N.K.Hajduk 0 - 7 Spansko (382861637)

Due to an all-day shower, 12000 paying spectators got to see a match on a pitch-turned-bog at N.K.Hajduk Arena. Dinaraja Srinivasan was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Alessandro Febbrari and Mikel Riesco. N.K.Hajduk started off with a 4-4-2 lineup. Lineup: Oltran - Jelačić, Bertoncelj, Brdar, Jaša - Savari, Merselj, Turković, Megyeri - Zmajić, Paravinja.

Spansko tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. Starters: Vāverāns - Ziomal, Opprecht, Biondi, Kis - Kankaanranta, Kulawiak, Ozer, Berłowski - Malaska, Chía.

The wings were the focus of most of Spansko's attacks today. 1 minutes into the match, the Spansko manager wanted to try a new tactic, and the players loyally obliged. Some good play on the left wing created an opportunity for the visitors 5 minutes into the match, and T. Berłowski wasn't about to let it go by. He got past the defenders and fired a shot that the keeper just missed. 0 - 1 for the visitors. After 21 minutes, a mistake by the home side's left defence allowed D. Kulawiak to get through. He outclassed the home side's keeper, adding another goal for the visitors. 0 - 2. Spansko increased their lead after 27 minutes when G. Ozer broke through on the right, upping the score to 0 - 3, much to the home crowd's dismay. N.K.Hajduk's M. Paravinja was shown a yellow card after 28 minutes for slicing down an opponent. The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but V. Jelačić showed great heart and had a good game. It was obvious that Spansko had instructions to attack on the wings instead of in the middle. A defender managed to keep the ball from crossing the goal-line after a curling shot coming in from the right from T. Malaska after 30 minutes, and prevented Spansko from going up another goal. Spansko came close to extending their lead as G. Ozer delivered a low effort on goal from the right after 31 minutes, but the angle was too narrow and the shot went harmlessly into the side netting. N.K.Hajduk almost scored after a counterattack 32 minutes into the match, but Z. Jaša took a shot from the left that landed harmlessly in the side of the net. After 34 minutes, N.K.Hajduk's G. Bertoncelj fell awkwardly, but was determined to stay in the match. That's the spirit! It was 0 - 3 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Spansko, with 82 percent of the ball.

O. Kankaanranta received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 68 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 4. The Spansko fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. 75 minutes into the game, J. Savari had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came N. Diklić. D. Merselj was uncomfortable with the soggy pitch as he couldn't move the ball around with his usual grace. E. Chía was, after 83 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper D. Oltran made the save. A drive down the left side allowed D. Kulawiak to get in close and score another goal for Spansko after 84 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 5. The players of Spansko now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. After 86 minutes, Spansko's P. Opprecht burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 6. The home crowd was not impressed when P. Opprecht came in from the right, shooting hard to score after 87 minutes. Spansko were now up 0 - 7. Possession in this half belonged to Spansko, who controlled the ball 83 percent of the time.

Most important N.K.Hajduk player was R. Zmajić. However, G. Bertoncelj made a disastrous appearance. Spansko's top performer was clearly G. Ozer. On the other hand, M. Kis's play was disheartening. The match ends 0 - 7.