Dinamo defeated Hajduk in the Croatian Cup final played in Vinkovci this evening.
After winning the Croatian First League, Dinamo overcame Hajduk in Vinkovci to win the Croatian Cup final. Dinamo’s double crown was achieved thanks to Mario Gavranović who took advantage of a colossal mistake by Hajduk player Savvas in the 55th minute of the game, reports Gol.hr on May 23, 2018.
The Split club had several great chances to equalize in the match, but Caktaš, Futacs, and Almeida all missed incredible opportunities in front of the goal. The leading official Mario Zebec damaged Hajduk on two occasions in the 90 minutes of play, failing to award two penalties to Gyurcso in each half.
Dinamo has thus secured their 15th title in the Cup, while Hajduk remains at six Cup trophies. This is the seventh time Hajduk and Dinamo have played each other in the Cup final, but today’s final was the first time the two teams faced one another in nine years. The Split club celebrated in the first three Cups, while the Zagreb club has taken the last four finals.
The finals in Vinkovci saw an equal battle, though the winner was ultimately ruled by the great mistake of Hajduk’s Savvas who, in the 55th minute, gifted the ball to Dinamo’s Gavranović to sink past the otherwise brilliant Hajduk goalkeeper Dante Stipica. Stipica saved Hajduk at the start of the match, though Hajduk was failed by the referee twice in the first half and Mijo Caktaš hit the post. At the beginning of the second half, Hajduk missed several opportunities to equalize, and Dinamo walked with the Cup. Dinamo’s new coach Nenad Bjelica has thus won the trophy in his second match as the club’s coach.
The unhappiness of the fans also marked the final, and while Torcida threw flares onto the pitch in the second half and clashed with the police, the Bad Blue Boys threw stadium seats.
Croatian media has not been shy to say that the refereeing squad has royally damaged Hajduk in this final, and even referee expert Mateo Beusan noted Hajduk should have not only been awarded a penalty, but Dinamo’s Perić should have been given a red card in the 22nd minute.
