Partizan win their first Serbian Cup

Partizan have picked up the first silverware in the club’s history, defeating holders Dorćol 42-22 in the final at the Makiš stadium, Belgrade.

The black and whites have dominated youth competitions in the last couple of seasons, but pulled off a significant senior success in commanding fashion.

“We have been building towards this for a while,” said Partizan coach Admir Hadžić. “We came close two seasons ago, losing against the same side in the Grand Final.

“It took more maturity and soul searching until we got another chance and the guys didn’t want to let it slip again. It’s a big win for us, but we are planning more of the same.”

Dorćol, 22-10 behind at the break and never in front, almost staged a second half comeback but Hadžić’s side showed great poise and concentration in the last 15 minutes, Partizan scoring three unanswered late tries to seal the biggest win in the club’s history.

Serbian international Vladimir Milutinović and centre Nikola Srbljanin each posted a brace of tries for Partizan, Milutinović claiming 14 points in total – substitute Paja Šević crossing twice for Dorćol.

Teams:

Partizan: Pavle Vojinović, Ronaldo Bitići, Vladimir Milutinović, Nikola Srbljanin, Dragan Janković, Branko Čarapić, Džavid Jašari, Dario Abidinović, Mihailo Ilić, Žarko Kovačević, Petar Kovač, Vlado Kušić, Pero Madžarević.
Subs: Kosta Stojković, Denis Bajrami, Velibor Karanović, Dušan Milutinović.

Tries: Vlado Kušić (1), Žarko Karanović (8), Vladimir Milutinović (33, 73), Dragan Janković (36), Nikola Srbljanin (56, 67), Madžarević (79).
Goals: Džavid Jašari 2/5, Vladimir Milutinović 3/3.

Dorćol: Andrej Mora, Miloš Avramović, Boris Lazin, Relja Petrović, Luka Bulajić, Miloš Milanko, Milan Čobanović, Aleksa Radić, Stefan Vukanović, Sergej Devetak, Ivan Ivanović, Milan Aleksić, Stefan Nedeljković.
Subs: Miloš Tasić, Paja Šević, Stefan Milčić, Saša Mitrović.

Tries: Ivan Ivanović (13), Paja Šević (29, 42), Miloš Milanko (63).
Goals: Stefan Nedeljković 3/4.