Olimpija vs Ludogorec 2:1, Stožice
Olimpija vs Ludogorec was an important match for the club. With a win, this would mean that Olimpija will play in the European Cups at the group level for the first time. I went there with my mother, who wanted to see a football match live again after almost 60 years. I was late with buying tickets and I barely got two (€10 each) in the C sector next to the fans, in row 8.
On the day of the match, we left home a little after 19:00 by taxi (€11). On the way, we look at the black sky and wonder if we will get caught in a storm. We made our way to the seats just before the start of the match, when it started to rain. The fans in the North and East came with realy good energy and cheered throughout the match. There were probably more than 10,000 spectators.
The start of the match belonged to Ludogorets, they were more active. The Ljubljana’s team stopped them with fouls and by the 15th minute they have already received 4 yellow cards. The guests took advantage of this and crowned it in the 16th minute with a goal from a free kick by Despodov, where Vidovšek had no chance. I was already afraid that the match would be a disaster. Fortunately, the Dragons soon woke up and Elšnik equalize after three minutes from another stoppage. Until the end of the half, both teams had a few chances. However, Olympia was more dominant, e.g. Sešlar hits the crossbar. During the break, I went to get a drink (€10) and met Matjaž and his son, where we briefly reminisce.
Olimpija started well in the second half. However, after the opening minutes, the Bulgarians had took over the initiative until the 83rd minute, when Son was penalized with a red card. Olimpija took advantage of the new balance of power in the referee’s overtime when it is in the 92nd minute Elšnik scored again after the corner. But Ludogorec fought to the last breath and in the extra time, which lasted 8 minutes instead of 5, they force an penalty, awarded by referee Dingert after viewing the VAR. We feared the worst, but Vidovšek saved the penalty kick and the celebration began, the fans hit the pitch, full glasses of beer flying in the air and I was completely soaked.
I quickly went home with my mother. Now how to get home, waiting for a taxi in the crowd would be optimistic. Somehow we made it home at 11 pm with two buses soaked from rain, beer and sweat. Still, I was happy because it was one of the better matches I’ve seen live; the home club won a historic victory, the result was uncertain literally until the last second, there was plenty of twists and turns in between, the fans created a great atmosphere and I was happy with the company that follows me.
