Yesterday, the finals of the Croatian Cup for pioneers, cadets and juniors took place in Slavonski Brod. Osijek swept the competition and won everything! Three finals won in one day will certainly remain written in the club’s history.
Previously, Osijek juniors won trophies, but never three in one day. The success is perhaps even greater since they were not treated as favorites in any game. Maybe that helped them relax and show that the football school in Osijek is doing an excellent job. It was also shown that there are no rules in Cup competitions and that trophies are won by teams that are in a better mood that day. Yesterday, everything was in white and blue colors, and the song “Grad na Drava danas slavi” was played three times at the NK Željezničar complex. It is a huge success of Osijek’s young people.
The pioneering final between Osijek and Hajduk was the most turbulent. The match was marked by score reversals, own goals and cards. The people of Split showed that they are more physically dominant, but also extremely nervous, so they received two red cards by the 40th minute. Hajduk led twice, but the lack of players on the field took its toll. They took the lead due to a mistake by the Osijek goalkeeper in the 10th minute. Osijek equalized in a similar way in the 24th minute. Not long after, young Prpić was justifiably sent off, receiving a second yellow card. Even with one less player, the people of Split took the lead again at the beginning of the second half. Three minutes later, Škorlić was sent off for another public warning. Then everything was resolved. With two more goals, the people of Osijek won the first trophy of the day, 3:2 in total.
Cohort Osijek / Lario Tus / Shutterstock
The cadets played an extremely uncertain final. Lokomotiva had a slight advantage on the field, which they could not crown with a goal. The excellent Osijek goalkeeper Kovačević also made it difficult for them. There weren’t many opportunities either. In the first half, Lokos threatened twice, but Kovačević had two great interventions. Osijek also tried on two occasions. After 80 minutes, the winner was decided by penalties. Each goalkeeper had one save, and Groznica shot over the goal for Lokomotiva. The decisive shot was made by Branšteter, who showed great courage, but also audacity, because he decided on a “panenka” with which he brought the Cup to the White and Blues.
The best football was presented by the juniors. This is not at all surprising since both Osijek and Lokomotiva played for players who have already tried their hand in the first league competition. We watch Kastrati and Hujber for Lokos in the first league scene, and in the Second League, Todorov, Todoroski, Durdov, Bliznac and Lišnić made appearances for Osijek. Osijek already solved the question of the winner in the first half. Osijek took the lead in the 17th minute through Durdov. The second hit is a real beauty. Todoroski put the ball under the crossbar from a free kick from 17 meters, and Durdov made it 3:0 with his second goal in the 38th minute. Below is a completely different picture on the field. Lokomotive players hit the post three times, and the goalkeeper of the White and Blue saved something. In the very end, Hujber managed to alleviate the defeat and score an honorary goal for the final score of 3:1.
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