March 3, 2021 - The first two rounds of the Croatian Cup quarterfinals were held on Wednesday. Rijeka and Dinamo are the first two Croatian clubs to secure their spot in the semifinals. 

The current Croatian Cup titleholders celebrated 2:1 on the road against Osijek in the first quarterfinal match of this year's Croatian Cup.

Rijeka's Robert Murić scored the leading goal in the 7th minute for 1:0. Osijek equalized in the 14th minute thanks to captain Mile Škorić. In the 35th minute, Rijeka goalkeeper Nevistić saved Mierez's penalty. The winning goal for Rijeka was scored again by Murić from a penalty kick in the 71st minute.

Slobodan Kadic

In his first game on the Rijeka bench, Goran Tomić came to victory and took the defending champions to the semifinals.

This was the first time Nenad Bjelica's Osijek were defeated at City Garden Stadium. The match at City Garden Stadium was reffed by Mario Zebec. 

Dinamo and Slaven Belupo met in the second quarterfinal match at 5 pm at Maksimir, only three days after Dinamo won against Belupo 3:0 at the same stadium. 

Dinamo coach Zoran Mamić rested goalkeeper Dominik Livaković and defender Rasmus Lauritsen this match, instead giving a chance to Mario Gavranović, Marko Tolić, and Lirim Kastrati. 

While the first half ended 0:0, a Dinamo penalty scored by Bruno Petkovic in the 70th minute helped the Zagreb club turn the game around. Captain Arijan Ademi scored eight minutes later for 2:0, which was the final score of the game. 

Recall, Gorica v Hajduk and Oriolik v Istra 1961 will play their quarterfinal round matches on March 16 and 17, 2021. Hajduk secured the last quarterfinal spot on Tuesday after beating Zagreb 3:0 at Veslačka Street Stadium in Zagreb.

The semi-final matches are scheduled for March 31, and the final will be played on May 19, 2021. 

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March 2, 2021 - Hajduk tops NK Zagreb 3:0 in the final Croatian Cup round of 16 match on Tuesday. 

Hajduk beat Zagreb 3:0 at Veslačka Street Stadium in Zagreb on Tuesday and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Croatian Cup, where they will play away against Gorica later this month. 

Like other clubs in the lower leagues, NK Zagreb does not have a license to play league matches, so they readied for the match against Hajduk by playing friendlies.

On the other hand, Hajduk entered the match coming off two league victories in the past two weeks, both against Rijeka at Rujevica. Between those matches, most of the team was quarantined due to COVID-19. 

The match ended 0:0 at the half, though that quickly changed when coach Paolo Tramezzani subbed on Marko Livaja, Marco Fossati, and Darko Todorović.

In the 58th minute, Jairo scored for 0:1 Hajduk. Six minutes later, Zagreb was left with a player less as Karlo Strunje received his second yellow card, and in the 66th minute, Livaja scored from a free-kick to increase Hajduk's lead to 0:2.

Jairo sealed Hajduk's victory in the 70th minute after Livaja played him phenomenally for 0:3.

Croatian Cup Quarterfinals

Osijek - Rijeka (Wednesday, March 3 at 14:30)
Dinamo - Slaven Belupo (Wednesday, March 3 at 17:00)
Oriolik - Istria 1961 (Wednesday, March 17 at 15:00)
Gorica - Hajduk (Tuesday, March 16 at 17:00)

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January 25, 2021 - Mladost tops Jug to defend the Croatian Cup title (15:13).

Mladost defended the Croatian Cup on Sunday, lifting the trophy for the tenth time. Their opponent, Jug, remained with 14 titles and failed to reach their 66th trophy in history. 

Mladost opened the match well, especially with an extra man (which was a great bonus for them throughout the match), and led 4:2 at the end of the first quarter. Mladost was up by two goals in the middle of the second quarter (7:5). Jug fought back with four consecutive goals (Fatović penalty, Papanastasiou, Fatović, and Kržić) for a complete turnaround - 9:7 for Jug!

At half time, the Mladost coach replaced goalkeeper Ivan Marcelić with Jerko Jurlina, which proved to be one of the key decisions of the Mladost bench. However, at the beginning of the third quarter, Merkulov scored from a distance for 10:7, which, combined with Popadić defending a penalty, opened the door for Jug.

