Svit Sešlar came home even better than he was: Celje score a second goal in the second leg, Maribor come back empty-handed in the 90th minute

Published on 18. September 2024 18. September 2024

Photo: Urban Lesjak

In the princely city, a good number of spectators gathered at the Z’dežele Stadium on Wednesday at 5 PM; the reason was clear – it was the Styrian derby. This match was originally scheduled for the second round but was postponed due to Celje and Maribor having European commitments. The rivals finally faced each other, with Celje coming out on top with a 2:1 victory. The hero? Svit Sešlar!

Celje was more dangerous and concrete in attack during the first half. Maribor’s midfielders had a lot of work dealing with the home team, and Ažbe Jug was tested several times. He conceded in the 27th minute when Svit Sešlar made a masterful pass, splitting the visiting defense and allowing Armandas Kučys to go one-on-one with Jug, who was then beaten. Maribor, though active, was not precise enough in their attacking actions and quickly responded through Orph Mbine, but his shot was not accurate enough to trouble Matjaž Rozman.

The first half was quite dynamic, with Matej Jug standing out as the referee, showing a yellow card – believe it or not – a total of nine times! Six of these were given to Maribor players.

Maribor came out of the locker room in good spirits, and in the 49th minute, Žiga Repas made a strong run from the edge of the penalty area and took a powerful shot, though it missed the target, hitting the goalpost only slightly. Two minutes later, Gyorgy Komaromi, who was substituted in at halftime for Nik Grlić, delivered a perfect cross from the right wing, where Marko Božić had a header chance to equalize, but Rozman made an excellent save to deny Maribor.

Maribor was rewarded for their determined start to the second half in the 58th minute when Komaromi celebrated his first goal in the 1. SNL. The Hungarian shot from the edge of the penalty area, and although Rozman should have caught the ball easily, he made a mistake. The experienced goalkeeper should have done better. 1:1. What Rozman couldn’t achieve, Jug managed in the 71st minute, preventing Aljoška Matko from scoring, although Celje’s top scorer from the previous season was only three or four meters away from the goal. To be fair, Matko’s strike wasn’t the best…

A few minutes before the end of regular time, Jan Repas took a shot from 16 meters, narrowly missing the post of the Celje goal. Just when it seemed the match would end in a draw, Svit Sešlar made an appearance. Ante Šimundža will be furious as Luka Krajnc, a Maribor defender, lost the ball in Celje’s half. The home team executed a quick counter-attack, brilliantly finished by Svit Sešlar. Despite being covered and in a difficult position, Sešlar calmly set up the ball on his left foot and sent it in a beautiful arc over the Maribor defender and past the helpless Jug.