Crvena zvezda beat TSC 4-1 to move into Serbian Cup Quarter Final. The inspired side from Bačka Topola were no match for the red and whites who did enough to secure a comfortable win despite apalling conditions on a wet afternoon in Belgrade.
Veljko Simić scored a couple of goals, including the opener, while Nikola Stojiljković also got on the scoresheet before Dejan Joveljić scored a last-gasp penalty to set the final score.
Ground: Rajko Mitić Stadium
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Lazar Tripković
Goalscorers: Simić 39', 72', Stojiljković 50', Joveljić 90+4' (pen) - Sumaila 51' (og)
Crvena zvezda: Popović, Gobeljić, Sumaila, Babić, Hajdin, Jovičić, Krstičić, Cafu (Srnić 60'), Marin (Milijaš 83'), Simić, Stojiljković (Joveljić 76').
TSC Bačka Topola: Jorgić, Bečelić, Skopljak (Branković 79'), Lalić, Varga, Plavšić, Finković, Denković (Milićević 66'), Milisavljević (Silađi 74'), Bastajić, Damjanović.
Vladan Milojević picked a rotated team for this Serbian Cup tie, with Rashid Sumaila and Stefan Hajdin starting in defence, with Brazilian winger Jonathan Cafu also making a return to action.
The visitors, currently fourth-placed in Prva liga Srbije, a tier below Superliga, made the trip from Bačka Topola and put in a good shift, keeping Crvena zvezda at bay for almost an entire half. But then Veljko Simić came up with the opening goal that gave his team a much-needed boost. It was Marko Marin who provided the final pass.
Nikola Stojiljković came close to doubling the lead just minutes later, but he had to wait until the early stages of the second half to get his goal. The strong striker, on loan from Braga, worked hard and got his goal just five minutes after the break.
But the visitors continued to search for openings and they managed to find one and exploit it just a minute later – albeit with a bit of luck. Rashid Sumaila was unfortunate to slip and bundle the ball into his own net after looking certain to clear a TSC counter-attack.
It was the red and whites who looked the team most likely to score next, and sure enough the goal came on 72 minutes when Veljko Simić reacted well to a Marko Gobeljić cross and directed it into the net with a fine diving header.
Zoran Popović was forced into making a good save late on, but there was still time for Zvezda to grab a fourth. Dejan Joveljić converted a penalty deep into injury time to make it 4-1 to the red and whites.