Drama in Bačka Topola with a Štajerska flavor: Maribor celebrated after penalties, Ažbe Jug the hero, he stopped two shots from the penalty spot

Published on 15. August 2024 15. August 2024

Photo: Žan Pak

Maribor
advanced to the final round of the
Conference League qualifiers by defeating
Vojvodina in a penalty shootout! The drama in
Bačka Topola ended in favor of the Slovenian first division team, who were losing after ninety minutes but held on in extra time and ultimately triumphed in the penalty shootout. The hero was goalkeeper
Ažbe Jug, who saved two of the
Novosadčan shots. Maribor did not miss a single penalty. In the final round of qualifiers, they will face the Swedish club
Djurgarden, who defeated the Finnish team
Ilves in the third round.

For Maribor, things started to go wrong in Bačka Topola after just over 20 minutes of play when a familiar face from the Slovenian fields came into play. Vojvodina earned a free kick, followed by a cross into the goal area, where
Đorđe Crnomarković rose highest and headed past
Ažbe Jug, who remained rooted to the spot. The assistant referee raised the flag, but VAR confirmed that the former

Olimpija
defender was not offside.

Maribor vs. Vojvodina
Foto: Žan Pak

Maribor’s coach
Ante Šimundža was not pleased with the proceedings. He was quite agitated on the sidelines, and the Portuguese referee
Gustavo Correia eventually sent him to the stands! Maribor found themselves trailing and without their coach. Immediately after conceding the goal,
Marko Božić threatened on the other side, but the Montenegrin goalkeeper of the Serbian first division team
Lazar Carević made an excellent save. After just over half an hour of play, Maribor also lost
Josip Iličić due to injury, and he was replaced by
Arnel Jakupović on the very poor pitch in Bačka Topola.

Josip Iličić Injury
Foto: Žan Pak

Despite
FlashScore mistakenly reporting a
Maribor goal in the 61st minute, the fact is that Vojvodina’s net did not shake in the first hour of play. The mentioned website made an error (it happens), but it remains true that Maribor appeared more enterprising and seemed to want the goal for advancement more. However, it was
Ažbe Jug who was tested the most in the second half, particularly in the 73rd minute, when he had to work hard to prevent
Mihailo Ivanović from scoring.

In the 83rd minute, it was also tense in front of the home goal when
Redwan Bourles found space to shoot and did so, but unfortunately for the visitors, he sent the ball wide of the goal from not the best position. The score remained unchanged until the end of regular time, making it clear that the teams would have to play an additional 30 minutes. The extra time was quite calm, with neither team willing to take many risks, and there were no clear-cut chances.

Read also

In the end, it was the
penalty shootout that decided the match. Ažbe Jug saved two shots from the home team, with
Lazar Nikolić and
Mihailo Ivanović unable to beat the Maribor goalkeeper. Maribor, meanwhile, converted all four of their penalties.
Orphe Mbina was first to score, followed by
Hillal Soudani and
Jan Repas, with the decisive penalty converted by the experienced
Blaž Vrhovec. Maribor advances!