Spartak Zlatibor Voda - FK Partizan 0:1 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 19)

The weather was clear and sunny in Subotica.

And see, Saša Ilić was our captain today

(screenshot)

Subotica immediately had an attempt. They attacked from the left side, finally it ended in a corner kick. After the kick Partizan-defenders cleared the area.
Well, actually, better said, we allowed them to warm up.
Because after this Partizan put themselves into speed action. In the 6th minute we already got a corner kick, that made a serious goalmouth scrumble for Spartak. Andrija Živković possessed the ball, then he was tackled, but still we kept Spartak’s goal under attack. Eventually the referee whistled it off. Goal-kick.
In the 9th minute Saša Ilić and Leković kept on passing the ball to each other, then Leković crossed it to the middle. A Spartak-defender kicked it out through the baseline. Corner-kick. Ninković got the ball, he shot, the goalkeeper saved. A minute later Spartak had another attempt with a 25-metre free kick, our defenders headed it out. We started a counter-attack, Andrija Živković crossed it to Vulićević on the right. Vulićević ran up and shot from a sharp angle, the goalkeeper saved it.
Meanwhile in the 12th minute someone on the stand got sick so much that an ambulance car arrived to give them medical attendance. The game was halted for a short time.

(photo: Twitter)

In the 14th minute Brašanac tried with a kick to the goal, the goalkeeper again saved it. A minute later we got a free kick, 25 metres from the goal line. Ninković stood behind the ball and sent a cross to Vulićević on the other side. Vulićević passed it to Brašanac, Brašanac forwarded it to Andrija Živković. He was wrestling with a defender, finally it ended in a throw-in.
Partizan was much stronger and determined now than (any time) earlier in the past weeks. We attacked, with no passing backwards or fumbling.
In the 16th minute Brašanac ran up on the left side. He crossed it to the  middle, the goalkeeper jumped out of the goalmouth to catch it, but the ball rolled away from him, right to Andrija Živković. The young winger grabbed it and with an amazing bicycle kick he shot. It was just too high.
Two minutes later Saša Ilić got the ball in the middle. He forwarded it to Brašanac, Brašanac shot it to the goal line, but this one was also too high.
The 20th minute brought an amazing Andrija Živković-Saša Ilić-Nikola Ninković pinball-shooting inside the penalty area - but the referee whistled it off, because by his viewpoint Saša Ilić in fact played handball.
In the 22nd minute Ninković crossed after a corner kick, but defenders headed it out. We still possessed the ball, Leković ran up on the left, passing forward to Brašanac, but the pass was too long.

Leković was in great shape

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 26th minute Stefan Ilić got suddenly a pass on the right side. Subotica’s player shot, it was too high. A minute later they got a free kick, but our defenders cleared the area.
In the 30th minute Ninković passed to Brašanac. Brašanac forwarded the ball to Andrija Živković. He ran up, almost sliding out through the baseline, but still had a shot from an almost impossible angle. Goalkeeper Janošević caught it.

Brašanac ran a lot, he was present at all Partizan-attempts

Bandalovski was also in his reliable shape, being the bastion of the right side

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 36th minute Jevtović passed to Andrija Živković, who forwarded the ball to Bojinov with an amazingly spectacular Oxford-trick. Bojinov shot, it was too high (and it was even flag up, for offside).
In the 37th minute we started a counter-attack after a Spartak free kick. Ninković crossed to the middle, Bojinov headed it, but it was too wide. A minute later Spartak attacked, Bandalovski blocked their attempt to corner kick.
Then in the second half, at the 50th minute we got a free kick. (Bojinov was kicked to the ground by a Spartak-defender right at the penalty area line.) Andrija Živković stood behind the ball...

(photo: hotsport.rs)

...and sent a giant bomb shot into the upper left corner!!! 0:1!!!

