Crvena zvezda produced a mature performance and scored a goal in each half to claim the points from a difficult trip to Niš.
Ground: Čair.
Attendance: 4,000.
Referee: Novak Simović
Goalscorers: Ben 40’, Vukanović 77’
Radnički Niš: N Petrović, Todorovski, Stevanović, Ostojić, S. Đorđević, Noma (81’ F Knežević), Čumić, Sulaka, Pantelić, Haskić, S Mihajlović (74’ Bondarenko).
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gobeljić, Degenek, Milunović, Rodić, Vulić, Cañas (76’ Ivanić), Ben, Marin (88’ Nikolić), Vukanović (78’ Simić), Tomané.
Blue-clad red and whites started well at Čair and pinned Radnički back for long spells of the match. Aleksa Vukanović found himself in a good position after just 55 seconds, and even though the result didn’t change it set the tone for the match in which Crvena zvezda dominated.
Radnički rarely threatened Borjan’s net, while Vulić, Ben and Vukanović all had half chances inside the opening half hour. The deserved opener came five minutes before the break as Ben poked home from close range following an almighty scramble in Radnički’s area following some good work from Rodić.
Radnički were then forced in attempting to play a bit more offensively, which gave Vladan Milojević’s team a bit more space to work with.
Nemanja Milunović made a crucial tackle to deny Čumić just three minutes after the restart as match picked up tempo. On the other end, Ben had a chance to double the lead from around 12 meters out, but his shot lacked power. Miloš Vulić tried a free kick on the hour mark and thought he’d scored only to see Petrović make a last-gasp stop.
Radnički were reduced to ten men on 70 minutes after a bad foul by Ivan Ostojić. This made our job a bit easier and our team made sure the advantage was turned into another goal. Tomané found Vukanović with a smart header and the big forward made no mistake and finished well to all but secure the win.
The points were welcome for the team that’s now preparing for Tuesday’s Champions League match with FC Bayern at Rajko Mitić Stadium.