CFL leaders: Petrovac's summer fairy tale will last a little longer

Petrovac is the leader of the Meridianbet 1st CFL, with maximum performance after two rounds, with an efficient and attractive game - six goals scored, two goals conceded. Newcomer Arsenal (2:0) and one of the favorites for the title, Budućnost (4:2), fell smoothly in front of Mladen Lambulić's team.

It is not the first time that a team from the second plan, which is not in the innermost circle of favorites for the title, shines at the start of the season. It is not the first time that it is Petrovac - one of only four Montenegrin teams that has been a standard member of the elite since 2006 and has never been relegated from the league (along with Budućnost, Sutjeska and Rudar).

However, judging by the names that arrived at the "Mitar Mićo Goliš" stadium this summer, by the offensive attitude and self-confidence that the team showed in the opening matches of the season, Petrovac's summer football fairy tale could last much, much longer than before.

"It's nice when you have six points after the first two rounds, and I have to admit that I didn't expect that - as many as 10 new players arrived, including me as a coach, and it's hard to reach the level of play we showed in the two previous matches in such a short time . I expected it to happen a little later," says Lambulić.

Ten reinforcements, but, as he points out - ten real reinforcements, real guys.

Lambulić brought the best he achieved last season to Jezero, forwards Rodrigo Faust and Mamadou Mendi, who scored five of the six goals in the first two rounds, and defender Vaslij Radenović.

Augusto Korea Čagas came from Sutjeska and leads the midfield, together with Balša Dubljević, who also played for Nikšić, while goalkeeper Milan Jelovac from Spartak Subotica is already standard in goal.

Those are the six newcomers who started the match against Budućnost, and Dejan Boljević, who played in the Conference League last season with Alaškert of Armenia, and Slobodan Babić, Igor Zonjić, Nemanja Carević are also waiting for a chance from the bench from reinforcements...

Some even see Petrovčani as candidates for the title, but Lambulić, as expected, "drops the ball on the ground".

"It is too much to expect that in addition to Budućnosti and Sutjeska, and even Dečić, teams that have excellent players and experience fighting for trophies, we will be some favorites. It is up to us to work, to train, and the first games showed that we are on the right path. It is inevitable that there will be a drop, not every game will be winnable, but we want that drop to last a game or two, not five or six. We want to be placed in Europe and we are going step by step", adds Lambulić.

Life is difficult for applicants for the international scene from Montenegro, which next summer will have only three representatives in European competitions - one less than before.

This especially affects teams like Petrovac, which 13 years ago made a boom in the qualifications for the Europa League, even reaching the 3rd round of qualifications.

Under Mali brdo, however, they know their way - and one of the trump cards, Lambulić does not hide, is offensive play, offensive aspiration...

"I don't want us to defend for 80 minutes and then concede a goal, and what is left for us - only 10 minutes to do something. That's not my philosophy. I want us to go out high from the first minute, to attack, with a lot of players in the opponent's penalty area."

Against Budućnost, which Lambulić won three times with Jezera last season, and the streak continued on the Petrovac bench - his team lost 2:1 already in the 0nd minute.

"Many would have fallen psychologically after such a start, but in the interim period we chose players who can meet all demands on the field - both when we are losing and when we are leading. We continued as if nothing had happened. We scored four goals, created a lot of chances. It is already clear that we will be competitive with everyone."

Argentinian Faust and Senegalese Mendi stood out at the beginning of the season - with goals, although Lambulić does not want to single anyone out.

"Football is a team game and I want to emphasize that - if we didn't have a good team, we wouldn't have come back like that after conceding an early goal against Budućnosti. Individuals always emerge from the collective, now it was Faust and Mendy, whom I trained in Jezera and who know my way of working - and that certainly helped them to adapt immediately."

The third match, the third type of match - tomorrow, Petrovac hosts Jedinstvo in Bijelo Polje.

"I would like everyone to play like us, openly, with more goals. I don't know how it will be with Jedinstva, I expect that our rival will still play more closed and try to threaten us on counters and semi-counters, but we are ready for both variants", concludes Lambulić, who sat on the bench of Jedinstva two seasons ago.