Mladost did not give up, and with a great defense and goals by Kharkov and Visković, they were just one goal behind before the last quarter (11:10 for Jug AO). At the beginning of the last quarter, Miloš equalized at 11:11. The last time Jug lead was thanks to Garcia (12:11 - six minutes before the end).

Kharkov attacked with three more goals, and four and a half minutes before the final buzzer, Mladost took the lead at 14:12 and managed to keep that advantage until the end.

The left-handed youngster, Russia national team player Konstantin Kharkov, was chosen as the best player of the final tournament. In addition to 3 goals in the semifinals against Primorje EB, he puzzled the mighty Jug defense, scoring 7 goals in the final.

Zoran Bajić, Mladost coach, said after the match: 

"To my boys, well done, they were fantastic. We were like a cat with 9 lives. We were behind and played great against Jug, a huge, fantastic team, but this is not the first time we have shown character. I have said many times that these are my warriors. Beating Jug in the last two and a half years in four finals is no small thing."

Vjekoslav Kobešćak, coach of Jug AO, added:

"Congratulations to Mladost on the victory. They were a better team today, calmer, and they deserved the victory. We only played one quarter properly, that was the second. The rest wasn't us. This is the second game in a row in which we received 15 goals from Mladost, and with so many goals conceded, serious water polo cannot be played, nor can we win a trophy."

Source: HRS

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August 2, 2020 - Rijeka celebrated the Croatian Cup on Saturday, defeating Lokomotiva 1:0 in the final in Sibenik.

Tibor Halilovic scored the winning goal in the 76th minute. This is Rijeka's sixth cup title, while Lokomotiva is still without a trophy, suffering two defeats in the final.

Rijeka celebrated in a hard game with a goal by Halilovic, although Lokomotiva had better chances throughout the match. However, the club that has won the cup three times in the last four years proved once again they know how to seal the deal in crucial moments. 

In a very careful first half, almost without a single chance, Lokomotiva almost reached the goal in the 42nd minute, but Tolic's shot was saved by goalkeeper Pandur.

In the second half, much better football was played, and already in the 52nd minute, Kastrati hit the post. In the 63rd minute, after Escoval's foul on Kastrati, referee Pejin awarded a penalty kick, but after the intervention of the VAR, Pejin changed his mind and awarded only a free-kick.

In the 76th minute, Rijeka scored from the first real chance. After a long action in which Pavicic found Tibor Halilovic, he easily hit the net from ten meters out.

Eight minutes before the end of the match, Grbic defended a dangerous header by Colak, and in the 93rd minute, Lokomotiva's Jakic hit the crossbar in the last chance to even the result. 

Drago Sopta / HNS

"Rijeka is an institution, the club's management knows what it wants, the players and coaches have support, the city loves the club, we have great fans and when you have such a symbiosis, then something happens. Today we succeeded, the trophy is here," said the coach of Rijeka Simon Rozman in an interview for HRT after the final celebration.

"The week behind us is very emotional, we were preparing, we were only interested in the trophy. We also had a bit of sports luck, but the most important thing is that the trophy is there. It was hard, especially at the start, there were a lot of ups and downs, and we got up at the right time. I said not everything is ideal, but the trophy is there, and third place in the championship. In the end, I am very tired, the difficult season is behind us," added the Rijeka strategist.

Lokomotiva had a great season, but after second place in the championship, they failed to win the first trophy in club history.

"Congratulations to Rijeka on the trophy, but also to my team on a very good game. I think we did everything we could and that we looked good from the tactical side, but the ball didn't go into the goal today. It’s football and it needs to be accepted. I think we had extraordinary opportunities in the first half, in the second as well, but football is played for goals, Rijeka scored one more and everything is clean and clear. Congratulations to Rijeka," said Lokomotiva coach Goran Tomic.

Source: HRT

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June 1, 2020 - After the semi-final games last weekend, Lokomotiva and Rijeka will meet in the Croatian Cup final on August 1, 2020. 

Croatian football finally returned last weekend, albeit looking a bit different in the corona era. 

Namely, HNS reports that Statehood Day brought the continuation of football competitions in Croatia, and Slaven Belupo and Lokomotiva kicked off in the first semi-final of the Croatian Cup on Saturday. The match was watched live by the president of the Croatian Football Federation Davor Šuker and the coach of the Croatia national team, Zlatko Dalić.

