May 24, 2023 – Hajduk beat Sibenik 2-0 at Rujevica Stadium on Wednesday in the Croatian Cup final! It’s the first time the Split club has celebrated the Croatian Cup trophy back to back.
We’re in the final week of the SuperSport HNL season week, and with that, we get to see who will celebrate the SuperSport Croatian Football Cup ahead of the 36th round played this weekend. Hajduk and Šibenik met in the final from 19:00 at Rujevica in Rijeka. Interestingly, the two teams also meet in the final round of the league on Sunday. Hajduk has already clinched second place, while Šibenik has been relegated from first league football.
Hajduk was the big favorite and has also been in great form. They haven’t conceded a goal in six games, nor have they lost. The Cup final was also unique for Hajduk. It was the first time in eighteen years that Hajduk had the opportunity to win the trophy two seasons in a row.
Hajduk had loud support from the stands. Most of the east stand was filled with fans from Split, while the north stand was reserved for Šibenik fans who bought only a few hundred tickets for the final. Rujevica was thus not sold out, and around 6,500 fans were in attendance.
Regarding the lineups for each team, Hajduk was without Mikanović, Lovrencsics, and Kalik, while Šibenik could not count on Điro and Radonjić due to injuries.
Lineups
Hajduk: Lučić – Sigur, Awaziem, Ferro, Melnjak – Pukštas, Krovinović – Sahiti, Benrahou, Mlakar – Livaja
Šibenik: Đaković – Kvržić, Perić, Kvesić, Mina – Đorić, Soldo – Arai, Hiroš, Dolček – Špeljak
Match report
Hajduk found the back of the net in the 4th minute, but Mlakar’s goal was disallowed after VAR. Hajduk completely dominated Sibenik so far at Rujevica.
Hajduk continued to dominate, but they didn’t have any great opportunities in the next 20 minutes. On the other hand, Šibenik, now in the second division, held their own at Rujevica.
Hajduk had two great chances in the 39th minute. Mlakar was one on one with the keeper, who brilliantly saved before the ball went out for a corner. Livaja just missed the goal off the corner.
A minute of stoppage time was played, and the first half ended 0-0.
Hajduk put on the pressure in the first few minutes of the second half, but Melnjak missed an open goal.
Hajduk had their 8th corner in the 56th minute, and Livaja headed to the right of the goal. Sibenik had 0 corners at this point.
And then it happened. Benrahou shot into Šibenik’s defense. After the rebound, the ball reached Melnjak, who scored for Hajduk and the 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute!
Sibenik held their own to not concede another goal, but Hajduk’s defense remained solid and tried to get their second.
Four minutes of stoppage time were added.
And Hajduk was awarded a penalty in the final minutes off a Pukstas foul in the box! Livaja scored for 2-0!
The match ended 2-0 for Hajduk, winning the Croatian Cup trophy for the second consecutive time!
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