(photo: hotsport.rs)

In the 56th minute Bojinov sent a great pass to Ninković. Ninković ran up, a defender threw himself into the way, finally it ended in a corner kick.
In the 60th minute Saša Ilić got the ball after a corner kick. He forwarded it to Andrija Živković. Žile crossed it to the middle, there Jevtović headed it to the goal line, the goalkeeper again had a huge save.
In the 65th minute Mrkela appeared suddenly on the right side. He even shot, Kljajić saved. They immediately attacked again, now from the other side, this time Ćirković blocked them.
At this part of the match there were less attacks and attempts than in the first half. The game was going mostly on the midfield. In the 72nd minute a Partizan-throw-in caused a goalmouth scramble for Spartak. Andrija Živković suddenly shot, the goalkeeper performed the save of his life. Two minutes later Spartak had an attempt with a shot, Kljajić just reached out and caught it easily.
In the 76th minute Andrija Živković got the ball after a free kick. He ran up on the left, made a fantastic solo then crossed it to the middle - just the goalkeeper threw himself into the way and saved.

Saša Ilić. No further comment is needed

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 78th minute Mrkela appearead again on our right side and crossed the ball to the middle. Božović was waiting there, he raised up to head it to our goal line, but it was way too high.
The rest of the game was mostly about Partizan’s corner kicks and missed out attempts, though at one of them Bandalovski was kicked so hard to the ground that he was rolling on the grass screaming. At the very end of the match, in the 90+4th minute Spartak had one last attempt. Milošević shot, Kljajić saved.

(photo: partizan.rs)

Short highlights (as soon as there are longer, I’ll update the post):

Facts:

Venue: City Stadium, Subotica
Number of spectators: 3000
Referee: Danilo Grujić (assistants: Srđan Milutinović, Bojan Jovanović - 4th assistant: Slađan Rajković - goal line assistants: Dejan Anđelković, Dalibor Manojlović)

Spartak Zlatibor Voda: Janošević - Farkaš, Kovačević, Antonić, Milošević - Jočić, Tumbasević (Makarić, 53.) - Stefan Ilić (Božović, 53.), Torbica, Jondić - Ivanović (Mrkela, 46.)
Head coach: Andrei Chernisov

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Vulićević, Bandalovski, Ćirković, Leković - Jevtović, Brašanac - A. Živković (Trujić, 90.), Saša Ilić, Ninković (Petrović, 89.) - Bojinov (Šaponjić, 63.)
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

Goal scorer: A. Živković (50.)
Yellow card: Jočić (37.), Brašanac (46.)

Current championship standings:
1. CZ 53 points
2. Čukarički 35 points
3. Borac 34 points
4. Partizan 32 points
5. Radnički Niš 31 points
6. Vojvodina 28 points
7. Javor 27 points
8. Mladost 24 points
9. FK Voždovac 22 points
10. Surdulica 21 points
11. Novi Pazar 20 points*
12. Metalac 18 points
13. OFK Beograd 18 points
14. Rad 15 points
15. Jagodina 15 points*
16. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 9 points

*The game between Novi Pazar and Jagodina has been postponed for later date

FK Partizan - Spartak Zlatibor Voda 2:1 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 4)

The team is warming up

Miša forever. Miša is always there, supporting the team

(photos: Twitter)

May the lightning stroke those who thought it was a good idea to put Partizan’s football matches to ArenaSport 5. Not only it’s the worst, most obvious marketing tricks

to make fans subscribe for this channel, too, if they want to watch Partizan, because subscribing for ArenaSport 1 only is not enough
and this intention is especially ridiculous knowing the coverage (or rather, the lack of it) of ArenaSport in Serbia 

but lacking technical preparations as well as the top of all. It was just like at the previous match. The broadcast collapsed before the starting whistle. The match has reached its 4th minute when it got back to life, but even then the timestamp showing the elapsed time was either visible or not.
When the broadcast finally healed, a Spartak-player was just sending a shot to our goal line. Živko Živković easily saved.
In the 7th minute we got a corner kick. Andrija Živković kicked, Aboubakar headed it, missing the goal only by millimetres. It ended in another corner kick, this time performed by Babović. Fabricio headed it, the defenders kicked it out, but the ball dropped to Bojinov, then to Lukić. Lukić shot from approx. 25 metres, the goalkeeper had a great save. Another corner kick, again by Babović. Bojinov got the ball, and he shot with a cheeky half-turn, scoring right into the net. 1:0

(photo: b92.net)