The Koprivnica club took the lead in the sixth minute of the game, when Goda shook the net with a great long-distance shot under Grbić's crossbar (1:0).

The turnaround was directed by Zagreb in the second half, in the 67th and 79th minute of the game, when Cokaj (1:1) and Tolić (2:1) beat Filipović, with assists by Sammir, who entered the game in the middle of the second half.

Uzuni set the final score of 3:1 for Lokomotiva in injury time. 

In the second match of the Cup semi-final on Sunday, Rijeka and Osijek met in Rujevica.

Less than half an hour before the end of the game, Osijek led with 0:2 with goals by Bočkaj (16th, 48th minutes), but Rijeka managed to achieve a turnaround after playing a man up in the second half and with the help of referee Pajač. Murić (66th), Čolak (73rd, penalty ) and Yateke (86th) were the goalscorers for Rijeka.

Rijeka will thus play in the Cup final for the seventh time. So far, it has lifted the winning trophy five times (2005, 2006, 2014, 2017, 2019). Its rival in the final, which will be played on August 1 in Šibenik, will be Lokomotiva. It will be Lokomotiva's second appearance in the final, after they lost to Hajduk in 2013.

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February 5, 2020 - Rijeka and Dinamo met in the quarter-final of the Croatian Cup at 5 pm at Rujevica stadium in Rijeka. The match was supposed to be played on December 3, but was postponed due to Dinamo's commitments in the Champions League.

In the remaining quarter-final game of the Croatian Cup, Rijeka welcomed Dinamo at its home stadium Rujevica at 5 pm. Recall, Rijeka celebrated in the final last year for the 2019 Croatian Cup title, which was one of the few major defeats of coach Nenad Bjelica on the Dinamo bench.

Rijeka was the first to score on Wednesday thanks to a header by Čolak in the 15th minute for 1:0 and the early lead. 

Dinamo had a great opportunity to equalize in the 20th minute after a poorly deflected ball found Petkovic on the far post. 

The strong bura wind helped neither team for the remainder of the first half, which ended 1:0 for Rijeka.

Both teams kept the same lineup going into the second half. 

Rijeka had another stellar opportunity in the 70th minute after a counterattack that started in their defense ended in Štefulj shooting far post, nearly missing the goal.

Dinamo coach Bjelica made two substitutions three minutes later, though, with five minutes to go, Dinamo was still unable to equalize. 

The referee added five minutes of injury time to the clock, which could not help the Croatian champion. 

As the final whistle blew, it was Rijeka to claim the 1:0 victory.

Today's winner will play in the semi-final against Osijek, while the other semi-final will feature Slaven Belupo and Lokomotiva. 

Interestingly, this season, Dinamo had defeated Rijeka three times - 1:0 in Supercup, 5:0 at Rujevica and 3:0 at Maksimir in the Croatian Championship.

The Croatian Football Cup is organized by the Croatian Football Federation. 

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November 24, 2019 - The Mladost Zagreb men's and women's water polo teams won the Croatian Cup in Split on Sunday. 

The first trophy of this water polo season goes to Zagreb! After a long eight years, the Croatian Cup Cup will shine again for the men's team at Mladost, which is their ninth total. At the Poljud pool in Split on Sunday, Mladost stopped the four-year-reign of Jug. 

HRT reports that the Mladost Zagreb men's team won the Croatian Cup on Sunday night after defeating Jug Dubrovnik 16-12 (3-3, 3-3, 7-4, 3-2) in the final in Split.

In a match with an unusually high number of goals, Mladost reached the Cup victory, mostly thanks to a great third quarter where they were up 7-4. Jug thus remains at 14 Cup trophies and have won the four previous seasons in a row.

Luka Bukić (4 goals), Cosmin Radu (3 goals), and Josip Vrlić and Franko Lazić, who scored two goals each, were the most effective for Mladost. Paulo Obradović scored five goals to be the best for Jug, while Loren Fatović scored three goals. 

The Mladost women's water polo team was also successful on Sunday and raised the Cup after a convincing victory over Split's Jadran. Namely, Mladost won the Croatian Cup after defeating Jadran in the final 20-5 to win their eighth Cup ever, and the third consecutive.

