Hajduk’s chances of catching up to Dinamo have been shot down after drawing in Koprivnica to Slaven Belupo.
In the first game after a turbulent week at Poljud where Ivan Kos was first dismissed, and then players were attacked in the city center, Hajduk failed to celebrate in Koprivnica. With a 0:0 draw, not only did Hajduk fail to reach Dinamo, but they were left without second place, now held by Rijeka, reports Goal.hr on April 29, 2018.
It was a non-controversial match which saw few opportunities. The home team held their defense, and Hajduk could not find a way to the back of the net.
Slaven Belupo was first to threaten in the match. Already in the third minute, Ivanovski soared past Ismajli but did not succeed. Belupo’s Doležal then penetrated towards Hajduk’s goal in the 5th minute and fell into the penalty area. Next to him was Hamza, and Mlakar did not see a penalty justified.
Minutes later, there was an attempt by Hajduk with a shot by Mijo Caktaš, though the ball went wide of the net. Similarly to Doležal, in the 24th minute, Kožul fell in Belupo’s penalty area, but Mlakar allowed the game to continue.
Hajduk had the first real dangerous attempt of the game in the 26th minute. Juranović took on Delić on the right and crossed to Marko Futacs who missed just outside of the goal.
After that, the game ultimately died down, and Slaven Belupo devoted to their defense – and Hajduk was also not particularly creative in the attack. In the 43rd minute, Hajduk’s best chance of the first half came from Fomitschow’s free-kick. Though the Hajduk defender was able to get around the Belupo wall, it was an easy catch for the Belupo keeper.
In the 55th minute, Caktaš shot directly at the goalkeeper, and just a minute later, Nižić prevented Belupo from a counter attack, though he was sentenced to a yellow card.
In the 71st minute, Ivanovski tried for a penalty, though there was no contact between the Hajduk goalkeeper and the striker to be called. The referee punished the Belupo player with a yellow card for simulation. A tedious, yet quiet game continued until the end of the second half.
Hajduk feared that they would play with ten players in the last ten minutes of the game after Mijo Caktaš fell from a tackle. Željko Kopic had used all three of his substitutions already, and though a stretcher was brought out, Caktaš’s returned to the pitch two minutes later.
Željko Kopić remained without a win against his former team in their second attempt. In February, Belupo celebrated 1:0. With four more rounds until the end, Hajduk is now behind Dinamo by seven points, while Rijeka has one point more than the Split club.
Translated from Goal.hr
