Partizan made a great comeback to win IMT 3-2 away with goals from Saldanha, Natcho and Nikolic.
We spoke to Natcho, Belic and Nikolic after the game.
Kristijan Belic:
-It was a good game, we showed character after trailing 2-0. It didn`t looked good but we showed what we are made of, got back into the game and believed we could get a result. On the other hand, praise goes to IMT players, their young team showed quality.
It was a quality game overall and it`s good we created so much opportunities. We didn`t positioned well when IMT was attacking us but that`s a football game – you just want to get a ball. As I said, one quality match against good opposition. This means a lot to us and we want to keep this pace after the international break. Basically, we believed we can do what we want today.
Bibars Natcho:
-Once again, we played a very tough game. We were not clever, kept missing our opportunities and conceded from counter-attacks naively. We brought this on ourselves but managed to make a comeback and that`s all that matters.
Nemanja Nikolic:
-After such tough game and failure in Europe, I would like to underline full collectivity within the squad. We are as one all the time and we were rewarded for our commitment this time around. We deserved to win as we believed we can win until the final whistle. I think we had over 20 shots in total and missed so many good opportunities.
IMT plays great football game and praise goes to their players. They always pick excellent transition play solutions and it`s no wonder they already scored 12 goals in the league.
There is a story behind the goal I scored and I`ll be honest to say it`s a result of phenomenal human relationship I have with boss Duljaj. I asked him to attend a wedding on Saturday, I was to be the best man to my childhood mate and he granted me permission, maybe some other coach wouldn`t. That says enough about Duljaj, his greatness. Sometimes, you don`t gain authority by being rigorous but with understanding and mutual trust involved. He jokingly said to me that if I was to be the best man at the wedding, I`m obliged to score a goal on Sunday when I come in, the outcome turned out for the best! There you go – this goal is part of the wedding present but I have to underline once more how coach Duljaj is one of the most honest people I met in my career. He is ready to die for Partizan, as he was as a player.
The goal itself is a result of great communication with Saldanha who is a class goalscorer but he has a feel and view of the field to know when to pass the ball as he did on numerous occasions tonight. This is my first goal in my second Partizan spell. It seems my childhood mate had to get married to push my luck (Nikolic laughs).