The Zagreb side was dominant in the victory, even though they were without their best possible lineup, as Petra Bukić, who was selected as the best Croatian water polo player in 2017 and 2018, was out due to injury.

However, the 2019 best player Emma Miljkovic was brilliant with six goals in the final. In the last minute of the second quarter, it was 11-0 for Mladost. Jadran's first goal came from a five-meter penalty. 

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October 31, 2019 - Dinamo and Rijeka routinely advanced to the quarterfinal of the Croatian Football Cup, while Gorica eliminated Hajduk in the most interesting match of the round of 16. 

Gorica and Hajduk met in the biggest game of the round of 16 on Wednesday in Velika Gorica, which saw the home team top Hajduk 2:1 to reach the Cup quarterfinal for the first time in their history, while Hajduk has been eliminated from the round of 16 for the third time.

However, the last time Hajduk fell in the round of 16 was as the title defenders nine years ago to Istra, led by Zoran Vulic. They were also eliminated in the round of 16 in 1995 when they were shocked by Marsonia.

Gorica took the lead in the 64th minute from a 25-meter free-kick by Kristijan Lovric, and came one step closer to the victory in the 85th minute when Joey Suk scored from the counter to make it 2:1. A glimmer of hope for Hajduk was brought by Stanko Juric in the 88th minute for 2:1, though Hajduk was unable to score again. 

There were no surprises in the match between Dinamo and Opatija, so much so that Dinamo secured the victory in the first half when all three goals of the match were scored. 

The Croatian champion led with a goal by Damian Kadzior in the eighth minute. Mario Gavranovic's penalty in the 29th minute increased Dinamo’s lead to 2:0, while another goal by Gavranovic the 36th minute made it 3:0. 

In the final round of 16 match, the title defenders Rijeka defeated Varazdin 2:1

Rijeka led 2:0 with goals from Petar Mamic in the 47th minute and Alexander Gorgon in the 54th minute, while Leonard Vuk scored in the 83rd minute to make it 2:1. 

Lokomotiva had no problem against the third-seeded Vinogradar and won 3:0 for a spot in the quarters.

Slaven Belupo topped BSK Bijelo Brdo 2:0 to secure their spot in the next round, and Sibenik beat Belisce 2:1.

Osijek already advanced to the quarter last week after celebrating against Zadar 3:0. 

Round of 16 results on Wednesday, October 30

Opatija - Dinamo 0:3

Gorica - Hajduk 2:1

BSK Bijelo Brdo - Slaven Belupo 0:2

Sibenik - Belisce 2:1

Vinogradar - Lokomotiva 0:3

Istra 1961 - Inter Zapresic 1:2

Varaždin - Rijeka 2:1

On Wednesday, October 23

Zadar - Osijek 0:3

Source: HRT

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The Hajduk pioneers lost to Osijek in the Croatian Cup final last Tuesday, though it didn’t go without sharp criticism from Hajduk against referee Ante Čuljak and his assistants.

Namely, Čuljak distributed 11 yellow cards during the game, in which Hajduk lost 3:2. And even worse - Čuljak excluded two Hajduk players with red cards. 

The aftermath saw the exchange of several nasty words and the further critique of HNS.

An outraged Hajduk released the following statement: 

"Once again, the entire Croatian public has had a chance to see, through direct television broadcast, why HNK Hajduk insists on systematic and rooted changes in the referee organization.

Unfortunately, this time we have to respond because of the Croatian Cup final for the pioneers, where Hajduk lost to Osijek 3:2. In this meeting, referee Ante Čuljak from Zagreb distributed a total of 11 yellow cards and unjustifiably excluded two Hajduk players.

We ask the referees responsible what this message sends to children, our youngest, to those who represent the future of Croatian football and society. Is this a fairer football system and a more honest society we are fighting for? Or just the opposite? Would you like them to see that from their little legs, this has become almost common on Croatian football pitches? And this is not just a picture of injustices in senior football, but we have been witnessing a lot of absurd situations and decisions in meetings of all younger age categories lately. 

The tears of children after suffering injustice are our duty, our responsibility and the responsibility to fight harder and continue the way we started.”

Hajduk fan group Torcida invited fans to welcome Hajduk’s juniors back to Split and sent a sharp message to HNS.

