League

Starše Park
Spectators: 8311 (Terracing: 6400, Seating: 1872, VIP seats: 39) Dorjan Budal made the kick off and thus started the match. Zoran Levstek hit a great freekick 3 minutes into the match. Lazar Topolovec sent away a hard shot on goal in the 7th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Dorjan Budal sent away a hard shot on goal in the 9th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Dorjan Budal blasted a shot towards the goal in the 10th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Zorko Andrić having to make a save. In the 11th minute Dorjan Budal shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Zorko Andrić saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Dorjan Budal was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 12th minute. Bayer Leverkusen's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. In the 12th match minute, NK Kočevje was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Čedomir Birk to maneuver through the defense. Bayer Leverkusen's Naim Stanišič shoveled away a really nice long shot in the 15th minute of play. The shot was stopped by Zorko Andrić but with some difficulty. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jonathan Podbrežnik in the 18th minute of play forced NK Kočevje's goalkeeper Zorko Andrić to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After 20 minutes of play, NK Kočevje's Rado Gruntar made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Sreta Gorše was left in no man's land by his defense there! 23 minutes into the game, Dorjan Budal lined in a short shot 1-1 behind a frustrated Zorko Andrić. Ecij Mihalek took the ball and in the 26 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Sreta Gorše. Sreta Gorše dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-2. Sreta Gorše took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ecij Mihalek, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 30 minutes into the game, Sanel Hovnik was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. NK Kočevje's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Bayer Leverkusen the free kick. Sanel Hovnik hit a great freekick 30 minutes into the match. After 34 minutes of play, Bayer Leverkusen's Naim Stanišič made it 2-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Zorko Andrić was left in no man's land by his defense there! Zorko Andrić made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lazar Topolovec in the 38th minute of play. Bayer Leverkusen's Sreta Gorše played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ecij Mihalek in the 40th minute of play. The supporters of NK Kočevje booed when Bayer Leverkusen was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 41 match minutes in a wonderful position. Brendon Čepar didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 42nd minute, Rado Gruntar left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The NK Kočevje fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-3. Naim Stanišič could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 46th minute of the match, but Zorko Andrić made a huge save. After 46 minutes, Etien Zupet mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the NK Kočevje and the Bayer Leverkusen players grew even worse after the yellow card. A collision led to NK Kočevje getting a freekick after 46 minutes play. Etien Zupet hit a great ball. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 2-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The players of the away team seemed most concentrated when Ecij Mihalek stepped up to make the kick off in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Lazar Topolovec ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Zorko Andrić was frozen by the shot and now it was 3-3. Jonathan Podbrežnik fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 58th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Zorko Andrić having to interfere. Dorjan Budal scored 4-3 in the 59th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Zorko Andrić, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Bayer Leverkusen's attentive Enej Stermec managed to snatch the ball when Dean Jaklin made a throw-in in the 64th minute of the game. Sreta Gorše showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ecij Mihalek, who was totally free with the ball in the 66th minute. If Naim Stanišič had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 69th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a rather tough play, Bayer Leverkusen's Eldin Kuzele got a free kick in the 71st minute. The supporters of Bayer Leverkusen booed when NK Kočevje was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 73 match minutes in a wonderful position. Sanel Hovnik didn't get a good kick on the ball. If Dorjan Budal had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 74th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Grega Majstorović kicked well hit freekick during the 76th minute of the match. Jonathan Podbrežnik sent away a hard shot on goal in the 77th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dorjan Budal in the 79th minute of play forced NK Kočevje's goalkeeper Zorko Andrić to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After a rather tough play, NK Kočevje's Rado Gruntar got a free kick in the 81st minute. Sreta Gorše took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ecij Mihalek, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 86th minute, Rado Gruntar left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The NK Kočevje fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 4-4. In the 89th minute, Dorjan Budal got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. In the 91st minute Čedomir Birk shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Sreta Gorše saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 92nd match minute, Bayer Leverkusen was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Brendon Čepar to maneuver through the defense. In the 94th minute, Ecij Mihalek hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Naim Stanišič had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 96th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead.