League

Finchley
Spectators: 8456 (Terracing: 6343, Seating: 1944, VIP seats: 169) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Božo Garić took the kick off in the first half of the match. Simeon Vicković stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Milijan Srdanović's shot from short distance in the 4th minute. El-Ittihad's Božo Garić got a good chance for a goal in the 12th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. After some fancy dribbling in the 15th minute, Božo Garić managed to get in a good position for a shot. El-Ittihad's supporters rose to their feet, but Božo Garić was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Jefto Stević breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Arso Ljuljđuraj hit a great freekick 16 minutes into the match. Jefto Stević made a fantastic save in the 17th minute, when Radoje Petronijević sent off a good shot on target. Jefto Stević made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Božo Garić in the 19th minute of play. Milijan Srdanović struck a weak shot in the 22nd minute. Simeon Vicković didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Purfleet. Božo Garić was really disappointed when he shot the ball just outside the right post instead of scoring a goal in the 29th minute. El-Ittihad's manager could be seen on the sidelines shaking his head and muttering to himself as his team had just wasted another chance. El-Ittihad's Simeon Vicković played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Milijan Srdanović in the 32nd minute of play. In the 33rd minute, Simon Madžgalj hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Milijan Srdanović in the 36th minute of play forced El-Ittihad's goalkeeper Simeon Vicković to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 40 minutes into the match, Oliver Bećirović notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of El-Ittihad's Simeon Vicković. Simeon Vicković was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Radoje Petronijević fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 45th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jefto Stević having to interfere. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Milijan Srdanović to make the kick off. Milijan Srdanović's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Simeon Vicković read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 51st minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in El-Ittihad's zone, Milijan Srdanović stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Simeon Vicković came out of the goal and Milijan Srdanović tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Jefto Stević stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Božo Garić's shot from short distance in the 57th minute. When Božo Garić came up free with the goalie in the 65th minute, the El-Ittihad 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 Božo Garić couldn't finish the play. Radoje Petronijević fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 82nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Jefto Stević having to interfere. In the 92nd minute, Borivoj Mićović 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. Radoje Petronijević received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 96th minute. Jefto Stević tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Purfleet eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.