In the 14th minute Babović gave a great pass to Andrija Živković. Živković ran up with a huge solo, then fell on the ground inside the penalty area while wrestling with a defender. The referee did not whistle for penalty. Spartak immediately started a counter-attack. Stefan Ilić got the ball and shot. Živko Živković saved it with a great movement.
In the 21st minute Andrija Živković got the ball and passed it to Lukić in the middle. It was a great chance, but Lukić was swept away by defenders. Never mind, the ball got to Bojinov. The Bulgarian striker shot, but goalkeeper Janošević saved, probably with the best save of his life.
In the 23rd minute again Lukić shot from 20 metres, the goalkeeper caught it.
It was a great, exciting match with good pace, spectacular attacks and screaming/cardial arrest type goal attempts. In the 29th minute Milošević sent a distant shot to our goal line, but it was too wide.

At this point I had technical problems and they didn’t leave until the end of the first half. I try to reconstruct the events of the rest of the first half by reports and match highlights.

The match’s pace got slower a bit. The fans of the southern tribunes made a spectacular scene with torches.

(photo: Twitter)

In the 42nd minute Andrija Živković got the ball after a great action. The attack ended in a corner. A minute later again Andrija Živković ran up with the ball and passed it to Aboubakar. Aboubakar had an even greater solo than Žile then passed it to Bojinov. Bojinov shot, the ball hit the goalpost’s corner.
In the last minute of the first half again the Andrija Živković-Aboubakar axis put themselves into action. Finally Aboubakar was pushed to the ground by a defender inside the penalty area - the referee didn’t whistle again.

Substitutes started to warm up before the end of the first half. Nothing is further from me than disrespect - may God forgive me even the pretence - but this image is PRICELESS

(photo: Twitter)

In the second half, at the 47th minute Lukić kicked the ball from the left, but the goalkeeper caught it. A minute later we got a corner kick. Aboubakar headed it to the goal. It was too high, Aboubakar fell into the net.

In the 51st minute Lukić passed it with a fantastic movement into the middle to Bojinov. Bojinov wanted to grab it, but the entire Spartak defense line jumped on him, he was tackled. Spartak ran up for a counter-attack. Milošević passed it to Makarić in the middle, Živko Živković made a great save.

In the 55th minute Bojinov ran up in the middle. He passed it to Andrija Živković to the right. Žile dribbled, then shot. I hope, goalkeeper Janošević will get some kind of bonus after this match, because again he had a fantastic save. Spartak can thank mostly to him

also to the referee

that they didn’t get more goals from us.

Then came the 57th minute. Torbica ran up to our area, while wrestling with Fabricio. Then the Subotica team captain tripped, and like a ripened pear, fell into our penalty area.

Can you guess what happened next?

Yes. You’re right. Referee Piper whistled and pointed to the penalty mark.

ArenaSport’s slow motion replay clearly showed IT WAS NOT A PENALTY. Dear Mr. Referee, please, give back your referee pass right now. Afterwards you can go hoeing.

Torbica stood behind the ball. Whistle... and he scored, of course. 1:1
But Partizan would not be Partizan if they had collapsed at this point, spending the rest of the match on the ground just with alibi-football. We started to attack heavily. In the 63rd minute Lukić shot after a great solo, the goalkeeper pushed it to corner. The kick dropped to Babović, he sent it to Vulićević on the right. From him the ball dropped to Balažic. The defender headed it to the goal, the goalkeeper saved.

Saša Ilić in action

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 65th minute Partizan had a fireworks-alike, very spectacular scene in Spartak’s goalmouth. Vulićević got the ball, he sent it to the other side. There arrived Andrija Živković and kicked it to the middle to Babović. Babović shot, but it was too high.

I swear I didn’t see it clearly. Did he really shoot this very high from 5 metres, or the goalkeeper saved it somehow, just the referee didn’t whistle for corner?

