Crvena zvezda made it to the Champions League Second Qualifying Round with a 2-1 win over FK Sūduva.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 23,751
Referee: Ádám Farkas (Hungary)
Goalscorers: Boakye 4', Marin 29' - Topgagić 90+5’
Sent off: Gobeljić 60'
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gobeljić, Babić, Milunović, Rodić, Jovančić, Jovičić, Ben, Marin, Ivanić, Boakye.
Substitutes: Popović, Stojković, Vulić, Jevtović, Simić, Pavkov, Vukanović.
Sūduva: Kardum, Švrljuga, Kerla, Jankauskas, Živanović, Slavickas, Golubickas, Čađenović, Verbickas, Gotal, Topčagić.
Substitutes: Plukas, Leimonas, Matulevičijus, Hladik, Veževičijus, Tadić, Ricketts.
After last week’s goalless draw in Marijampolė, our team needed a win against the champions of Lithuania in order to book a spot in the Champions League Second Qualifying Round.
Speaking ahead of this match, Head Coach Vladan Milojević said that he wasn’t unhappy with his team’s finishing in the first match and that it was something the players were going to have to improve.
And his team responded ever so well. After just four minutes played, Richmond Boakye ran onto a perfectly weighted through pass from Ben and absolutely hammered it into the roof of Kardum's net to give Zvezda the perfect start.
It was an emotional night at our stadium as fans offered their support to Siniša Mihajlović who is fighting against illness and to our basketball player Ognjen Kuzmić in his recovery following a car crash.
Captain Marko Marin doubled the lead after half an hour of play as he finished off a lovely team move. It was a goal that delighted the crowd.
Our team gathered momentum as Ben, Ivanić and Boakye surged forward. Our Ghanaian hitman came close to scoring again on 38 minutes as he carried the ball into the box and away from his marker only to slam his drive off the post.
Zvezda continued to push forward right until the 50th minute. Marko Gobeljić's reckless challenge resulted in a sending off for the defender and sadly a broken leg for Vaidas Slavickas.
The match lost much of its energy after this incident and except for a few penalty appeals from the red and whites offered little.
The Lithuanian side had a great chance five minutes from time but could only hit the bar with a header. They did manage to bundle the ball in Zvezda’s net deep into injury time through Topčagić.
It was too little too late, however, for the visitors and it was Crvena zvezda who celebrated the win and safe passage into Second Round.