Red and whites held by FCK

Crvena zvezda and Copenhagen drew 1-1 in a tight Europan clash at Rajko Mitić Stadium. Milan Pavkov's first half opener looked enough to secure a win until a late penalty gave Copenhagen a draw ahead of second leg.

Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium

Attendance: 40,812

Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)

Goalscorers: Pavkov 44’ - Wind 84' (pen)

Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gobeljić, Degenek, Milunović, Rodić, Jovančić, Cañas, Ivanić, Marin, Vukanović, Pavkov.

Substitutes: Popović, Pankov, Babić, Jander, Simić, Ben, Boakye.

FC Kobenhavn: Grytebust, Varela, Papagiannopoulos, Nelsson, Oviedo, Holse, Zeca, Stage, Fischer, Wind, N'Doye.

Substitutes: Johnsson, Bengtsson, Thomsen, Stotiriu, Daramy, Mas Jaume, Bartolec.

The champions of Denmark arrived to Belgrade with a reputation of a solid, experienced side that’s well-adjusted to European football.Head Coach Vladan Milojević heaped praise on the visiting side, stating that their biggest strength is their Norwegian head coach Ståle Solbakken, who led the club from Danish capital to major successes in the past six years.

There were changes in Zvezda team compared to last match at HJK, as Richmond Boakye dropped to the bench in favour of Milan Pavkov, while Marko Gobeljić returned at right back after serving his two-match suspension. Aleksa Vukanović was given a start at left wing while Ben remained on the bench.

A well-organized team, Copenhagen came to Belgrade to secure a good result ahead of the return leg and they tried to neutralize the loud crowd in Belgrade. Their team selection was pretty much expected, as Ståle Solbakken went for his usual 4-4-2 formation with Dame N’Doye and Jonas Wind in attack and captain Carlos Zeca controlling his team’s play from midfield.

Our team nearly got off to a perfect start as Marko Marin went close from a free kick just three minutes into the game. Goalkeeper Sten Grytebust got there just in time to tip it over.

The visitors enjoyed much of the possession in the opening 20 minutes, but it was Zvezda who had better chances. Dušan Jovančić tried a half volley from just outside the area after a Marko Marin free kick wasn't cleared. It bounced just wide.

As game went on, Zvezda continued to gather momentum and looked the side more likely to score. The breakthrough came just before the break as Milan Pavkov’s attempt from the edge of the area bounced off Nilsson and nestled in the net. It was a perfect ending to the first half!

Richmond Boakye replaced Milan Pavkov at the restart as Vladan Milojević's team tried to build on the lead.

Danish side equalized on 84 minutes as Jonas Wind scored a cool penalty after the referee had seen a foul in the area.

There were penalty appeals at the other end as Ben seemed to be upended while taking the shot in a good position. The referee only booked the Comorian for making his case too strongly.

The final whistle brought a mixture of cheers and boos as the crowd felt the Serbian champions had done enough to earn a win.

It's all to play for when these sides meet again in Copenhagen.

Comments

Filter

Top first Negative first