Much more difficult than anyone expected, with a lot of shortcomings in the game and even nervousness, the Montenegrin national team only managed to turn things around tonight and record a victory over Gibraltar (3:1) at the start of the World Cup qualifiers.
When it became clear after the draw that our team's rival in the group from the lowest house of European football would be Gibraltar, many had already scored points against the microstate from the Pyrenees. However, the "falcons" managed to win the premiere, with a lot of effort and mistakes, before the continuation of the qualifiers and the match with the Faroe Islands on Tuesday (20.45), also in Nikšić. And against the Faroes, and especially in June with the Czechs, Robert Prosinečki's team must do much, much better.
When Stevan Jovetić hit the crossbar in the fifth minute, after a pass from Stefan Mugoša, it seemed that it was just a prelude to an offensive game and a "fire" towards the away goal. But, soon Gibraltar moved towards our team's goal, scoring three corners at the start of the match, and then took the lead in the 13th minute. Goalkeeper Igor Nikić reacted badly after a corner kick, Bent was in the right place and the away team took the lead.
"Falcons" were "fishing" the visitors on counterattacks at the start, which is enough to describe the strange and completely unexpected balance of power at the stadium near Bistrica. Perhaps a tough match was expected, but few expected Gibraltar to match Montenegro - in possession!
Nikola Krstović shot wide in the 16th minute, then Jovetić had two attempts, and finally scored in the 22nd minute. After a great rush, Gibraltar captain Anesli cleared the ball off the goal line, and Jovetić, after a deft pass from Nikola Šipčić, hit the net with a precise left-footed shot.
In total, the 37th goal of the captain, by far the best scorer in the history of the Montenegrin football team.
Gibraltar was dangerous, more dangerous than expected, Montenegro literally threw away the second half of the first half, did almost nothing in attack, and the guests could have taken a new lead at the end of the first half. Lopes hit the post from a good position to shock and sighs at the Nikšić stadium.
Finally, at the very end of the first half, Stefan Lončar made a nice pass to Marko Vešović, who played the ball back to Jovetić, but Gibraltar players intervened again from the goal line.
Gibraltar started the second half better, Montenegro were unable to reach their opponents' half for a while, much to the disbelief of the stands. The only half-chance in that period of the game was missed by Marko Tući.
The "falcons" were not dominant in those minutes, it seems that nervousness slowly began to creep into the ranks of our team, Prosinečki called for substitutions - he activated Adam Marušić and Edvin Kuč, and Krstović returned to his natural position of the classic nine (he played on the left wing for an hour).
And finally Montenegro started to tighten the grip, Marušić missed a good chance before the guests' lock was finally unlocked. Twenty minutes before the end, Marko Janković crossed from the right, and Tući scored his debut goal in the national team with a header.
Just three minutes later, Marušić removed all doubts - Jovetić shot, Banda saved, and the Lazio ace was in the right place and passed the ball into the net on the descent for his fifth goal in the national team's jersey. In the jersey with number 23 - the jersey once worn by Andrija Delibasic.
There was no end to the excitement or nervousness, the guests could have scored another goal, Šipčić almost scored an own goal (the crossbar), he managed to intervene, and in the very end, Montenegro was still closer to the fourth goal.
The Faroe Islands are turning gray, and it's clear to the birds on the branch that they must be much better, stronger, safer... In the match against the Czech Republic in June...
"Like that naked man, let the gates of heaven tremble..."
It was emotional in Nikšić, the Montenegro - Gibraltar duel was played just three days after the untimely death of former national team player Andrija Delibasic.
Before the start of the game, a minute of silence was held in honor of the great striker who left a deep mark, scoring some of the most important goals in the history of our national team...
Fans in the east stand lit torches, and then, together with fans from the west, chanted Andrija's name.
"Like that goal, let the gates of heaven shake, our hero Delibasic Andrija is coming," the banner read.
Then, after the equalizer, Stevan Jovetić, together with his teammates and the coaching staff, dedicated the goal to Delibasic and raised his jersey with the number 23 - there was also symbolism because the goal for 1:1 was scored a few seconds before the 23rd minute began...
Andrija Delibasic has scored six goals in 21 matches for the Montenegrin national football team.
He was the scorer on his debut, in a victory against Georgia in 2009, in the World Cup qualifiers, which was our team's first competitive victory (2:1).
And then in 2011, he scored the all-time goal, against England in Podgorica, when he headed the ball into the net in the 91st minute and took our team to the play-offs for the European Championship.
MONTENEGRO - GIBRALTAR 3:1 (1:1)
Niksic - City Stadium. Attendance: 3.082. Referee: Nobre (Portugal). Scorers: Jovetić in 22, Tući in 70 and Marušić in 73 for Montenegro, and Bent in 13 for Gibraltar. Yellow cards: Janković, Marko Vukčević, Šipčić (Montenegro) De Bar and Bent (Gibraltar).
Montenegro: Nikić - Vešović, Tući, Šipčić, Gasevic (76. A. Vukčević) - Janković, Lončar (59. Kuč) - Camaj (76. Vukotic), Jovetic (85. Bakić), Krstović - Mugoša (59. Marušić).
Gibraltar: Banda - Brito, Lopez (82. McLafferty), Annesley, Ronan - De Bar, Bent (82. Pozzo), Scanlon (83. Walker) - Richards, El-Hmidi (72. Bartolo) and Jessop (65. Jessop).
Bonus video:
