HNL Round 23 Recap: Wins for Hajduk and Rijeka, Draws for Dinamo and Osijek

March 4, 2019 – The Croatian First League’s 23rd round saw Hajduk, Rijeka and Gorica win, while Dinamo and Osijek pulled draws over the weekend.

The 23rd round of the Croatian First League was held from March 1 to 3, 2019. While there were no major upsets, per se, this weekend did see Croatian champions Dinamo struggle to win against Lokomotiva in the Zagreb derby. The weekend also featured a massive win for Hajduk who is pushing their way into the top four, and a draw for Osijek, which forced them four points behind Rijeka now.

Without further ado, here is our Croatian First League round 23 recap.

Rijeka v. Istria 1961 (2:0)

Rijeka and Istria opened the 23rd round on Friday, March 1, 2019, at Rujevica in front of 5,211 fans.

Rijeka’s Gorgon scored in the 43rd minute to make the game 1:0 for the hosts at halftime, and two minutes into extra time, Murić secured Rijeka’s win with a goal in the 92nd minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=tuCabKHu2ak

Rijeka is currently in second place with 44 points, while Istria is in 9th with 17.

Gorica v. Rudeš (3:1)

Gorica and Rudeš met on Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Velika Gorica.

It was a rather exciting first half for Gorica who scored all three of their goals in that part of the game – Ndiaye scored in the 21st, Zwolinski in the 37th, and Ndiaye again in the 44th. Rudeš was able to get one goal in 82nd minute thanks to Lisakovich.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=-kVIHkecdhc

Gorica is currently in 5th place with 35 points, while Rudeš remains in last with 4 points.

Lokomotiva Zagreb v. Dinamo Zagreb (1:1)

Lokomotiva and Dinamo met in the Zagreb derby at Kranjčevićeva street stadium on Saturday, March 2, 2019.

While the first half went without goals, Olmo scored for Dinamo in the 72nd minute to put them in the lead, though Uzuni equalized for Lokomotiva in the 80th minute to make it 1:1.

Dinamo also plays in the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=hx1Q9vG2oaw

Lokomotiva is currently in 4th place with 37 points, while Dinamo is in first with 58.

Inter Zaprešić v. Hajduk (1:3)

Inter and Hajduk met on Sunday, March 3, 2019, in Zaprešić.

Hajduk’s Jairo was the hero of the game after scoring two stunning goals in the first half – the first in the 14th minute and the second in the 20th. Caktaš scored with a header in the 52nd minute to make it 0:3 for the away team, though Inter did get one goal in the 93rd minute thanks to Tsonev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=_OTIav3s-PE

Inter is currently in 8th place with 21 points, while Hajduk is in 6th with 34.

Osijek v. Slaven Belupo (1:1)

Osijek and Belupo met at City Garden Stadium to close out the 23rd round on Sunday, March 3, 2019.

Marić scored quickly for Osijek to put them in the lead already five minutes into the game, though a late-game goal by Mateus saw Belupo equalize in the 86th minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v=THzGLXNfpck

Osijek is currently in 3rd place with 41 points, while Belupo is in 7th with 22.

You can see the full table here.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.