The 13th round of the Croatian First League was held from November 3 to 5, 2018, which saw an exciting derby for Dinamo against Osijek.
Here we are, at lucky number 13 - though it wasn’t such a lucky round for some of Croatia’s top clubs. The 13th round saw the highly anticipated derby between Osijek and Dinamo at a packed City Garden Stadium, though the home team was unable to pull a win against the just-too-good Dinamo who managed two goals against the third-placed Osijek.
The 13th round did see a fair share of red cards, with Istra 1961, Gorica, and Slaven Belupo being the unlucky sides to receive them. Rijeka, however better under new coach Biščan can’t seem to make it up from 5th place, and Hajduk continues with average results under Vulić to remain in 7th.
Without further ado, here is our 13th round recap.
Lokomotiva v. Istra 1961 (1:0)
Lokomotiva and Istra met in Zagreb on Saturday, November 3, 2018, to kick off the first game of the 13th round in front of 729 fans.
Lokomotiva was able to secure their one and only goal of the game right before the half (45th minute), and especially after Mierez received a double yellow from the referee in the 75th minute, Istra was unable to equalize.
Lokomotiva is currently in 2nd place with 28 points, while Istra is in 9th with 9.
Gorica v. Hajduk (1:1)
Gorica and Hajduk met for the second match of the 13th round in Velika Gorica on Saturday, November 4, 2018, in front of over 3,700 spectators.
Gorica was the first to score in the 14th minute from an incredible counter-attack by Atiemwen for 1:0.
It wasn’t long before Hajduk equalized, however, and Jairo nailed a header in the back of the net in the 31st minute for 1:1.
Gorica received a red card in the 43rd minute, and no goals were scored in the second half.
Gorica is currently in 4th place with 23 points, while Hajduk is in 7th with 13.
Osijek v. Dinamo (0:2)
Osijek and Dinamo met for the highly anticipated derby at City Garden Stadium in front of over 8,000 fans on November 4, 2018.
While the first half saw opportunities from both teams, it ended without goals.
Dinamo woke up in the second half, however, and a goal by Gavranović kicked off the scoring spree in the 64th minute. In the 4th minute of extra time, Olmo hit another goal in the back of the net for the 0:2 Dinamo win.
Dinamo is currently in first place with 33 points, while Osijek is in 3rd with 24.
Inter Zaprešić v. Slaven Belupo (0:0)
Inter and Belupo met for their 13th round match at Stadium ŠRC Zaprešić in front of 182 fans on Monday, November 5, 2018.
It was a quiet first half that saw nothing exciting but two yellow cards for Belupo. The second half also saw no goals but did see Belupo’s Sarlija get sent off from a double yellow.
Inter is currently in 8th place with 11 points, while Belupo is in 6th with 13.
Rijeka v. Rudeš (5:1)
Rijeka and Rudeš met for the final game of the 13th round on Monday evening at Rujevica in front of 3,428 fans.
Gorgon kicked off the scoring spree for Rijeka with a goal in the 19th minute, though Rudeš equalized less than 10 minutes later with a goal by Pantalon for 1:1. Heber scored for Rijeka in the 45th minute to end the first half 2:1.
The second half, however, saw three more goals for Rijeka - Čolak in the 55th minute, Heber again in the 70th, and Puljić in the 83rd. The game ended 5:1.
Rijeka is currently in 5th place with 21 points, while Rudeš remains in the last place with 2.
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