NK Varaždin played out a goalless draw with Osijek on Saturday, with the visitors having two goals disallowed by VAR. The match at Stadion Varteks ended 0:0.
Coach Nikola Šafarić noted before the match that Osijek had shown two different faces. "They were very good against Dinamo." said Šafarić. Varaždin lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Osijek surprised by opting for a 4-2-3-1 instead of the expected 4-3-3.
The first big moment came in the 34th minute when Tunjić hit the post, but it was not a goal. The real drama followed eight minutes later. Izak Ježić headed in from a corner, but VAR determined the ball reached him after contact with his hand, prompting referee Ante Čulina to disallow the goal. This was the key moment of the match. In the 67th minute, Farkaš also received a yellow card, bringing the total number of bookings to four.
Varaždin had their own chances. In the 14th minute, Maglica delivered a cross to Jurić, and in first-half stoppage time, Tavares was dangerous. After halftime, Šafarić made two changes, introducing Duraković and Uchegbu in place of Sikošek and Latković. In the 50th minute, Mamić had a headed attempt, and in the 71st, Duraković had a decent effort. In the dying moments, Akrap and Maglica failed to find the net.
Luka Mamić expressed optimism before the game. "Osijek is a good, young team and a difficult match awaits us." stated Mamić. In the 84th minute, Luka Škaričić came on, making his 102nd appearance for Varaždin.
This result leaves Varaždin in fourth place in the HNL table with 15 points from eight games. The team is unbeaten in its last five matches, with a run of two wins and three draws. The top scorer this season for Varaždin is Ivan Canjuga with three goals. Their next challenge is an away trip to face Lokomotiva on October 10th, and details of the upcoming schedule can be found on our fixtures page. The squad list and player statistics are available in the squad section.
Read the full report at jutarnji.hr
