It was a round of no surprises, four teams topping the table all won their games
Croatian football league is in its final stage and on April 11, 2016, we bring you the review of round 30. Top teams won so nothing much changed on the table, there was a draw in Osijek, meaning that the home team is one step closer to avoid relegation play-offs, and Split is one step farther from the Europa League place.
When announcing this round, we predicted that the game between Osijek and Split is most likely to end in a draw, and we got it right. Lokomotiva won against Slaven Belupo; it was obvious that the guests were tired due to the mid-week Cup clash against Rijeka. The team from Koprivnica will most likely be concentrating on the Cup final in next few weeks.
Rijeka was shaken by losing their step in two away games against Slaven Belupo and their supporters did not help, as they were boycotting the team for the first hour of play, but the home team played a good match and won easily against the weak Zagreb team.
Dinamo was in the Zagreb suburbs playing against Inter, and even though the result does not look persuasive, their win was an easy one. Dinamo has the quality players to get the wins they need in domestic competitions, even when the team is not looking good. The problem that Dinamo has is missing a game plan for Europe, as they are winning too easy in Croatia, often with some help, and that affects their performance in the continental competitions.
In the closing game of the round, Hajduk thrashed Istra 1961 at home, much easier than expected. It seems that the guests are to play the relegation playoff games. This win is a tranquilizer for Hajduk’s fans, and as coach Burić pointed out after the match, he is not in the position to pay the bonuses to the players, so he awarded them with two days off after this performance.
Here are all the results, and the league table;
Osijek – Split 0-0
Lokomotiva – Slaven Belupo 2-0
Rijeka – Zagreb 3-0
Inter – Dinamo 0-1
Hajduk – Istra 1961 3-0
1. Dinamo 69
2. Rijeka 65
3. Hajduk 54
4. Lokomotiva 46
5. Split 43
6. Inter 34
7. Slaven Belupo 31
8. Osijek 28
9. Istra 1961 22
10. Zagreb 11
