Crvena zvezda kicked off 2021 with a win against a battling Novi Pazar side on a sunny day in the Raška region. Goals scored at all the right moments ensured a stress-free victory in a long-awaited Superliga resumption.
Ground: Gradski stadion, Novi Pazar
Referee: Danilo Grujić
Goalscorers: Cisse 57’ - Rodić 2’, Pavkov 52’, Ivanić 76’
Novi Pazar: Drobnjak, Vlajković, Tomić, Mijić, Zimonjić, Islamović, Aganspahić (68’ Dragutinović), Trtovac, Stojiljković, Cisse (74’ Delimeđac), Kojić
Substitutes not used: Rnić, Vukajlović, Marinković, Hadžibulić, Nikčević, Pajović, Gigić, Pešukić, Kovačević.
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gajić, Milunović, Pankov, Rodić, Sanogo (46’ Petrović), Nikolić (72’ Kanga), Ben, Ivanić (79’ Degenek), Gavrić (46’ Vukanović), Pavkov (89’ Krstović).
Substitutes not used: Popović, Falcinelli, Eraković, Srnić, Gobeljić.
We’ve had an excellent preparations period over the past month, with encouraging results in training matches played in Turkey, but it can’t be compared to the real thing. And on 7 February we finally got to play our first competitive match of 2021.
We couldn’t have wished for a better start as Milan Rodić scored one of the easiest goals of his career when the ball fell for him nicely on the five-metre box following an early Zvezda corner.
Novi Pazar wouldn’t let Zvezda relax on the ball and were constantly trying to draw our defenders out of their normal positions. However it was Milan Pavkov who found the net next, latching onto a forward pass from Mirko Ivanić and lashing the ball in with his left foot.
The home side managed to get back into the game five minutes later when Abdoulaye Cisse found the top corner of Milan Borjan’s net with a perfectly executed header from a right-wing cross.
Mirko Ivanić restored a two-goal cushion with a lovely right-footed volley from around 20 metres out. Novi Pazar could only half-clear a Guelor Kanga free kick and the former BATE playmaker met it first-time to find Drobnjak’s bottom-left cornet and give his team a big step towards the win.
The hosts could not get back into it again and Zvezda celebrated three points and the league double over Novi Pazar. It’s good to be back!