There were both wins and defeats over the past weekend, and both are an integral part of the most important process: developing players for the senior team.
Results at youth level are not the primary measure of success. Both victories and defeats provide opportunities to learn, while the goal of our Academy remains the same: to develop players who will one day represent the first team. That is how we view the past week of competition, during which four of our youth teams played their league matches.
Two Wins in Sesvete
In Round 9, our junior and cadet teams travelled to Sesvete, and both came away with victories.
The juniors secured a 1–0 win thanks to a 59th-minute goal from Karlo Tomašević. After nine rounds, they have recorded six wins, one draw and two defeats, placing second in the standings with 19 points, behind Istra 1961.
Our lineup over the weekend was: Adžić, Posavec (Janjić 88'), Lučić, Ljubojević, Vinogradac (Šarić 73'), Balić, Čočaj, Tomašević (Tadić 63'), Košir (Marković 63'), Turić (Gagulić 63') and Kolar (Kolarević 73').
The cadets came from behind to secure a 4–1 victory. The hosts took the lead, but Josip Cipar equalised just before half-time. In the second half, an own goal by the home side in the 56th minute was followed by goals from Krešimir Crnković in the 74th minute and Marko Dominik Barišić in the 89th. Both players came on as substitutes.
The lineup was: Janković, Rošta, Purgar, Cipar, Stojanović, Maltar, Krasnić, Sansao (Amidžić 85'), Š. P. Jaman (Barišić 85'), Odobašić (Crnković 71') and Ravlić (Đukić 64').
An Excellent Match Between Osijek and Dinamo’s Youth Teams
In Round 8, our second cadet team hosted Dinamo and suffered a 4–1 defeat, with Petar Šimić scoring Osijek’s goal in the 68th minute. On this occasion, the opposition proved stronger, inflicting our team’s first defeat of the season. After eight rounds, the young White and Blues have seven wins and one defeat and sit second in the standings, behind league leaders Dinamo.
The lineup for the second cadet team was: Čekeliš, Šarčević, M. Kovačević, Dančević, Bračun (Tadić 73'), Moržan, Bubalo (Mrkonjić 83'), Peršić, Tomić (Jurković 86'), Kovačić and Šimić.
The pioneers took a 3–2 lead after just 20 minutes, thanks to goals from Roko Masnić in the 4th minute, Emanuel Đaković in the 12th and Maksym Basov in the 19th. However, the visitors turned the game around in the second half to claim a 5–3 victory.
The lineup for this match was: Mokrović (Idrizović 86'), Arlović (Paradžik 77'), Međugorac, Boduljak, Major, Vukić (Lazić 65'), Đaković (Perić 86'), Masnić (Kocijan 30'), Vladika, Basov (Momčilović 65') and Tot (Perović 77').
Results are recorded, but what matters more is how much each player has developed through these matches and how much closer they have come to earning a place in the first team. With that goal in mind, our youth teams will continue their work in the next round.
