The first act is of… nobody. In the first leg of the Croatian Cup final, at the Maksimir in Zagreb it ended 0-0 between Dinamo and Rijeka. An overall match lacking in content between two very cautious and at times fearful teams. Everything will be decided during next Wednesday’s return match in Rijeka.
Željko Sopić fields the same line-up as in the recent championship match: the only change is Zlomislić between the posts (who is the Cup goalkeeper), Mitrović confirmed in defense (Galešić not even on the bench), as well as Ivanović at the top of the attack. On the other side, no surprises, with Sergej Jakirović up front relying on Petković and Hoxha, protagonists of Rujevica’s turnaround.
Hoxha «on fire»
Ready-go and Hoxha’s whip from over 20 meters immediately calls Zlomislić into a great intervention. The former Slaven Belupo winger is omnipresent, also performing defensive tasks, stopping Ivanović launched on the counterattack. Rather wide teams and many wrong passes at the start on both sides. In the quarter of an hour Pašalić sprints on the edge of offside, wedges himself into the area and tries diagonally for the far post, but the right foot is definitely not his foot and it shows… Among the hosts Hoxha is “on fire” and little then from sidereal distance he hits the crossbar with Zlomislić beaten. As the minutes pass, the pace slows down. Baturina and Petković talk a lot about the opposing midfield, but are excellently contained by the Juventus defence. Hoxha varies on all fronts, but often doubled or even tripled. Dinamo tries to play the game, Rijeka defends with order, closing all the gaps. In the final part of the half the guests try to make themselves seen with Pjaca from outside, but the aim is to be forgotten. And referee Bel says that’s enough.
Fruk pole
No changes at half-time and the same 22 as in the first half return from the changing rooms. Pierre-Gabriel improvises as an attacker by taking on Goda and Radeljić, but in the end he is caught up by the latter right at the moment of the shot. In the meantime, Sopić made his first change, bringing in Marić in place of the retired Ivanović. Baturina tries from outside, warming up Zlomislić’s gloves. Just before the hour mark, Fruk’s swing hits the post and it’s 1-1 in the woodwork. The guests are better in this phase, even if Nevistić is inactive, as on Hodža’s shot which ends up directly in the corner. Janković and Veiga also enter for Fruk and Pašalić. Zagreb break with Kaneko and Baturina, both blocked. Meanwhile, the rain intensifies which makes the maneuver of the two teams even more cumbersome, who still seem to be satisfied with a 0-0. Very slow pace in the final, but in full injury time Marić finds the winning goal at his feet, but he wastes it all by pardoning Nevistić and bringing down the curtain.
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