Crvena zvezda grabbed another three points with a hard-fought win over Spartak at Rajko Mitić Stadium. Ghana international Richmond Boakye scored the only goal from the spot midway through the first half to put his team in control.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 4,172
Referee: Dragan Čolović
Goalscorer: Boakye (pen.) 22'
Teams:
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Stojković, Le Tallec, Babić, Rodić, Donald, Krstičić, Kanga, Gobeljić, Radonjić, Boakye.
Substitutes: Supić, Anđelković, Milijaš, L. Ilić, Srnić, Adžić, Pešić.
Spartak: Ostojić, Shimura, Jočić, Nikolić, Ivanović, Hajdin, Savković, Čečarić, Stojković, Ćalasan, Radovanović.
Substitutes: Jović, Kerkez, Torbica, Glavčić, Šormaz, Vukčević, Bakmaz.
This league encounter didn’t offer much flowing football despite the fact the visitors did their best to attach rather than “park the bus” on their visit to Belgrade.
First half offered more excitement on a damp evening when fatigue proved to be a big opponent for the red-and-whites.
Both teams created chances and Zvezda edged it after Richmond Boakye was felled in the box. The striker took the ball, composed himself and dispatched the resulting penalty with confidence to make it 1-0 with 22 minutes played.
Second half offered less as home players looked happy with only occasionally testing Ostojić and concentrating on protecting their own net.
Filip Stojković was taken off as a precaution after taking a minor knock, but Head Coach Vladan Milojević would report after the match that our defender will be OK.
Centre back pairing of Babić and Le Tallec dealt with a couple of attempts from the visitors as Nemanja Radonjić tried with a few solo effort on the opposite end as further goals looked less and less likely.
The match ended with the red-and-whites deserved winners, but there won’t be much time to celebrate or recover, as we face the short trip to Zemun this weekend. The staff and the players will have to find more fuel in the tank to get over what promises to be a difficult away match.