October 31, 2022 - The SuperSport HNL 15th round was played from October 28 to October 31, 2022. This round featured the derby between Osijek and Dinamo at City Garden Stadium, with Dinamo recording its first defeat of the season, while Hajduk missed out on taking 3 points against Lokomotiva with a last-minute 2:2 draw. Here's our SuperSport HNL round 15 recap.
Sibenik v. Varazdin (1:2)
Sibenik and Varazdin opened the 15th round on Friday, October 28, in Sibenik.
The first half went without goals, but the second half certainly made up for it. Dolcek scored for 1:0 Sibenik in the 60th minute, just five minutes before Varazdin's Teklic was sent off with a red card. Varazdin played with a man down for the rest of the match, but Brodic brought hope with the equalizer in the 71st minute (penalty). A red card was shown to Sibenik, too, in the 3rd minute of stoppage time when Delic was booked for his second yellow. Pilj scored the winning goal a minute later for the final 1:2 Varazdin.
Sibenik is currently in 8th place with 13 points, while Varazdin is in 5th place with 22 points.
Rijeka v. Istra 1961 (0:1)
Rijeka and Istra met on Saturday, October 29, at Rujevica Stadium in front of 3,755 fans.
Another scoreless first half was shaken up in the 63rd minute when Erceg put Istra ahead for 0:1. Neither team could score for the remainder of the match. Rijeka held 48% of the ball possession throughout the game compared to Istra's 52%. Istra had three shots on target and five blocked shots by the Rijeka keeper.
Rijeka is currently in 9th place with 12 points, while Istra is in 6th with 17 and a game in hand.
Osijek v. Dinamo (1:0)
Osijek and Dinamo met on Saturday, October 29, at City Garden Stadium in front of 7,609 fans. This is one of the last games that will be played at this stadium as we await the new Pampas stadium due to open soon.
It was another scoreless first half in the 15th round and a second half that was incredibly difficult to play due to the thick fog. Mierez found the back of the net in the 85th minute for the Osijek win and Dinamo's first loss this season.
Osijek is currently in 3rd place with 27 points, while Dinamo is in first with 35 and a game in hand.
Lokomotiva v. Hajduk (2:2)
Lokomotiva and Hajduk met on Sunday, Octoberr 30 in Zagreb.
Another 0:0 game at halftime was certainly compensated for in the second half. Sahiti found the back of the net in the 61st minute, and Mlakar just six minutes after that for a comfortable 0:2 Hajduk lead. Unfortunately, a tough-to-watch injury for Hajduk keeper Lovre Kalinic saw the end to his game in the 85th minute and time off the pitch for the unforeseeable future. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić announced today that he would be missing the World Cup.
Lokomotiva then came out to play. A goal by Ibrahim made it 1:2 in the 88th minute and a Tuci equalizer in the 5th minute of stoppage time saw the game end in a draw. Hajduk thus missed out on coming 2 points behind Dinamo. Hajduk was without its ace Marko Livaja in this match due to cards.
Lokomotiva is currently in 7th place with 14 points, while Hajduk is in 2nd with 31.
Gorica v. Slaven Belupo (1:1)
Gorica and Belupo closed out the 15th round on Monday, October 31, in Velika Gorica.
Zirdum scored an early goal for Belupo in the 9th minute for 0:1. Kocijan received his second yellow in the 21st minute, forcing Belupo to play with a man down for the remainder of the match. Vujnovic equalized in the 3rd minute of stoppage time for 1:1 at the half, but Gorica could not capitalize on having a man up and failed to find the back of the net. The match ended 1:1.
Gorica is currently in the last place with 7 points, while Belupo is in 4th with 24.
You can see the HNL table HERE.
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