A tired-looking Crvena zvezda were beaten in Kruševac by a last-gasp winner in a difficult match. The team who recorded a magnificent victory away at 1.FC Koln just three days earlier couldn’t find enough fuel in the tank to overcome an inspired Napredak side.
Ground: Mladost
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Milorad Mažić
Goalscorer: Mitrović 90+7’
Teams:
Napredak: Petrović, Miladinović, Markoski, Šljivić, Mitrović, Veškovac, Vukanović, Boranijašević, Urošević, Alivodić, Kasalica.
Substitutes: Janković, Simonović, Eskić, Milisavljević, Vulić, Sekidika, Đerić.
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Stojković, Babić, Le Tallec, Gobeljić, Donald, Račić, Ricardinho, Srnić, Radonjić, Pešić.
Substitutes: Supić, Anđelković, Milijaš, Bainović, Krstičić, Adžić, Boakye.
Vladan Milojević didn’t make too many changes to the side he fielded on Thursday, with Pešić, Ricardinho and Račić taking the field in place of Boakye, Kanga and Krstičić.
First half was a very nervous one, full of fouls, talking to referee. There weren’t any good chances on offer as our team looked slow and lacking energy. Enver Alivodić had a decent attempt for the hosts, but he volleyed over from a narrow angle. On the other end, Pešić shot straight at Nikola Petrović when presented with a half chance.
Head Coach Vladan Milojević sent Nenad Krstičić on before the start of the second half in a bid to inject a little urgency to Zvezda’s build up play. In the meantime, the Kruševac side looked dangerous on the counter, with their players clearly motivated and well prepared by former Crvena zvezda Head Coach Milorad Kosanović, now in charge of Napredak.
As the match neared the final whistle, Crvena zvezda were desperately chasing what would probably prove to be the winning goal, with Mitchell Donald, Aleksandar Pešić and Srnić coming close.
As it usually happens in football, the coal came at the opposite end. Napredak moved quickly and played a neat counter-attack that was finished in style by Nikola Mitrović who chipped Milan Borjan from outside the box. There wasn’t any time left for Zvezda to try and fight back and Napredak celebrated an impressive win over the Belgrade team.
This was only the first league defeat for the red-and-whites this season.
Zvezda players were still cheered by the travelling fans and their efforts have been acknowledged despite this defeat.
We’re still top of the Superliga and looking forward to the upcoming matches in the Serbian Cup, Superliga and UEFA Europa League.