"We do not forgive the tears of our children," said Torcida. You can see their outstanding reception for the pioneers at Poljud below.

Thus, new tensions formed between HNS and Hajduk this week. The Federation has finally responded to Hajduk and the media, which you can find transmitted below. 

"Football is the most popular sport in the world, among other things, because of the high emotions it causes. As it's nice to win, it is difficult to lose. It is understandable, therefore, that Hajduk’s young footballers cried tears after losing to Osijek in the final of the Croatian Cup, as it is understandable that the Croatian A team cried tears in the defeat of the World Cup final. Moreover, all of us who are parents are particularly sensitive to our children, and we are proud of their successes.

However, we sincerely believe that it is not necessary to raise tensions nor to emphasise the refereeing in the first place because we do not do a service to the young footballers and football in general.

The Croatian Football Federation is open to any club to submit comments or suggestions to improve any area of HNS's activities through the democratic forums of the Federation.

The current leadership of the Federation continually invites dialogue and communication as the only way for a quality relationship and will continue to insist on it. Only in the interest of Croatian football can we continue to achieve international results.

The fact that HNS is a regional leader in the implementation of VAR suffices to show that the Federation is devoted to progress in that segment of its action. However, we do not consider that the verbal attack on any referee individually is the right path to progress, as this is a terrifying pressure on referees who must be independent, and in public, it creates a bad picture of Croatian football.

We believe that this is true even in cases where the decisions are wrong because each referee makes mistakes (and accordingly), especially in this case where independent experts have confirmed the justification of the referee's decisions.

The Croatian Football Federation is absolutely committed to establishing a dialogue and a good-natured, constructive and quality relationship with each club in Croatia. We hope the same in turn.”

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Rijeka crushed Dinamo’s hopes of winning the double crown again this year and topped the Zagreb club 3:1 in the Croatian Cup final in front of 6,742 spectators at the Aldo Drosina stadium in Pula, reports HRT on May 22, 2019. 

It was a fantastic final and a deserved victory for Rijeka, who for the fifth time won the Croatian Cup and celebrated for the second time in the last three seasons. In Dinamo’s 22nd final, this is their seventh defeat.

Antonio Čolak (13’), Tibor Halilović (40’) and Zoran Kvržić (84’) were the goalscorers for Rijeka, while Mislav Oršić scored for Dinamo in the 63rd minute. Dinamo had an excellent opportunity to equalize in the 73rd minute thanks to a penalty, but Rijeka goalkeeper Simon Sluga brilliantly defended Dani Olmo’s shot. 

Dinamo opened the match better, and in the first minutes of the game, they barely let Rijeka breathe - Dinamo attacked, and Rijeka was forced to defend. However, Rijeka’s first serious attack also put them in the lead. 

Tomečak shot from 20 meters, but Livaković pushed the ball out for a corner. Kvržić crossed the ball in, and Petković responded poorly in front of the Dinamo goal, allowing the ball to arrive at Čolak, who scored for 1:0 in the 13th minute. Two minutes later, Halilović threatened Dinamo again,  but Livaković successfully reacted. 

The first real chance for Dinamo came in the 31st minute, but Oršić shot over the goal. In the 37th minute, Petković threatened, though he too missed. Three minutes later, Rijeka increased their advantage. Zoran Kvržić brilliantly pushed the ball up the right wing and through the legs of Rrahmani to find Halilović who scored for 2:0. 

Dinamo was desperate, and knew it was all or nothing. Nenad Bjelica introduced Gavranović and Leovac instead of Atiemwen and Rrahmani and with two attackers, they pushed to equalize. Gavranović threatened in the 50th minute, however with a weak shot. 

Dinamo picked up their pace and Oršić got Dinamo back into the game with a goal for 2:1 in the 63rd-minute. 

Seventy-three minutes into the match, Dinamo had another excellent chance to score thanks to a penalty, though Dani Olmo was unlucky. The young Spaniard shot at the right side of Rijeka's goal, though Sluga reacted fantastically. The game remained 2:1.

All doubts about who would win came to an end in the 84th minute with an impressive goal by Zoran Kvržic for the big 3:1. 

In the first round of the Cup, Rijeka defeated Križevci 9:0 in the first leg of the Cup, and with a result of 2:1, Rijeka topped Kumanovo, Lokomotiva and Inter to advance to the final.

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