No surprises this weekend, Dinamo continues its cruise to the Championship title.
It was a round with no upsets on the table. In the first game played, Inter probably secured its position and got out of relegation zone with a win over Slaven Belupo. Zagreb and Istra got a point each after a draw, and as we said in our preview, this means that all ships have sailed for Zagreb, and next year it will be League 2 for The Poets. One point is not enough for Istra too, and they will be in a battle with Osijek for eighth place in the table, trying to avoid the relegation play-offs. Osijek lost to Lokomitiva, and its fans were not happy with the result. As it was birthday time for NK Osijek, it started in a festive mood, but ended with the crowd demanding coach Zekić resign, and verbally assaulting players and the new management of the club.
In The Derby of the Adriatic, one goal was enough for Rijeka to beat Hajduk, who struggled throughout the game, missing 6 players from the starting eleven due to injuries and suspensions. A glimmer of hope for the visitors came as Rijeka was reduced to 10 players on the pitch after a second yellow card was shown to Mate Maleš in 66th minute of the game, but Hajduk’s 11 were simply not good enough.
In the last game, played on Sunday in desolate Maksimir, Dinamo beat Split, in a match where guests made 36 fouls, and they will not be happy with the final result.
Here are all the results of the weekend, and the league table:
Inter – Slaven Belupo 2-1
Zagreb – Istra 1961 1-1
Osijek – Lokomotiva 1-3
Rijeka – Hajduk 1-0
Dinamo – Split 1-0
1. Dinamo 54
2. Rijeka 49
3. Hajduk 42
4. Split 36
5. Lokomotiva 36
6. Inter 29
7. Slaven Belupo 24
8. Istra 1961 21
9. Osijek 20
10. Zagreb 10