At this point Partizan put Spartak under heavy pressure. The Subotica team got stuck for a while around their penalty area. The second home goal was very much in the air.
In the 69th minute Andrija Živković kicked the ball to the middle. There Nemanja Petrović got it and sent a bomb shot from 10-12 metres. So pity it was too wide... Then Vulićević sent a fantastic pass to Andrija Živković in the right. Živković passed it to Saša Ilić in the middle, the Captain kicked it to Brašanac. Brašanac shot, the goalkeeper saved it to corner.
In the 74th minute Spartak could get out a bit to Partizan’s half. They got a corner, Partizan-defenders cleared it. They still possessed the ball, one of them made a distant shot. Živko Živković saved, we could run up for a counter-attack. Petrović passed to Andrija Živković. He shot, but it was too wide.
In the 78th minute substitute player Šaponjić got a fantastic pass from Saša Ilić. He shot, the ball hit the side net.
At this point hell started to break loose. Spartak-players were clearly playing for time. The fans were booing, finally the referee got fed up with the fumbling and gave a yellow card to Plavšić.
In the 85th minute Andrija Živković got the ball and passed it to Saša Ilić. The Captain passed it ahead to Trujić, but for Trujić it was too long. A minute later the unbreakable, nuclear-powered Andrija Živković passed the ball to the middle to Šaponjić. Šaponjić shot, but missed.
In the 90+2nd minute Vulićević passed the ball to the middle. All we could see was Trujić falling to the ground. Even the slow motion replay didn’t show too many details, only some wrestling. But, as you could guess, the referee didn’t whistle at all.

Partizan’s bench was totally upset. The camera showed Babović jumping up from his seat, yelling towards the referee. But referee Piper didn’t listen.

In the 90+4th minute, almost at the very end we got a corner kick. It was just a small shot, then Andrija Živković kicked it to the middle. It ended in another corner kick. The ball dropped to Saša Lukić. He wasted no time, shot and scored such a giant goal from 5 metres that the net tore to pieces. 2:1!!!!! This match is ours!!!!!

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Right before the final whistle hell finally broke loose. Zoran Lončar, Partizan’s second trainer started to yell with the referee

and I’m sure he was right

and he was joined by the entire Partizan bench. The second trainer had to leave the ground. Fans were booing, yelling, cursing the referee and generally everyone. Finally, after almost 7 minutes of extra time came the final whistle.

The day after the match news sites reported about investigations about the bribed matches in the Serbian football championship. The Serbian sports minister, Nebojša Stefanović personally talked to the media

question is, how much we can take it seriously...

that they work together with the police to find out and investigate these bribed matches

Don’t laugh!!!! Stay serious!!! :DDDD

He mentioned that teams like Crvena Zvezda, Partizan, OFK Beograd and Čukarički are especially under investigation.

This will be more than interesting, especially because on one hand I’m sure even the highest (political) circles are involved in it, on the other, the minister promised to make all the details of the investigation public.
I swear it would deserve to be released as a documentary book.

Official highlights:

SOS Kanal’s 22-minute-long summary:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 10 000
Referee: Petar Piper (assistants: Srđan Milutinović, Nenad Kurčubić - 4th assistant: Marko Dimitrijević - goal line assistants: Dejan Anđelković, Zoran Široki)

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Vulićević, Balažic, Fabricio, N. Petrović - Babović (Trujić, 76.), Lukić, Brašanac - A. Živković, Bozsinov (Saša Ilić, 55.), Aboubakar (Šaponjić, 77.)
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Spartak Zlatibor Voda: Janošević - Farkas, Kovačević, Antonić, Mezei - Makarić, Jočić, Milošević (Jondić, 70.) - Plavšić (Spremo, 77.), Ivanović (Torbica, 46.), Stefan Ilić
Head coach: Stevan Mojsilović

Goal scorers: Bojinov (8), Torbica (58., pen.), Lukić (90+4.)
Yellow card: Lukić (23.), Fabricio (56.), Janošević (66.), Brašanac (78.), Mezei (78.), Balažic (86.), Ž. Živković (90+4.)

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

FK Partizan - Spartak Zlatibor Voda 1:0 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 27)

Warming-up is always the most important, especially if you can do it in a joyous mood.

