Partizan Draws Radnik 4-4 in Surdulica With Man Down
Playing a man down for most of the match, Partizan came back from 3-1 and 4-3 deficits to draw Radnik 4-4 in Surdulica on Sidney Lima goal in the 73rd minute, round 10 of the Superliga.
Referee Srdjan Jovanovic showed Milan Vukotic a second yellow card in the 35th minute, after the Partizan player kept arguing with him even after the first caution. The dispute dragged on, the referee held firm, and the visitors were left with ten men on the pitch in Surdulica while the score was still 1-1. Everything that followed over the next hour is something Partizan’s bench will remember for a long time.
Radnik, even with a man advantage, went 3-1 up before halftime and later led 4-3, but Partizan clawed its way back twice and eventually left Surdulica with a point. The round 10 Mozzart Bet Superliga match, played on Saturday evening, September 19, 2026, ended 4-4.
Goal After Goal in a Wild Match
Partizan took the lead as early as the 18th minute through Erik Kojzek. Radnik answered quickly:
- 27th minute, Emanuel Kvarsi levels it at 1-1
- 37th minute, Vukasin Bogdanovic puts Radnik ahead, 2-1
- stoppage time at the end of the first half, Uros Lazic makes it 3-1
All of this while Partizan had been down to ten men since the 35th minute, following Vukotic’s sending off. The second half opened with the same chaos. In the 54th minute the ball ended up in Radnik’s own net after an unfortunate intervention from Lazar Radoicic, making it 3-2, and just four minutes later Nikola Simic equalized at 3-3. Radnik regained the lead in the 64th minute through Bogdanovic’s second goal of the match, 4-3, but Partizan had an answer for that too. In the 73rd minute, after a corner and a rebound, Sidney Lima put the ball in the net to make the final score 4-4.
Eight goals on one pitch, and two separate chances for Partizan to lose the match that a team playing a man down still managed to avoid. That was the whole story in Surdulica.
Where Does Partizan Stand in the Superliga Table?
Here the sources disagree. Partizan went into the match with eight points from nine games, but news agency Tanjug placed the club 11th after this round, in the relegation zone, while B92 described the same position as second to last on the table. The gap between the two shows just how tightly packed the bottom of the Superliga is, with several clubs level or close on points. Radnik, meanwhile, moved to 14 points from ten matches and sits in fifth place.
The same round produced eight more goals elsewhere that evening. In Karaburma, Radnicki 1923 beat OFK Belgrade 5-3, bringing the combined total from the two round 10 matches to 16 goals.
Ilic Brief, Rendulic Unhappy Despite the Point
Partizan coach Sasa Ilic did not linger long in front of Arena Sport’s cameras.
“First half extremely weak, second half more than good. The players showed character with 10 men. Thanks to the fans for the great support, and that’s it.”
Before the match in Surdulica, the coach had said Partizan was rarely in a worse position in its history, coming off a 2-1 derby loss to Crvena Zvezda, a 3-2 defeat to Vojvodina and elimination from Europe. A point against Radnik, earned a man down since the 35th minute, is still worth something in that context, even if the table still says otherwise.
On the other side, Radnik coach Zoran Rendulic had mixed feelings after a match in which his team led three times.
“Well, I have to admit, after these 90 minutes, judging by my players’ reaction that we’re unhappy with the result, that can actually be a good sign. We came back, got to 3-1, a perfect 20 minutes in the first half.”
Rendulic went a step further in explaining why Radnik, despite a numerical advantage for almost the entire second half, let the win slip away.
“I have a feeling this young team got a little scared of winning, I think that’s the main reason. We went back to 4-3, we conceded three incomprehensible goals in the second half. A break will do us good. I think this will definitely come back to help us, both this and Zemun.”
The match was refereed by Srdjan Jovanovic, whose sending off of Vukotic in the 35th minute shaped the entire course of the second half.
With eight points from nine rounds, Partizan is still delivering results well below what is expected of a club of its name, but the character it showed in Surdulica, a man down and coming back from two deficits, is at least something Sasa Ilic can build on. The question is how long a point from a match like this is remembered once the table stays the same.
