March 14, 2022 - The 27th round of the Croatian First League was held from March 11 to 13, 2022. This round featured the highly anticipated 'Eternal Derby' between Hajduk and Dinamo, while Osijek and Rijeka both complicated their fight for the title. Here is our HNL round 27 recap. 

Šibenik v. Lokomotiva (1:4)

Sibenik and Lokomotiva opened the 27th round on Friday, March 11, 2022, in Sibenik in front of 405 fans. 

Grezda put Sibenik in the lead with a goal in the 14th minute for 1:0. Kacavenda equalized for 1:1 in the 65th minute before Soldo put Lokomotiva in the lead two minutes later. Sibenik's Peric received his second yellow less than 5 minutes later, forcing Sibenik to play with a man down for the remainder of the match. Kacavenda scored again to make it 1:3 in the 76th minute and Tuci scored for 1:4 to confirm the Lokomotiva victory. 

Sibenik is currently in 8th place with 26 points while Lokomotiva is in 5th with 36. 

Slaven Belupo v. Istra 1961 (0:0)

Slaven Belupo and Istra met in Koprivnica on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Neither team was able to score and the match ended 0:0. Belupo had 17 total shots to Istra's 7, of which only 4 were on target (Istra had only 2). Belupo received 5 yellow cards to Istra's 4. 

Belupo is currently in 7th place with 30 points, while Istra is in 9th with 24. 

Hajduk v. Dinamo (0:0)

Hajduk and Dinamo met for the highly anticipated 'Eternal Derby' at Poljud on Saturday, March 12. 

While the atmosphere was better than ever at the sold-out Poljud, for the first time full thanks solely to Hajduk's members and season ticket holders, the derby itself was one of the less exciting meetings between the two rivals. The match went without goals, though Hajdkuk had 3 shots on target to Dinamo's 0. Hajduk had slightly less possession than Dinamo (44%/56%). 

Hajduk is currently in 4th place with 49 points and a game in hand, while Dinamo is in 1st with 54 points and a game in hand. These two teams play last season's makeup match on April 20 at Poljud. 

Dragovoljac v. Rijeka (2:1)

Dragovoljac and Rijeka met in Zagreb on Sunday, March 13, 2022. 

Certainly the most shocking match of this round, Dragovoljac took the lead in the 23rd minute thanks to Peric (1:0). Peric opened the second half with another goal for 2:0 in the 50th minute. Ampem gave Rijeka some hope in the 74th minute scoring for 2:1, while VAR recalled a Dragovoljac goal in the 83rd minute for being offside. 

Dragovoljac is currently in the last place with 13 points, while Rijeka is in 3rd with 52. 

Osijek v. Gorica (0:0)

Osijek and Gorica closed out the 27th round on March 13, 2022, at City Garden Stadium. 

Yet another match of the 27th round that went without goals, Osijek had only 51% possession to Gorica's 49%. Osijek also had only 3 shots on target to Gorica's 6!

Osijek is currently in 2nd place with 54 points, while Gorica is in 6th place with 33 points. 

You can see the HNL standings HERE. 

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May 9, 2021 - Šibenik beat Istria 1-0 on Friday, secured their spot in the league, and player Emir Sahiti broke a record, beating Dinamo's Petkovic and Gvardiol.

It was not the best season for HNK Šibenik, as the central Dalmatian team dragged the drama to the final stage of the Croatian championship. On Friday, the team by Sergi Escobar beat Istra 1961 by the minimum score, and mathematically ensured their permanence in the top league. Sahiti scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute of the second half and this was enough to give the hosts victory at Stadion Šubićevac, in a match that ended with only 10 players after Bailone was sent off in the 73rd minute.

But the joy for Sibenik is not limited solely to this result or their tenure in the First League, as Emir Sahiti broke a fantastic record in the local tournament. The 22-year-old Albanian player on loan from Hajduk II broke the record for most dribbles successfully completed in a single match.

The left-winger and Suad Sahiti’s younger brother successfully completed 10 dribbles against the Istrian team on Friday, thus surpassing two Dinamo Zagreb players: Bruno Petković and Joško Gvardiol, who to date had reached no more than 7 dribbles completed in the same match.

Currently, HNK Šibenik is in sixth place in the table after 33 games played to date. Escobar's team has 35 points, 16 less than Hajduk Split, which is in fifth place. Having been promoted last season, Šibenik beats Slaven by 4 points, Lokomotiva by 6, Varaždin by 8, and Istra 1961, whom they beat on Friday by 10 points.

HNK Šibenik will visit the second of the tournament, Osijek, on Tuesday at 19:05.

Source: Šibenski (Slobodna Dalmacija)

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Uplifting news for a club who has been on the brink of survival all season. 

"I received many messages from people in the football world saying how cheated we were," the Istria 1961 coach said after the game.