Hajduk beat Dinamo 2-1 in the first derby of the season at a rain-soaked Poljud on Saturday, with a spectacular Bamba strike settling a match that ran 14 minutes into stoppage time and saw Dinamo hit the post at the death.
Hajduk and Dinamo met at Poljud on Saturday in the ninth round of the SuperSport HNL. It was also a meeting of the league’s top two, with both sides coming into the match on 16 points, the same tally as third-placed Osijek.
Igor Pajač of Sveti Ivan Zelina refereed the derby, with Ivan Bebek of Rijeka on VAR duty. Pajač was assisted by Bojan Zobenica of Velika Gorica and Ivan Starčević of Bjelovar, with Dario Bel of Osijek as fourth official. Goran Pataki of Đakovo was the assistant VAR.
Poljud was nearly a sellout, even though heavy rain was forecast, which luckily didn’t start until about the 30th minute. And it was relentless until the end.
Lineups
Hajduk: Silić – Acapandie, Raci, Marešić, Hrgović – Del Moral, Fayad – Bamba, Dalisson, Šotiček – Šego
Dinamo: Kotarski – Tabinas, Dominguez, McKenna, Vinlof – Zajc, Kravcov, Kačavenda – Lisica, Beljo, Ivanušec
Match report
Dinamo were the first to threaten in the highly anticipated ‘Eternal Derby’. In the 4th minute they worked the ball down the left, Ivanušec played in Zajc, and his cross found Lisica, whose shot caused little danger.
Hajduk’s reply two minutes later was a far better chance. Bamba burst past Vinlof on the wing and crossed into the middle, where Šego met the ball in an excellent position but sent his shot over the bar.
Dinamo went close from a corner in the 11th minute. Ivanušec delivered, McKenna headed the ball across to the far post, and Kačavenda could not get the touch needed to turn it in. Three minutes later Beljo was booked after a duel with Del Moral.
Beljo made his mark in the 21st minute. Vinlof sent in a superb cross and the striker, left alone in the penalty area, simply guided his header into the net to give Dinamo a 1-0 lead at Poljud.
But Hajduk hit back almost immediately. In the 24th minute, Hrgović whipped in an excellent set-piece delivery, and McKenna clumsily turned the ball into his own net to make it 1-1.
There was controversy in the 31st minute. Dalisson found Šego with a ball over the top, and he looked for Šotiček in the middle, but Kotarski gathered. As the Dinamo goalkeeper went to kick the ball clear, Šotiček crept up behind him and took it off him, only for referee Pajač to stop play, to the fury of the home crowd.
Hajduk had taken over possession and control by the 38th minute. In the 43rd minute Beljo was left alone again, this time from a Zajc cross, but he failed to connect cleanly. A minute later Silić’s poor clearance went straight to Vinlof, who set up Ivanušec, and the Hajduk goalkeeper made amends by saving the shot.
Two minutes of stoppage time were added as a torrential downpour swept over Poljud, and the sides went in level at 1-1.
Dinamo started the second half on the front foot. In the 48th minute, an attack down the right began with a Lisica cross, which Beljo knocked down, but Kravcov could not make clean contact with the ball.
Hajduk broke forward in the 55th minute, with Bamba racing towards the Dinamo goal and only McKenna ahead of him. Teammates were arriving in support, but he chose to shoot, and his effort was blocked.
Four minutes later he made no mistake. In the 59th minute, Bamba latched onto a loose ball after a cross had been cleared and thundered a shot towards goal, leaving Kotarski helpless and putting Hajduk 2-1 up with a spectacular strike!
Raci was booked in the 62nd minute for a hard foul on Kačavenda.
Dinamo responded with a triple substitution in the same minute, as Galešić, Stojković and Almena came on for Tabinas, Lisica and Kačavenda, with Almena jeered by the home crowd as he entered. Play was briefly halted in the 66th minute because of flares.
Stojković nearly made an immediate impact in the 70th minute. Given far too much room on the edge of the penalty area, he sent his shot just wide. Kovačević then went all out in attack, bringing on Dani Rodríguez for Zajc.
Hajduk should have settled it a minute later. Bamba broke down the right once more and picked out Šotiček, alone at the far post. It looked like match point for Hajduk, but Šotiček slipped and never got his shot away.
Dinamo made their final change in the 73rd minute, with Valinčić replacing Domínguez. Two minutes later, the ball was worked through the middle to Stojković, who moved it on to Rodríguez on the right, and Silić dealt with his shot.
Hajduk made their first substitution in the 76th minute, as goalscorer Bamba came off for Šutalo.
The match was stopped again in the same minute. After the earlier flares from the Bad Blue Boys, this time it was Torcida’s pyrotechnics that brought play to a halt. The interruption dragged on, with García heading to the dressing room in the 78th minute, and play did not resume until the 82nd.
Šutalo tested Kotarski in the 87th minute with a fierce shot towards the near corner, which the Dinamo goalkeeper saved. Hajduk then made a triple substitution in the 89th minute, with Dendoncker, Hadžikadunić and Melnjak coming on, and Fayad and Raci among those making way.
Twelve minutes of stoppage time were signaled at the end of the 90, and by then the rain had turned the match into something closer to water polo. Conditions were almost unplayable, with the ball barely moving across the sodden pitch. In the fourth minute of added time, referee Pajač called both coaches over for a conversation, and play was briefly suspended before resuming in the 97th minute.
Dinamo threw everything forward in the closing minutes, pumping crosses and long throw-ins into the box in search of an equalizer as the drama stretched deep into stoppage time.
Hajduk made one more change in the 14th minute of stoppage time, with Martin replacing Dalisson, and the real drama followed straight after. Beljo struck the post, and Dinamo wasted another good chance as the attack continued. The score did not change, and Hajduk held on for a 2-1 win.
The win takes Hajduk to 19 points, three clear of Dinamo.
Hajduk coach Gonzalo Garcia spoke after the match.
“This means so much to me. This is what football is all about. This team has heart, and the lack of heart and passion makes us lose games. Tonight, we had it all.”
