Rui Pedro saves Olimpija from another defeat: the Portuguese ‘steals’ victory from Koper with his sixth league goal

Published on 28. September 2023 29. September 2023

How patient is Adam Delius, President of the Olimpija? If Milan Mandaric were still in charge, some people would probably be wondering who the next coach of the Dragons will be… And the German? Does Joao Henriques still have enough credit with his boss? Let us be surprised. But the fact is that, after a historic success in Europe, Olimpija has fallen in form and results in recent years. The Dragons played their third consecutive game without a win on Thursday, but at least they saved themselves from another defeat after the debacle against Bravo. That was thanks to a hot Rui Pedro, who netted the
Koper
eight minutes before the end of the match in Ljubljana and ensured that the old rivals parted with a 1:1 draw.

In the opening part of the match in Stožice, where not many spectators gathered, we watched an interesting, but primarily combative match, which did not offer many promising chances. The battle was mainly fought between the two penalty areas, with Koper being the only side to score in the first half. Matevž Vidovšek was brought down for the 18th time (!) in the season after half an hour of play, when Nik Omladič, once a favourite of Olimpija fans, played a key role in the goal.

Koper scores with first shot on target

The experienced winger passed the ball from the right wing along the ground into the penalty area, where Nardin Mulahusejnović, a returnee to Koper’s strike eleven, got a shot off and sent the ball under the crossbar with a precisely timed shot. Once again, Olimpija’s defence collapsed, it seemed as if the Koprčani disarmed the back line of the Dragons with half their strength, and the shooter was also significantly under-covered in front of the goal. Koper scored with the first and only shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, Olimpija tried four times, but Jan Koprivec could not be beaten.

In the second half, Olimpija pressed the accelerator and Koper had help from both goalkeepers. The right one was shaken after a shot by Nemanja Motika and an intervention by Koprivc, while the left one was crawled by substitute Mustafa Nukić. Joao Henriques tried to get a draw at the end of the game with Raul Flocurz, who played his first game after injury (he was out since the end of July), but Koper didn’t give up. For a long time, the home team resisted well, but finally they equalised. V 83. In the first minute, Koprivec briefly parried the ball after the Dragons’ first attempt, but Rui Pedro got to the ball at the right post and scored his sixth goal of the season with a precise diagonal shot. The goal that jumped him to the top of the national championship scorers’ list.

From what Olimpija showed in the second half, the draw was well deserved, and Joao Henriques will be relieved no matter what, after all the Portuguese has already stared another defeat in the eye. The only question is what thoughts were going through Adam Delius’ head after the game…