League

Brinje
Spectators: 6788 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1788, VIP seats: 0) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Neven Malekin got the match started through his kick off. When Neven Malekin fell near the penalty area in the 3rd minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Brinje's protests and gave Neven Malekin a yellow card for diving instead. Držislav Furlan received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 4th minute. Jasenko Matunec tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Šandor Nalis made a fantastic save in the 12th minute, when Sebastijan Kumar sent off a good shot on target. Neven Malekin fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 17th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Šandor Nalis having to interfere. In the 21st minute, Sebastijan Kumar fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Šandor Nalis, passed just outside the right post. HNK Rijeka's Šandor Nalis proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 30th minute of the match, managed to save HNK Rijeka from getting a goal against them. Neven Malekin blasted a shot towards the goal in the 32nd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Šandor Nalis having to make a save. Šimun Resnik hit a great freekick 34 minutes into the match. When Neven Malekin came up free with the goalie in the 35th minute, the Brinje fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Neven Malekin couldn't finish the play. Šimun Resnik kicked well hit freekick during the 36th minute of the match. After a very even first half the match was still tied. The players went to their respective dressing rooms to discuss the tactics for the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Držislav Furlan made a kick off. Anđelko Mitrović sent away a hard shot on goal in the 54th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. In the 62nd minute Držislav Furlan shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jasenko Matunec saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 64th minute, HNK Rijeka's Držislav Furlan ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Jasenko Matunec. Jasenko Matunec yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 0-2. Sebastijan Kumar blasted a shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Šandor Nalis having to make a save. In the 69th minute, Sebastijan Kumar made a precise shot to the right of Šandor Nalis. HNK Rijeka's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-2. 72 minutes into the match, Brinje's goalkeeper Jasenko Matunec had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Anđelko Mitrović. When Lado Biskupović fell near the penalty area in the 76th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Brinje's protests and gave Lado Biskupović a yellow card for diving instead. Jasenko Matunec stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Držislav Furlan's shot from short distance in the 78th minute. The supporters of Brinje booed when HNK Rijeka was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 85 match minutes in a wonderful position. Vatroslav Rustemović didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 89th minute, Brinje's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Anđelko Mitrović fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. 93 minutes into the match, Brinje's Neven Malekin sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Šandor Nalis narrowly saved just below the crossbar. Šandor Nalis showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Neven Malekin in the 96th minute of the match. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched HNK Rijeka eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.