Partizan grind out a point a man down, stay second
Playing most of the match a man down against Vojvodina, the black-and-whites earned a draw that was enough to keep second place in the table, two points clear of the Novi Sad side.
- Partizan played most of the match against Vojvodina a man down and salvaged a draw.
- The point was enough for the black-and-whites to hold on to second place in the Superliga table.
- Their cushion over Vojvodina now stands at two points.
- The result fits a jittery start to the season under coach Sasa Ilic.
For the last twenty minutes or so, Partizan’s bench looked like a trench. Ilic paced the touchline, arms folded, then thrown open, then folded again, while his players kept dropping deeper toward their own goal. Now and then a whistle rang out from the stands, then applause, then a whistle again, because even the supporters in the south stand were not sure whether they were watching a fight or a struggle. When the referee finally blew for full time, the black-and-whites gathered in the centre circle as if they had won something, even though the scoreboard showed only a draw.
And that is the whole story of the afternoon. Partizan spent most of the match against Vojvodina a man down, in a lineup that from one moment on had to forget about attacking and play the way it knows best under pressure, on nerves and on running. The point they earned is not pretty, but it is useful. Enough for the black-and-whites to stay second in the table, two points clear of the very side that leaned on them all evening.
Is a point a man down a success or a warning?
It depends on how you look at it. If you are counting points, this is a good night’s work. A short bench, a man down for most of the match, an away side in Vojvodina that came to take everything, and Partizan still holding on to their position and their cushion. In those circumstances a draw is worth a small win, and at the post-match press conference Ilic will surely stress exactly that, the character of his team.
If you look at the football, the picture is different. This is not the first match in which the black-and-whites look edgy, defending the result with their fingernails rather than controlling it with the ball. The nervy start to the season goes on, and a point earned a man down, however valuable, does not hide the fact that this team lacks calm. Vojvodina were the ones dictating the tempo tonight, and sitting just two points behind Partizan tells you how thin the margin is.
What comes next for the black-and-whites
First, chin up. Second place is still second place, and a point earned with ten men is a point you remember when the table is added up at the end of the season. But Ilic knows well that things cannot go on like this for long. Being a man down can be an alibi for one night, not for a month, and in the next match Partizan have to start with a full side and calmer heads, with the ball at their feet and not just heart in their chests.
Vojvodina, for their part, go home feeling they let a chance slip. Hosts a man down, and the Novi Sad side could not break them, that is a message that stings. Nothing has been settled at the top of the table, only postponed, and a standings this tight and unresolved is exactly what makes every coming round of the Superliga carry a weight heavier than three points.
Partizan, then, got through. Grinding, a man down, on plenty of nerves and little beauty, but they got through. The only question is how long a serious club can live off character before it needs football too. Do you believe the black-and-whites under Ilic can settle this start to the season, or are more edge-of-the-seat battles waiting for us in the rounds ahead?