(photo: pafteq)

Spartak players were wearing an eye-killing orange jersey on the match. I don’t know which of their sponsors’ request it could be, but they looked like 11 marker pen on the grass.
In the 4th minute Grbić got the ball from Brašanac at the left corner of the penalty area. He dribbled two defenders then shot from 16 metres. The goalkeeper had a great save, it ended in a corner. Two minutes later Babović got a marvellous pass, but his shot was too weak, the goalkeeper didn’t even have to make an effort.
The 9th minute brought the first Spartak-attack. The ball departed from their half to arrive at Torbica, who passed it to the middle. Maksimović arrived and sent a bomb shot from 17 metres, but the ball flew out above the crossbar.
In the 12th minute Maksimović ran up towards our goal. After a great solo he passed to Ivanović on the left. Ivanović shot, barely missed. A minute later again Spartak had a chance. Torbica got the ball on the right side and passed it to Mrkela. A Partizan-defender tried to head it out, but the ball dropped to Stefan Ilić. With an elegant movement he got it down, then sent it to our goal line from 12 metres. Živko Živković could touch it with his fingertips - with this action he distracted the ball from our net, then our defenders cleared the area.
In the 18th minute we got a free kick, about 17-18 metres from the goal line on the right. Drinčić stood behind the ball.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

He kicked it into the goalmouth. Volkov jumped to head it to the goal line, but he missed it, with only one step.
In the 20th minute Spartak got a free kick, 20-22 metres from the goal line on the right. The shot dropped to the left side, and a shot was directed immediately to our goal, but the ball left the field above the crossbar. In the 26th minute Mrkela tried with a flat shot, but it caused no headache for Živko Živković.
The truth is, we played as if we were bloodless. Spartak shamelessly used it for their own benefit. We played safe, they blocked our attempts always in the last minute. For our luck their counter-attacks were weak.

Volkov is running up with the ball

(photo: pafteq)

And I swear, sometimes I did not get why referee Mažić waved "go ahead" numerous times instead of free kick.
In the 35th minute Bandalovski kicked the ball to the goal from 16 metres after a nice solo, but a defender blocked his shot. Then in the 42nd minute it was him again who got fed up with the fumbling and passed the ball into the goalmouth from the right. Grbić was waiting there, he headed the ball to the goal line, but it was weak, the goalkeeper caught it. A minute later Andrija Živković passed to Babović in the middle, but he missed it. Finally, in the 45th minute Drinčić got the ball from Andrija Živković. He shot from 30 metres, but the ball hit the defenders and dropped to Brašanac. He headed it ahead to Babović, Babović shot from 16 metres, but the flat kick rolled out of the field near the right goalpost.

Fans remembered Dawid Dziedzic, a Polish football fan who died earlier that week after a policeman shot him on the neck with a rubber bullet

(photo: Facebook/Гробари ЈУГ!!!)

A banner in Polish language against police brutality

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the second half the 53rd minute brought Mrkela getting the ball after a goal-kick. He ran up immediately on the left and passed to Ivanović. Ivanović got the ball, he even fell on the ground (3 Partizan defenders were watching it from a few steps away...), then shot. Živko Živković had a giant save.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 55th minute Drinčić sent a bomb shot to the goal line from 35 metres, but it ended as a corner. A minute later he passed to Andrija Živković on the right. Živković dribbled himself through the defense line, stopped in the middle and shot, but the ball flew out above the crossbar.
It was more and more awful. Our tryings were all in vain. We fumbled too much during attacks, and we messed them up always in the last moment. Players were running up and down, sometimes they seemed to have no idea about what to do, while Spartak players collapsed, one after the other, having heavy muscle cramps.

Volkov and Antonić. Referee Mažic is trying to calm them down, without much success

