9 pont
14. Napredak 7 pont
15. FK Voždovac 7 pont
16. Radnički 1923 4 pont

(unmarked photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Coming up: football and basketball tomorrow, with no pause

Tomorrow brings two matches in a row, once the first finishes, the second starts. The football team opens the day at 16:30. They will play against OFK Beograd - that match that is still left from Round 9 of SuperLiga. The match takes place in ul. Humska.
- Maybe we look more dead than alive, but reality is completely different - Marko Nikolić brought up the two lost matches against Besiktas and Jagodina. - The team of Besiktas was another dimension. As for Jagodina, right now we have no time to celebrate, nor to be sad. We won eight competitive matches. The one against Jagodina was the time for loss... Now it is time again to win - said the head coach with hope.
- The match against OFK has psychological importance. If we won, we would be the first on the league table again, leading with 2 points ahead of Vojvodina and 4 ahead of Crvena Zvezda. It will definitely be a good match.
Injuries weaken the team; Ostojić is in Istambul now on a checkup, Brašanac is at Belgrade’s Vojnomedicinska Akademija hospital and at this very moment nobody can say anything when he will fully recover. Vulićević must undergo operation in Germany soon.
- There will surely be changes in the team. Some have been playing from the beginning of the season, for now they are exhausted. Now the time has come for those who had been in the background. A few players deserve to rest, they are overloaded.

The football team is followed by the basketball players. Eurocup’s new round is coming up and they’ll meet Hapoel Jerusalem at an away match. They start at 18:30. Duško Vujošević does not have any illusions.
- Of course we want to win and we’ll bring the best out of ourselves, but let’s be honest and do not have high expectations - he said. - We are motivated to win and I’d be very happy if we did so, but right now the expectation is to do our best.
- Hapoel is a very good team, no wonder they take part in Eurocup, or previously in Euroleague - said second trainer Velimir Gašić. - They are in great shape compared to last season. They have five players from the US, they all bring very serious offensive power.
The team will miss Milan Mačvan, who got a smaller injury earlier.

ArenaSport 1 broadcasts both matches live.

Weekend football round cancelled

Jelen SuperLiga Round 7 was about to be held this Sunday, but most of the matches are postponed to Monday - except for Partizan - OFK Beograd, that is postponed "until further decision". Behind of it all stands Gay Pride of Belgrade that will be organized on Sunday. Those in charge surely got cold shivers by the thought Pride attendands and football fans might cross each others' ways.
Marko Nikolić made no secret about his disappointment.
- This is the first of such a case in my coach career - he said angrily (which can be understood...). - Nothing is certain, we don't know when and where we will play against OFK. I can't believe it. We are serious people, we play in a professional league. It is highly irresponsible that we play on Wednesday, but we don't know when our next match will be held. Our entire training plan is scheduled by the dates of matches. Right now all is uncertain.

A message from me to all those in charge: you made the worst possible timing, I can only congratulate to you all. Don't take me wrong though, I'm not against gay rights, on the contrary. But there are things that MUST be taken into consideration. In a country like Serbia, where football is sacred and untouchable, such a decision that a Pride festival is held at the expenses of the current football league round is highly irresponsible. It was clearly made without considering the possible consequences. Football is more important than Pride, everyone must accept it. Other than this it must not be swept under the carpet that Serbia, similarly to other countries in the area (e.g. Hungary, among others) have a quite conservative society, that is very sensitive and resistent when it is about so-called liberal processes. I don't want to get into political or social-psychological details now, for this there are experts who know them much better than me. The only thing I want to add is that it was organized in a very unfortunate way, leaving important factors out of consideration. I understand that rights and EU are important (well, for some, surely...), but not this way, without thinking it through.