Aleksandar Pešić shone in a convincing 5-2 win against a plucky Mladost side in Lučani. The big striker scored a brace and provided an assist and was a threat thoughout.
Ground: FK Mladost
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Srđan Obradović
Goalscorers: Pavlović 36', 73' - Srnić 17', Babić 44', Pešić (pen) 56', 84', Ilić 81
Teams:
Mladost: Krznarić, I. Milošević, P. Jovanović, Pejović, Pešić, L. Jovanović, Radivojević, Tumbasović, B. Milošević, Pavlović, Šatara.
Substitutes: Zečević, Dimić, Sinđić, Trifunović, Badji, Marić, Mihajlović.
Crvena zvezda: Supić, Stojković, Le Tallec, Babić, Rodić, Jovičić, Račić, Srnić, Adžić, Ben Nabouhane, Pešić.
Substitutes: Kahriman, Gobeljić, Frimpong, L Ilić, Milijaš, Milić, Radonjić.
The red-and-whites were looking fresh after the international break and looked to attack straight from the off. Rodić came close inside 20 seconds, but his shot was well blocked.
The early pressure paid off after 17 minutes as Srnić raced onto a through ball from Pešić and finished past Krznarić to the delight of traveling fans.
However, it wasn’t an easy day for Red Star and the hosts equalized after a defensive mix-up. It was entirely against the run of play, but the hosts didn’t mind as Pavlović beat Supić from close range.
Zvezda were ahead again before the break, however as Srđan Babić directed a header after a Slavoljub Srnić corner. There wasn’t much power on it, but it sailed beyond Krznarić and into the corner.
Babić’s first strike of the season gave Vladan Milojević’s players a boost and they looked confident in the second half. Ten minutes after the restart Aleksandar Pešić was wrestled down to the ground in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. It was Pešić who placed the ball and made no mistake from 11 meters and made it 3-1.
Pešić was enjoying himself on the pitch as he sprayed passes to Ben Nabouhane and the wingers all day. Just as it seemed like one of Zvezda’s chances was going to result in another goal, Mladost Pavlović struck again as Zvezda failed to clear their lines following a seemingly harmless attach from the hosts.
Thankfully, our team looked confident and unlikely to concede again. Any lingering fears were banished late on as Luka Ilić scored ten minutes from time after Branko Jovičić had found him in the box.
There was still time for Pešić to grab another goal three minutes later as he applied a classy finish after being sent through on goal by an inviting ball from captain Nenad Milijaš.
The final whistle meant that Crvena zvezda had kept a healthy 12-point cushion at the top of the Superliga table. We’ve got another game left in the regular season before the play-off stage begins.