On Saturday and Sunday, the juniors, cadets and senior boys of NK Olimpija played their first league matches of this calendar year. Two away matches ended in defeat, and the home match did not produce a winner.
EON NEXTGEN Team
The U19 team hosted their peers from Koper in Jama. The tied match, with a final score of 2-2 thanks to Dino Kojić and Edmond Imeraj, earned the Dragons a point in the fight for the league title. The green and whites now share the lead with NK Brinje Grosuplje, who also have 39 points. Head coach Boštjan Miklič said after the match: ”We knew we were in for a tough game and that’s how it was. It was clear that the boys were in a bit of a slump. I don’t think they played at the desired level. They are capable of much more. We made disastrous mistakes in both of the away goals, but on the other hand, we should have saved the game in the first half, when we had good chances. I can commend the boys for their fighting performance in the last 30 minutes, when we were down a player after Nikola Motika was sent off. Even though we were playing with only ten men, we had a great chance to win. The good thing is that we are still undefeated in 13 games in a row and are staying consistent. We are staying at the top, so we have to keep our heads up and think about the next game.”
In the next round, the juniors will visit NK Tabor Sežana. The match of the 20th round of the EON Next Gen League will be scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m.
U17 Team
The U17 team did not go according to plan against their peers from the same team. The home team opened the match at Bonifika better, taking the lead in the 11th minute after a penalty kick. The advantage was increased at the beginning of the second half of the game, when Tian Mačak scored in the 51st minute. Arman Durmiši scored again from the penalty spot in the 65th minute. Žiga Pečjak scored the Dragons’ honorary goal. Just before the end of the match, young Dragon Blaž Komić received a second yellow card and consequently a red card.
The next match for the cadets, who despite the defeat are only a point behind second place, awaits on Saturday, when Tinex Šenčur will be visiting Ljubljana (2:00 PM).
Older boys
The U15 national team did not have their day. Olimpija’s players lost 3:0 against Koper. The first half did not offer any goals, but the home team was later accurate in the 58th (Kevin Pahor), 73rd (Liam Marsetič) and 80th minute (Anže Grabljevec). In the 61st minute of the match, Lan Ambrož received a direct red card for Olimpija. The green and whites remain in eighth place in the table after the 16th round with 19 points.
The U15 team will play against Tinex Šenčur on Saturday at 12 noon.
