Red Star finished the preliminary stage of the Superliga with a fine 3-1 win over FK Zemun. Comoran forward El Fardou Ben Nabouhane produced his best performance since joining Crvena zvezda, scoring a brace and providing an assist.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 9,500
Referee: Zoran Široki
Goalscorers: Ben 4‘, 18‘, Pešić 12‘ - Vukadinović 51‘
Teams:
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Gobeljić, Le Tallec, Babić, Rodić, Račić, Krstičić, Ben Nabouhane, Luka Ilić, Radonjić, Pešić.
Substitutes: Supić, Frimpong, Jovičić, Milijaš, Adžić, Milić, Srnić.
Zemun: Milošević, Cvetković, Vukadinović, Đenić, Simić, Beljić, Lasickas, Luković, Vuković, Kiso, Petković.
Substitutes: Ostojić, Stanimirović, Asani, Marković, Ninkov, Milutinović, Podunavac.
Zemun played some good football since the winter break and Head Coach Vladan Milojević made sure his players were at their best for this clash.
And it showed as Zvezda raced into a 3-0 lead inside 20 minutes. Ben was fouled just outside the area early on and he placed the resulting free kick beyond Milošević to give his team a perfect start on a rainy afternoon in Belgrade.
The lead was doubled just eight minutes later as Pešić found the side-netting after being played on by Ben. And it was 3-0 soon enough as the unselfish Luka Ilić found Ben Nabouhane who slotted home to virtually win the game even though it was only 18 minutes at the clock.
There were more chances for the red-and-whites, but Milošević made several impressive saves to prevent what would be an embarresment to his team.
Vukadinović struck for the visitors some ten minutes into the second half, but the team from across the Danube never looked like mounting a real comeback as Zvezda controled the game with ease.
The biggest cheer of the second half came late on when former Crvena zvezda defender and captain Pavle Ninkov came off the bench for the visitors. It was an emotional return to his former home after spending a big chunk of his career playing in France for FC Toulouse.
The final whistle also marked the end of preliminary stage of Superliga. The points tally of each team is now halved and all teams will play seven more games in the play-off. Our first match might prove crucial as we host second-placed Partizan next Saturday, knowing that a win over our rivals could take us to a lofty nine-point lead at the top of the standings.