Olimpija’s cup run this season ended with a quarter-final defeat to Brinje, who held on to the lead they took from a set piece in the opening minutes throughout the match. The Dragons pushed right until the final whistle, but unfortunately couldn’t beat the in-form home goalkeeper. In stoppage time, Olimpija’s pressure was also interrupted by an incident involving the irrigation system being switched on.

After the match, Olimpija head coach Federico Bessone did not hide his disappointment: “We’re very disappointed with the result, because I think we didn’t deserve to lose, but that’s football. When you go out there and in the first five minutes you commit two unnecessary fouls, Brinje will take advantage of that. I’m angry and disappointed, but if you don’t take the chances you get, it’s hard to win.”

A home Eternal Derby follows on Sunday: “In the morning we’ll train again and start preparing for Sunday’s match. Even so, after the break we won four matches and drew once, so I still say we’re in good form. We managed to change our mentality and we have to keep going. It’s clear we’re disappointed, I’ll say it again. Now we really have to work hard so that on Sunday we try to take all three points and at least repay the fans a little.”