The red and whites made it into Kup Srbije Semi Final with a deserved win over FK Radnik.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 5,000
Goalscorers: Ivanić 17', Ben 43' – Zlatanović 90+1’
Referee: Bojan Nikolić
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Stojković, Milunović, Babić, Gajić, Jovančić, Ivanić, Jirka, Ben, Simić, Pavkov.
Substitutes: Popović, Savić, Jovičić, Vulić, Ebecilio, Joveljić, Vukanović.
Radnik: Lekić, Kričak, Kovačević, Pavlović, Milovanović, Kojić, Stojanović, Kjeremeh, Damnjanović, Bojić, Stamenković.
Substitutes: Vasiljević, Pajović, Stevanović, Miladinović, Ristović, Đorđević, Zlatanović.
Comorian forward El Fardou Ben starred in this cup tie as he provided and assist and scored a great goal in the first half. His corner was expertly steered into the net by the head of Mirko Ivanič on 17 minutes. It was the first Zvezda goal for the former BATE midfielder.
Crvena zvezda continued to create chances and could have all but end Radnik's hopes before the break. Unfortunately, Veljko Simić somehow missed the target after being teed up by Erik Jirka after a sweeping move down the right wing.
It was Ben who scored just before the break with a clinical free kick from just outside the area. His left-footed strike was simply unstoppable.
Zvezda took the foot off the gas pedal after the restart, but still managed to create a number of chances. Lorenzo Ebecilio, Milan Pavkov and Mirko Ivanić all had half chances, but Milovan Lekić in Radnik goal had other ideas.
There was some late drama as Radnik pulled one back from the spot in the added time, but Crvena zvezda never looked like conceding again and the final whistle shortly marked our safe passage into the last four.