During the Easter holidays, our football clubs were active, as were our youngest handball players, boys and girls.

During the Easter holidays, our football clubs were active, as were our youngest handball players, boys and girls.

In the 24 round of the Vojvodina group of the Serbian League, Hajduk’s footballers defeated OFK Bečej 1918 away in Bečej, with a score of 4:2, thus improving their chances of securing their place among the Serbian League teams in the remainder of the season. The hosts took the lead after half an hour of play, but Vlaisavljević in the 38 minute and Vujošević in the 42 minute turned the score around and gave Hajduk the lead. However, the hosts scored a second goal in first-half stoppage time, and the teams went into the break with the score at 2:2. In the second half, Željko Račić’s side capped their more convincing, better performance with two more goals: first Vlaisavljević in the 62 minute, followed by Matijašević in the 80 minute, making the final score 4:2 in Hajduk’s favor.

“Bečej are a quality opponent, with a quality coach, and a well-organized club. Since we often play friendlies against them, they know us well, just as we know them, so we went into the match with ‘open cards’. The hosts made the better start and took the lead, but we found the strength to turn the score around quickly. Unfortunately, Bečej equalized at the end of the first half. In the locker room, we regrouped a little and agreed on what to do in the second half. We stuck to the plan and won. The points are important, but spring in our league is unusual, because all the teams fighting to stay up are picking up points. That’s why we must forget our win in Bečej as soon as possible and focus on what lies ahead: our away match against Omladinac in Novi Banovci,” said Hajduk head coach Željko Račić.

After their victory in Bečej, Hajduk are twelfth in the table with 27 points, and in the next round they will travel to face Omladinac in Novi Banovci.

The twenty-third round of the Sombor District League was marked by Crvenka, who recorded their most convincing victory of the season so far in front of their home fans: they defeated Radnički from Sombor by 8:0. The visitors are indeed bottom of the table, but it is hard to find motivation against such opponents; it often comes down to simply going through the motions. However, coach Goran Šušilović’s team acted professionally, played very well and filled Radnički’s net. Jovanović and Babić scored two goals each, while Čvokić, Milan Subotić, Končar and Aleksandar Bošković scored one apiece for Crvenka. Rusin hosted Budućnost from Mladenovo in Ruski Krstur and celebrated a 3:2 victory. Goals from Pavlović in the very first minute, followed by Marković and Sajanković, gave the Krstur team an unassailable lead by halftime, as it turned out. In the second half, Rusin coach Zlatko Sajanković gave the youngsters from the youth team a chance, which the visitors took advantage of to reduce the deficit. Most importantly, however, Rusin added three points to their tally. Our third representative, Lipar, lost 2:1 away to Borac in Bački Gračac. Given that Lipar travelled to this match with only eleven players, little else could have been expected. Luka Živko scored Lipar’s goal. After twenty-three rounds, Rusin are fourth in the table with 46, Lipar are eleventh with 27, and Crvenka are twelfth with 26 points. In round 24, Rusin travel to league leaders Bratstvo in Prigrevica, Crvenka visit Vojvodina in Tovariševo, and Lipar host Radnički from Ratkovo.

With their away win against Aleksa Šantić, Kula's footballers retained top spot in the Sombor Intermunicipal League First Division. In round 20 of the championship, Kula beat the hosts in Aleksa Šantić 4:2. Nebojša Popović scored twice for Kula, while Bortnik and Licemberger scored one goal each. Polet beat Dinamo from Bački Breg 6:3 in Sivac. The hosts played somewhat casually in the first half, which the visitors took advantage of, and the teams went into the break tied at 2:2. In the second half, Polet's footballers “stepped up a gear,” scoring four more goals for a convincing win. Milišić and Vukašinović scored twice each for Polet against Dinamo, while Romić and Pejanović scored one goal apiece. Mladost hosted OFK Odžaci in Kruščić, a team vying for promotion. The visitors from Odžaci lived up to their status as favorites and beat Mladost 2:0. After twenty rounds, Kula are top of the table with 43 points, Polet are fifth with 32, and Mladost are ninth with 20 points. In the next, 21 round of the championship, Kula have a bye, Polet visit OFK Odžaci, and Mladost visit Omladinac in Bukovac.

The 14 annual Easter mini-handball tournament was held in Crvenka on Saturday. This way of promoting sport, and handball in particular, was brought to our area by Milorad Lajić, founder of Handball Club “Laki.”

“About fifteen years ago, I took part in a handball coaching seminar in Denmark, where I saw mini-handball for the first time. A hall full of children and parents… The little ones running after the ball, having fun, cheering each other on—I liked it. We were the first in Serbia to start, and this is already the fourteenth time our club has organized a tournament like this,” says Lajić.

Handball Club “Laki” hosted almost 150 boys and girls from fourteen clubs in the West Bačka District at its 14 Easter Tournament. A mini-handball team consists of four players and a goalkeeper, and matches last ten minutes, so each team played at least three games. Serbia’s current international Jovana Jovović also got her start at tournaments like this. The Handball Federation of Serbia, which provided balls for the participating teams, and the Handball Federation of Vojvodina gave wholehearted support to Handball Club “Laki” in organizing the Easter mini-handball tournament. After a group photo, all participants also received an egg as a gift, handed out by Serbia internationals from the 2006 age group, Anželi Lovre and Jovana Mišković.

Đ. Bojanić