Champions slip up in Croatia
Monday, July 26, 2004
Article summary
HNK Hajduk Split were held by NK Pula but NK Dinamo Zagreb opened the season with a 4-3 win at NK Zadar.
Article body
The first matches of the 2004/05 Croatian championship were played over a four-day period starting last Wednesday.
Big surprise
NK Osijek defeated NK Slaven Koprivnica 2-1 on the opening day but the biggest surprise came on Friday when NK Pula 1856 came away with a 1-1 draw away to champions HNK Hajduk Split.
Hajduk equaliser
Manuel Pamic put the visitors ahead in the 37th minute but Hajduk equalised through Almir Turkovic. Saturday’s matches saw away wins for NK Rijeka and NK Inter, Rijeka beating NK Medjimurje 2-1 while Inter won 1-0 against NK Zagreb. Kamen Ingrad beat NK Varteks 3-2 at home.
Seven-goal thriller
The highest scoring game of the opening encounters came on Sunday when NK Dinamo Zagreb won 4-3 away to NK Zadar. Dinamo's young captain, Niko Kranjcar, scored twice to impress the new Croatia national team coach, his father Zlatko.