Spartak Zdrepčeva KRV Seizes Lifeline with First-Half Surge, Sinks Radnički Niš to Ignite Survival Hopes
On a brisk October afternoon at Gradski stadion, FK Spartak Zdrepčeva KRV delivered their boldest statement of the Super Liga season, dispatching Radnički Niš 2-0 with a sudden, ruthless two-goal burst that snapped the malaise of recent months and rekindled a flicker of hope in their survival campaign.
For a side whose autumn has been one of frustrations and near-misses, the opening minutes sparkled with uncharacteristic clarity and conviction. Spartak, anchored in 15th place and two points adrift of safety at kickoff, stormed out with intent, recalibrating the familiar script of late-game heartbreak. Just thirteen minutes in, Ghanaian striker Kwaku Bonsu Osei Gaucho—whose pace and physicality have too often lacked the necessary service—became the architect of possibility, latching onto a clever threaded ball at the edge of the penalty arc. A single touch to evade his marker, and Gaucho rifled low past Radnički keeper Marko Đorđević, a finish as precise as it was cathartic.
Barely had the visitors regained their shape when Spartak struck again. Merely two minutes after the opener, chaos ensued from a whipped corner on the right; the ball pinballed through a congested area before being bundled over the line. The scorer’s identity was shrouded by a mass of bodies and raised appeals, but the roar from the home end told its own story: for the first time since late September, Spartak had a two-goal cushion and genuine momentum, thanks to that decisive strike in the 15th minute.
Radnički, battered by their own run of inconsistent results, struggled to impose themselves. Recent victories—most notably the 4-2 home win over Radnik Surdulica—offered little solace against Spartak’s intensity. The Niš side, now winless in three of their last four, labored in midfield but found their forward line muzzled by Spartak’s reinvigorated defense. Radivoj Bosić, so often the spark for Radnički, was marshaled with discipline, his runs tracked, his lanes closed.
The sense of urgency emanating from Gradski stadion hardly surprised the home faithful. Spartak, mired in the lower reaches with only two wins from eleven entering the match, had been haunted by narrow losses—0-1 at IMT Novi Beograd, 0-2 at Radnički 1923—and defensive collapses like the 2-5 defeat to Partizan. But with the embers of those disappointments still warm, Sunday’s response was one of collective resolve. Danijel Kolaric and Nemanja Milunović, recent contributors in rare victories, pressed high and broke up Radnički’s attempts to build rhythm.
The encounter might have simmered into a test of nerves, but Spartak largely controlled the tempo. The hosts absorbed what little firepower Radnički could muster after halftime, conceding territory but never composure. The second period was short on clear-cut chances, but high on tension: Radnički’s best look arrived in the 64th, a looping header from Miloš Spasić that grazed the bar and left Spartak keeper Luka Milinković scrambling, heart in mouth. Discipline held, however—no rash tackles, no cards to stain the stat sheet, just a side determined to protect its slender lifeline.
By the final whistle, the ramifications in the bottom half of the table were clear. Spartak’s second win in their last six matches draws them to within just two points of Radnički, who remain stranded on 11 points and see their own safety buffer erode further. With the bottom of the Super Liga congested in both points and confidence, the margins for error grow thinner by the week.
For all the relief and celebration in Subotica, questions remain for Radnički Niš. Three defeats in their last five and a record that now reads just three wins from eleven threaten to unravel their early promise. Their head-to-head record with Spartak is typically cagey—never more than a single goal separating these sides in their previous three league meetings—but on this occasion, it was the home side whose decisiveness carried the day.
The road ahead for Spartak Zdrepčeva KRV is daunting. The victory, hard-won as it was, merely pauses the descent. Fixtures against top-half opposition loom, and the threat of the drop still hangs heavy. Yet if Sunday’s display showed anything, it is that in this corner of Serbia, belief is not yet extinct. For Radnički, meanwhile, the specter of relegation has become more than a distant threat. Urgency, once a whisper, must become their rallying cry.
October nights are growing colder. For Spartak Zdrepčeva KRV, though, the air tonight carries the warmth of renewal—and the faint, unmistakable scent of hope, alive once more.