Zvezda drew 1-1 with Partizan in the 153rd Eternal Derby on Saturday. It was another Partizan's late Derby goal that spoiled the party on what was Crvena zvezda's 72nd birtday.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 41,132
Referee: Majo Vujović
Goalscorers: Kanga 34' - Đurđević 87'
Teams:
Crvena zvezda: Manojlović, Petković, Luković, Frimpong, Anđelković, Donald, Le Tallec, Kanga, Plavšić, Ruiz, Boakye.
Substitutes: Supić, Milijaš, Poletanović, Adžić, Vujaklija, Milić, Sikimić.
Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Ostojić, Milenković, Miletić, Jevtović, Everton, Kosović, Leonardo, Stevanović, Đurđević.
Substitutes: Stevanović, Tawamba, Ćirković, Mihajlović, Ilić, Janković, Jovanović.
Miodrag Božović and his counterpart Marko Nikolić fielded the expected teams and they produced a nervy match, littered by fouls and set-pieces. Clearly the occasion proved too much and it resulted in a cagey affair.
Zvezda midfield was looking good, with Kanga, Donald and Le Tallec all working very hard, winning balls and driving the team.
It was Kanga who opened the scoring after 34 minutes when he found the net after Boakye laid a ball nicely from a Ruiz's deep pass.
The second half was very poor by all standards with Partizan looking to avoid a defeat and Crvena zvezda opting to sit deep and see the game out. That plan proved a poor one as Uroš Đurđević controlled a cross from his skipper Vulićević and beat Manojlović with just three minutes of the ninety remaining.
There was no late drama and neither team could produce what whould have been a famous winner.
Despite this Derbi setback, Zvezda remain six points clear at the top of the table with a potentially tricky midweek trip to Vojvodina coming up.