National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Zdravko Marinković made the kick off and thus started the match. The supporters of U21 Northern Ireland booed when U21 Croatia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 4 match minutes in a wonderful position. Ivan Dojkić didn't get a good kick on the ball. Colin Wiltshire showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vinko Papo in the 8th minute of the match. Ivan Dojkić kicked well hit freekick during the 10th minute of the match. Gabrijel Jovanovski was in exellent shape and made a fantastic save when he, in the 12th minute of the match, managed to get hold of the ball after a long shot from Glen Knowles. 28 minutes into the match, U21 Northern Ireland's goal looked a bit too open when Zdravko Marinković came free, but Colin Wiltshire reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 29 minutes into the match, Trpimir Karačić had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Colin Wiltshire. U21 Northern Ireland's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Trpimir Karačić was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. An unexpectedly hard shot by Zdravko Marinković in the 35th minute of play forced U21 Northern Ireland's goalkeeper Colin Wiltshire to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Colin Wiltshire took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vinko Papo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Vinko Papo's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Colin Wiltshire was relentless in the 39th minute of the game. Colin Wiltshire made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vinko Papo in the 43rd minute of play. Ivan Dojkić kicked well hit freekick during the 45th minute of the match.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Kirk Monk to make the kick off. Gabrijel Jovanovski came out of the goal in the 55th minute to try and stop a shot by U21 Northern Ireland's Kirk Monk. But to his dismay, Kirk Monk quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-1. After a rather tough play, U21 Northern Ireland's Josh Blacknell got a free kick in the 58th minute. U21 Northern Ireland made a substitution. Baron Wicks replaced Glen Knowles. U21 Northern Ireland's Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was substituted for Alfred Payne. After 74 played minutes U21 Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Ivan Dojkić. Bo Zidane hit a great freekick 74 minutes into the match. U21 Northern Ireland's Mateo Kovačič got a good chance for a goal in the 75th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Bo Zidane kicked well hit freekick during the 78th minute of the match. 81 minutes into the game, Michael Kellaway was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. U21 Northern Ireland's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave U21 Croatia the free kick. After 84 played minutes U21 Croatia got a freekick which was hit by Vinko Papo. After 87 minutes of play, U21 Northern Ireland's Baron Wicks made it 2-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Gabrijel Jovanovski was left in no man's land by his defense there! In the 91st minute José Luis Cuciuffo shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Gabrijel Jovanovski saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Northern Ireland's zone, Zdravko Marinković stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Colin Wiltshire came out of the goal and Zdravko Marinković tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Gabrijel Jovanovski took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from José Luis Cuciuffo, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The U21 Croatia players were the happier at the end of the match as they had prevented U21 Northern Ireland from taking control. The game ends in a draw.