After a successful away game in Albania, Olimpija’s team faced a challenge in the domestic championship with a match against Koper. Ivan Durdov put the Dragons in the lead in the 19th minute. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough for a win, as the visitors achieved a complete turnaround through Sidibe, Muhamedbegovič’s own goal, and Jurić’s long-range strike.
Erwin van de Looi summarized the events as follows: “We’ve had a tough match, which we expected. This is mainly due to the European game a few days ago in Albania, where we played 120 minutes of football. From the start, we didn’t look fresh and had some difficulties with the ball. We played against an aggressive and extremely physical team, which we expected, but we didn’t win enough duels to be more successful.”
“Nevertheless, we scored first and had some opportunities to increase our lead in the second half. After the break, we also performed better defensively, so we’re somewhat disappointed with the goals we conceded. The first was a poorly defended corner, the second an unfortunate own goal, and the last was a strike from an incredible distance. Now we need to rest and prepare well for the next match.”
Goal scorer Ivan Durdov described the match in similar words: “It’s a tough loss because we had the lead, and we certainly felt the effects of the 120-minute match in Albania in our legs. We have heavy legs and feel tired, so now we need to put our heads together because we have the playoff for the Conference League on Thursday, which is now the most important thing.”
On Thursday at 20:00, Olimpija faces the match of the season when Armenian FC Noah comes to Stožice for the Conference League playoff. The Dragons are aiming for their third consecutive qualification for this UEFA competition. You can secure tickets at a pre-sale price at shop.nkolimpija.si or in the official club store.
