Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb consolidated its lead in the Mediterranean group after beating SSDFT Team Green, 3-1.
The match started with a succession of attacks by the Croatian team until the 13th minute, when Rukavina picked the ball, ran in from the right side and sent a cross that Emad Alsibyani accidentally turned into an own goal. Dinamo Zagreb’s control continued, with a few isolated attacking moves by the Team Green, but the score remained unchanged.
In the second half Dinamo Zagreb continued attacking and the Saudi team pushed forward in an attempt to press harder for an equalizer. But the answer came quickly: at the 53rd minute, the defender Novak scored the second goal from a corner kick. Two minutes later, Novak scored his brace with a strong header from another corner, pushing Dinamo Zagreb’s lead to 3-0.
SSDFT managed to score in the 80th minute through Salem Baryan, but the referee disallowed it for fouling the Croatian goalkeeper, Mandic. Finally, at the 85th minute, the Team Green was awarded a penalty which was successfully executed by striker Abdullah Mahbub. The Saudi team’s attacks continued but were not enough to change the result, so the match ended with three goals to one.
With this victory, Dinamo Zagreb consolidated its lead in the Mediterranean group with 7 points, while the “Green” Falcons’ balance stays frozen at 4 points.