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 63rd minute Brašanac got the ball from Volkov at the side of the penalty area. He run to the goalmouth, but his shot ended on the side net. Meanwhile Spartak slowly switched to bunker football.
In the 72nd minute Drinčić sent a free kick from 20-22 metres to Spartak’s goal line, but it was too wide. Two minutes later Kojić got a pass, but he headed it above the crossbar.
Then in the 75th minute Andrija Živković got a FANTASTIC pass from Drinčić. The midfielder ran up, leaving behind a Spartak-defender who slid and fell on the ground and shot a bomb goal. But the assistant waved offside, referee Mažić invalidated the goal. A minute later Andrija Živković passed to Kojić with a marvellous Oxford trick. The striker ran past the goalkeeper who tried to throw himself into the way and shot, but missed. Another minute later again Andrija Živković passed to Drinčić. Drinčić passed the ball to Saša Ilić in the middle, who shot, but a defender standing just a few steps ahead of him blocked the shot. The ball dropped to Brašanac, he shot from 18 metres, too wide.
At this point our pace sped up. The fumbling was over, we were besiegeing Spartak’s bunker on full blast. The atmosphere was tensed, players and sometimes the entire Partizan bench was yelling at the referee, fans were whistling. In the 81st minute again Brašanac had an attempt, he got a high pass from the right and shot from 10 metres, but the goalkeeper caught it. Two minutes later Bandalovski got the ball and ran up on the right side. He dribbled the defender in front of him and passed the ball to the middle, where Volkov was waiting, but an arriving defender prevented him. They both fell on the ground in the goalmouth, the ball flew out above the crossbar.
In the 87th minute we got a corner kick. The entire Partizan bench jumped up, but the attempt ended with the ball in the goalkeeper’s hands.
Then came the 89th minute. Another corner kick for us. Drinčić kicked the ball to the goalmouth, Brašanac made just a tiny pass, and Ninković, who was standing behind him, kicked it into the net. GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAL, oh, my God, what a goal! 1:0

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

The entire stadium exploded, players made a happy pile on the ground.

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Even Živko Živković ran up from the other side of the field to celebrate.

The team had reserve energies even in the 90+2nd minute. Saša Ilić passed to Kojić. Kojić ran up, while two defenders tried to make a sandwich of him. He shot, but eventually missed.
The celebration at the end was absolutely well-deserved.

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the locker-room there was even some modest pre-championship title celebration. Saša Marković and Branko Ilić raised cuteness to another level.

(photos. Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 4500
Referee: Milorad Mažić (assistants: Milovan Ristić, Dalibor Đurđević - 4th assistant: Goran Stanojević - goal line assistants: Dejan Anđelković, Momčilo Marković)

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Bandalovski, Balažic, B. Ilić, Volkov - Drinčić, Brašanac - A. Živković, Babović (Ninković, 72.), Grbić (Saša Ilić, 56.) - Šaponjić (Kojić, 60.)
Head coach: Zoran Milinković

Spartak Zlatibor Voda: Mirković - Farkas, Antonić, Kovačević, Milošević - Jočić, Maksimović - Mrkela, Torbica, Stefan Ilić - Ivanović
Head coach: Stevan Mojsilović

Goal scorer: Ninković (89.)
Yellow card:  Jočić (23.), Bandalovski (57.)

Current championship standings:
1. Partizan 66 points
2. CZ 58 points
3. Čukarički 54 points
4. Vojvodina 43 points
5. Novi Pazar 40 points
6. Rad 40 points
7. OFK Beograd 39 points
8. Mladost 34 points
9. Radnički Niš 33 points
10. Borac 32 points
11. Jagodina 31 points
12. FK Voždovac 30 points
13. Napredak 28 points
14. Donji Srem 26 points
15. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 25 points
16. Radnički 1923 15 points

Spartak Zlatibor Voda - FK Partizan 0:3 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 12)

This was the 700th match of Saša Ilić wearing Partizan’s jersey. Fans greeted him with a banner made for this very special occasion.

Spartak took it serioiusly. They turned into defensive even at the half line, not being scared of the famous opponent even for a moment. They played aggressively (but not rude) and when a Partizan-player could make his way to the penalty area, he got 2-3 defenders on himself at once.
In the 10th minute a Partizan-defender wanted to pass the ball back to Lukač, but a Spartak-player lurking just there grabbed the ball. The shot flew away parallel to Partizan's goal line. Goal-kick.
In the 19th minute Škuletić had a great rush and passed the ball to Lazović in the middle. Spartak’s defender could barely save it to corner. Three minutes later again Škuletić sent a 20-meter-long bomb shot to Spartak’s goal line, but missed.
In the 28th minute Mrkela found himself standing all alone in front of Lukač’s home. Being there, he kicked the ball towards the net. But it did not cause any headache to Lukač. A minute later Ninković was dribbling himself through Spartak’s defense line (it was a great task to achieve...) and sent a marvellous shot from the penalty area line. Barely missed.

