The Red Journey

@Walter - Err, I, err, umm, yeah
@Justice - Thanks, so am I

Red Star Belgrade’s impressive run in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League has continued here, despite them being pitted against a team, which like their last opposition, seemed much stronger on paper. The win sends the Serbian club through to the group stages of Europa League, as they go one better than they did last year, where they lost in the playoffs narrowly to a strong Bordeaux side.


The first leg was utterly and totally dominated by the home side, Red Star, who started off very brightly, as they came very close twice, inside the opening 10 minutes. However, it was on the 14th minute when a great corner was met by the head of Miguel Araujo, and the ball soared into the top corner to give his side the early lead. It was only 3 minutes later when they scored their second, with another corner being the cause, and a scramble in the box, which led to Salvatore Boccehetti inadvertently forcing the ball into his own net. Spartak managed to tighten up slightly, preventing Red Star from scoring, until the 28th minute when Milunovic played a ball through to Pecnik, who smashed the ball into the back of the net, to make it 3-0. The best goal of the game however was in the 42rd minute, when Goran Gogic hit a wondrous strike which cannoned in off the post from 30 yards, making it 4-0 by halftime, and leaving the travelling supporters absolutely shell-shocked. The 2nd half was much more even, with Spartak managing to keep the ball much better. This paid dividends when Kombarov’s first shot was saved by Bajkovic, before he was quickest to the rebound to give the club, what seemed to be just a consolation goal, on 63 minutes. Tensions in the stadium began to rise however, when a quick break by the visitors, resulted in Bocherishili tucking a shot past the keeper, to make it 4-2 in the 71st minute. However, as Spartak pressed and tried to do the unlikely by getting a 3rd, they were in turn caught on the break, with the ball eventually falling to Pecnik, who curled the ball in, to make the score line, a humiliating 5-2. This was how the match ended, and the home supporters were thrilled by the result, giving them a great advantage as they went to Moscow.

In Moscow, it was a much tenser, slower affair, with not as many goals and tighter defending. In the early exchanges, nothing looked like it was going to give, but when star striker, Filip Kasalica was met with a cross, he managed to head it into the back of the net, and give his side an invaluable away goal, which meant that that Spartak would have to score 5 goals, if they wanted to progress. Despite this gigantic score line which was necessary, Spartak gave it a good go, if not just for personal pride, and in the 40th minute they managed to pull one back as Aiden McGeady hit a shot past the keeper just inside the box, to make it 1-1 on the night, and 6-3 on aggreagate. The 2nd half opened with some heavy pressure from the home side, but Red Star stayed solid at the back, to prevent them from scoring. The rest of the half seemed fairly lacklustre, with good goal-scoring chances, few and far between. Red Star held on to keep the draw on the night, and the 6-3 win on aggreagate.

Great win over Spartak

HOLY SHIT, YOU BEAT SPARTAK! FANTASTIC!

@Justice - Thanks
@Pauker - That's exactly how I felt

Red Star Belgrade played their last two games of a hectic August, in which they played a total of 7 matches. The first match was a home encounter against Javor, whilst the second game was a visit to Spartak at their Gradski Stdium.


The first match, against Javor, was a very even affair, with both sides having similar amounts of shots and possession. The early exchanges were tense, with the majority of shots coming from long range. The opening goal came from a moment of brilliance from striker Onyilo, who managed to weave his way past several players, before he offloaded the ball to Savicevic, who easily managed to find the back of the net. Apart from this, the opening half was dull and not very entertaining, with both teams playing a more rigid style. In the second half, the match opened up, with the play soon becoming faster and end to end. Both sides pressured the opposition’s defence, but ultimately, were unable to break it, and the match ended 1-0 to Red Star.


The final game of Red Star's month took place on deadline day, with both sides attempting to make late deals, whilst still attempting to focus on the match. This was clear to see in the first half, when both of the teams looked lacklustre. The majority of the chances came to the home side Spartak, however Onyilo was a big threat for Red Star, and came very close to scoring several times in the first 25 minutes. Neither of the sides managed to score before halftime, and they went into the break level. The deadlock was eventually broken in the 64th minute, after a clever one two by Puskaric and Gadi, resulted in the latter giving Spartak the lead in this important match. The lead though, lasted just over 10 minutes, as what looked to be an offside Filip Kasalica pounced on a loose ball to tie the game up, much to the anger of the home support. Milic had a great chance late on, but he couldn’t beat Red Star’s keeper, Bajkovic, and the match ended 1-1.

It's frustrating to drop points, especially in matches you have to win.. Good luck!

Good going, I'm enjoying the read

Wow you dropped points?! You must suck poo or something.

Really, though, very nice update, I love your style Keep it up!

Disappointing to drop points but it's not all bad, just read through and I saw you wiped the floor with Moscow so well done for that!!

Enjoying this story! 4 points from 2 game ain't that bad, but I'm sure you can recover from dropping some points

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Congratulations on 100 replies btw!

@Pauker - Yeah, it is, but we are still doing reasonably well and we have the rest of the season, so I'm not too worried.
@Justice - Thanks mate
@Neal - Thanks, I'll do by best!
@Aaron - It is disappointing, but yeah, the Spartak result was probably my best of the season so far.
@Josh - Thanks, and hopefully yeah.

And btw, thanks to everyone who has been following my story, I am really proud to get to 100 replies, and I've really grateful of how much support I have received.

All in all, a successful August for Red Star Belgrade, in a month which saw them cause a few big upsets, as well as start well in their domestic league. They played a total of 7 games during the month, 3 of which were in the Europa League. They only suffered one loss during the period, to Udinese in their 3rd Qualifying Round second leg, which, in the end, meant nothing, as they still progressed in the tie on aggregate. The rest of the games included 4 wins and 2 draws.


(Due to an unfortunate error, the league table will not be available for this month, apologies)

Red Star have started their league campaign well, and, at the end of the month, see themselves in 2nd place, 2 points behind surprise leaders, Radnicki 1932, who have yet to drop any points. The biggest shock however, is seeing title favourites, Partizan lurking in 10th place. However, as only 4 game weeks have been played, there is still a very long time for the club to come back into the title race, but if this sort of form continues for them, their manager, Vuk Rasovic, might have to start fearing for his job.



So far, in the league, Red Star striker, Filip Kasalica has taken everyone by surprise to be the outstanding goal scorer, having fired home 6 times in 4 games in the league, and 10 times in all competitions, including an extraordinary display against Radnicki where he scored 4 times. Filip Stojkovic is leading the assists charts with 3 for his club, Cukaricki. In terms of the clubs, Rad and Red Star lead the goals scored charts both with 8 goals, whilst for goals conceded Rad, Radnicki and Novi Pazar have only let in 2 goals each.



For this month, the Red Star player of the month award goes Filip Kasalica. The inform striker is not only the top goal scorer in the league, but was vital in securing the clubs spot in the group stages of the Europa League. The Montenegrin forward is attracting some early interest with his performances, with Spanish side Elche reportedly interested in signing him. Red Star will hope, for their season, and for the future, that he stays at the club, and continues to play at a very high level.

Great result against Spartak, a pretty decent month if you ask me.

Like Arvind said great win vs. Spartak, and overall a top quality month!


Oh and the red squiggly lines are gone