October 19, 2020 - The 8th round of the Croatian First League was held from October 16 to 18, 2020. This round featured a shocking Hajduk loss to Sibenik, while Osijek and Lokomotiva has been postponed due to coronavirus cases in the Zagreb club.
Slaven Belupo v. Istra 1961 (5:1)
Belupo and Istra opened the 8th round on Friday, October 16, 2020, in Koprivnica in front of 308 spectators.
Belupo's scoring spree started in the first half with two goals by Bozic in the 31st and 45+2 minutes for 2:0 at the half.
Krstanovic (penalty) and Glavic increased Belupo's lead in the 50th and 61st minutes for 4:0. Boakye made it 5:0 in the 79th minute, though Istra's Vuk was able to come back to score one goal in the 85th minute for the final score of 5:1.
Belupo is currently in 6th place with 7 points, while Istra is in the last place with 5.
Dinamo v. Gorica (3:2)
Dinamo and Gorica met on Saturday, October 17, 2020, at Maksimir Stadium in front of 815 spectators.
Gavranovic scored two goals for Dinamo in the 32nd and 36th minutes for 2:0 at the half. Gorica opened the second half with two goals to equalize - Mudrinski scored in the 46th and Hamad in the 50th for 2:2.
Gavranovic secured a hattrick with a goal in the 66th minute for 3:2, which was the final score of the game.
Dinamo is currently in first place with 19 points, while Gorica is in 2nd with 16.
Rijeka v. Varazdin (2:1)
Rijeka and Varazdin met on Saturday, October 17, 2020, at Rujevica Stadium in front of 2,072 spectators.
While Varazdin's Obregon was the first to score in the 17th minute for 0:1, an own goal by Stolnik made it 1:1 three minutes later. Kulenovic then increased Rijeka's lead to 2:1 at the half.
With no goals in the second half, the game ended at 2:1 for Rijeka.
Rijeka is currently in 4th place with 12 points, while Varazdin is in 8th place with 7.
Hajduk v. Sibenik (0:1)
Hajduk and Sibenik met at Poljud Stadium on Sunday, October 18, 2020, in front of 4,517 spectators.
Sahiti scored the only goal of the game in the 34th minute, which gave Sibenik the victory.
Hajduk is currently in 5th place with 10 points, while Sibenik is in 7th with 7.
Osijek v. Lokomotiva (POSTPONED)
Two players of NK Lokomotiva are positive for coronavirus, the Zagreb club announced on Sunday.
"Two NK Lokomotiva players were tested for COVID-19 on Sunday, October 18, and are positive. According to the Personal Data Protection Act (GDPR), we are not able to disclose the identity of the infected persons," the statement said on the club's website. The club also announced that "the competent epidemiological service was immediately notified, which imposed a measure of strict self-isolation on the two players, all following the recommendations of the Croatian Civil Protection Headquarters and the HNS working group."
Lokomotiva was supposed to play against Osijek Sunday at 5:05 pm, but the match was postponed.
"To avoid further possible spread of the infection to all other participants in the Osijek - Lokomotiva match, it is necessary to postpone it until the competent epidemiologist decides on further action and until additional testing of the entire team and determine the actual situation. According to the provisions of the Ordinance on football competitions and the Proposition of the competition, postponed matches must be played in the first possible free term, which will be decided later," said the commissioner of HT Prva Liga, Josip Brezni.
You can see the full HNL table here.
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