A fantastic 2-0 win at KAA Gent gave our hopes of reaching the knock-out stage a massive boost on Thursday night. An early rocket from Petrović and a second-half header from Milunović handed Dejan Stanković what was arguably his biggest win to date.
Ground: KAA Gent Stadium
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
Goalscorers: Petrović 2’, Milunović 58’
KAA Gent: Bolat, Hanche-Olsen, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Núrio Fortuna, Botaka, Dorsch, Owusu, Kums, Mohammadi, Bezus, Bukari.
Substitutes: Coosemans, Vanden Borre, Odjidja-Ofoe, Niangbo, Van Daele, Castro-Montes, Samoise, George, Arslanagić.
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gajić, Pankov, Milunović, Degenek, Petrović, Vukanović, Ivanić, Nikolić, Ben, Falcinelli.
Substitutes: Popović, Pavkov, Boakye, Simić, Gavrić, Eraković, Lazetić, Bačanin, Radulović, Spiridonović, Krstović.
Zvezda made a dream start to the match and were in front just as the first minute of play was out. An early corner was played into the path of Njegoš Petrović, who curled a stunning effort beyond Bolat to give his team the lead. A truly memorable goal by the young midfielder gave much-needed confidence to our team, who needed a win to all but secure qualification from Group L.
The hosts enjoyed most of the ball possession, but it was the resilient Zvezda side who ended the half in front and looked dangerous on the break. The home side lacked determination in the final third as our defensive block stood firm.
All Gent’s attacks came to nothing and the red and whites made the most of a corner just before the hour mark as Nemanja Milunović met Ben’s cross with a firm header and doubled the lead for the Champions of Serbia.
Despite Gent’s pressure, our team performed well when facing wave after wave of attacks and kept a clean sheet to record the win that will surely live long in supporters’ memory.
This was our first-ever win in Belgium and it’s a massive one. We march towards another Spring in Europe.