Then in the 33rd minute Škuletić got a great pass from Saša Ilić. He ran up to the penalty area racing with the defender, who tripped and fell right at the penalty area line, almost pulling off Partizan’s striker with himself. But Škuletić didn’t let himself being dragged back. He shook off the defender and made an amazing shot right into Spartak’s net. 0:1

Did I see well in the 37th minute, that someone, maybe Radović started to play handball inside his own penalty area? And if he did so, where has the totally legal penalty kick gone? Gone with the wind?

In the 38th minute Partizan built up a marvellous attack. They passed the ball quickly to each other inside the opponent’s penalty area, finally defenders grabbed the ball and cleaned.
42nd minute brought Spartak trying to take revenge for the goal. Milošević cut himself through the defense line and sent a dangerous pass from left, but Lukač was at his place, as always. Then in the 45th minute Ninković wanted to kick a distant ball to Spartak’s home, but on one hand the goalkeeper caught it, on the other the assistant was waving offside.
Spartak had a powerful start in the second half, that’s another thing that when Petrović got a huge pass in the 57th minute in front of their goal line, the assistant waved offside. Then in the 62nd minute Ninković sent a shot to the opponent’s net, again just barely missed. Five minutes later Živković came up on the right side and passed the ball to Škuletić. The striker gave it to Drinčić, from him it got to Lazović. Lazović shot, Janošević saved with a dauntless movement.
In the 69th minute Škuletić got a pass from Petrović. The striker shot, the goalkeeper saved with the tip of his fingers to corner.
Then the steam roller was kicked into action.
In the 80th minute Branko Ilić gave the ball to Živković. The midfielder sent it to the middle, where the ball got stuck among the defenders. But the Subotica players were fumbling way too much, finally Škuletić grabbed the ball and
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!!! 0:2

And a minute later
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!! 0:3!!! Petar Škuletić!!!

PETAR ŠKULETIĆ!!!!

HAT-TRICK!!!!

What a huge goal it was. Partizan stole the ball practically after the kickoff. Lazović ran up, passed to Škuletić, he thanked it and tore Spartak’s net into tiny pieces with his shot.
In the very last minute Spartak had a weak try, but Lukač made it clear he is the right person for the position.
Then it was high time to celebrate.

Happy Branko Ilić

"Hat-trick, breeeeee! Hat-trick!"

Facts:

Location: City Stadium, Subotica

Number of spectators: 3000

Referee: Jovan Obradović (assistants: Vladimir Jovanović, Vladimir Čadenović - 4th assistant: Olajos-Nagy Matija - goal line assistants: Vlado Glođović, Ilija Brdar)

Spartak Zlatibor Voda: Janošević - Farkas (Stefan Ilić, 74.), Kovačević, Antonić, Milošević - Radović, Maksimović - Mrkela (Lukić, 60.), Torbica, Plavšić - Milić (Balabanović, 87.)

Head coach: Petar Kurćubić

FK Partizan: Lukač - B. Ilić, Ćirković, Stanković, Petrović - Marković, Drinčić - Saša Ilić, Lazović (Luka, 82.), Ninković (Živković, 62.) - Škuletić (Fofana, 87.)

Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Goal scorer: Škuletić (33., 80., 81.)

Yellow card: B. Ilić (27.), Milošević (37.), Radović (57.), Marković (65.), Torbica (73.), Antonić (79), Lazović (79.)

Red card: Milošević (76., second yellow card)

Highlights:

Current championship standings:
1. Partizan 31 pont
2. Crvena Zvezda 27 pont
3. Vojvodina 25 pont
4. Čukarički 22 pont
5. Novi Pazar 20 pont
6. OFK Beograd 18 pont
7. Mladost 17 pont
8. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 16 pont
9. Rad 14 pont
10. Jagodina 14 pont
11. Donji Srem 14 pont
12. Borac 11 pont
13. FK Voždovac 11 pont
14. Napredak 10 pont
15. Radnički Niš 10 pont
16. Radnički 1923 6 pont

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)