Crvena zvezda produced a sub-par performance that nearly cost us the defeat in the Večiti derbi. Partizan dominated the match for much of the game, but Zvezda's quality shone through as Richmond Boakye scored to salvage a point for the red and whites.
Ground: Partizan Stadium
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Danilo Grujić
Goalscorers: Ricardo 33' - Boakye 72'
Partizan: Stojković, N R Miletić, Marković, Valiente, N G Miletić, Zdjelar, Šćekić, Janković, Pantić, Zakarić, Ricardo.
Substitutes: Kljajić, Vulićević, Urošević, Smiljanić, Kosović, Ivanović, Nikolić.
Crvena zvezda: Borjan, Stojković, Babić, Degenek, Rodić, Krstičić, Čaušić, Cafu, Ben, Marin, Boakye.
Substitutes: Popović, Gobeljić, Jovičić, Jovančić, Srnić, Simić, Pavkov.
It's safe to say that this wasn't our evening as Partizan could have opened the scoring after just 30 seconds. Milan Borjan slipped and presented Janković with a chance, but has fortunately gotten up in time to keep the rebound out.
This early opportunity set the tone for the majority of the match as Zvezda struggled with the basics, misplacing passes and rarely winnning 50-50s.
The black and whites were in front on 33 minutes after yet another poor pass from Zvezda. Ricardo Gomes picked the ball up and hammered it home into Borjan's top right corner to give his team the lead.
Partizan continued to push Zvezda around as Vladan Milojević's team struggled to keep any meaningful possession nor to string passes the way they usually do.
Half time whistle was very welcome as our team went to the dressing room in desperate need of some focus and composure.
Dušan Jovančić came on for Goran Čaušić at the break as Zvezda looked to add a bit more calmness in midfield. But Partizan was still the better side as Danilo Pantić threatened with a long-range effort that crashed off the crossbar.
Richmond Boakye maintained his habit of scoring against our biggest rivals as he steered a Marko Marin cross home on 72 minutes. Goalkeeper Vladimir Stojković thought he's saved it, but the assistant referee signalled that it had crossed the goal line and that it was a goal.
The equalizer changed the game completely as the home team lost its momentum and couldn't recover in the remaining 20 minutes.
It finished 1-1 as Zvezda did just enough to remain top of the Superliga table.