Partizan won Zeleznicar Pancevo 2-1 away with goals from Saldanha and Zahid.
Ghayas Zahid entered the game on the hour and scored Partizan winner on 82. We spoke to 29-year-old midfielder after the game.
Partizan achieved another win but it was yet another stressful night.
“Yes, I hope for the last time! But, that`s football, it wasn`t easy playing on the artificial and dry turf. These are not excuses, we simply knew it was going to be a tough game but we did our job. They scored from the spot and didn`t create a single opportunity besides that, while we had many. We could have scored more but we are happy for winning this that`s all that matters! If you want to be top of the table by the end of the season, you have to do your job in matches like this one. It`s all about us keep working, battling and I hope will have less stressful matches in the future”, said Zahid.
This team is quite confident in key moments. Eternal derby is in 5 days, what is the most important thing about it? Keep it cool and doing your work in peace and quiet?
“To keep it quiet and to work. Derby is going to be tough, with lots of battles on the field. We will have to be at our best and I believe we`ll be the better team on the day to win it”.
When you arrived we talked about importance of the Eternal derby. There`s lot of foreign players in Partizan roster, are they aware how important it is?
“Yes, I think they know. I cannot wait to feel the derby atmosphere. I played many derbies elsewhere and I know what it is. Eternal derby is well known around the Balkans and around the world and I believe we`ll win it with full effort from us”.
Atmosphere away to Zeleznicar was excellent, stands packed with Partizan fans.
“Upon my arrival, everybody was telling me about how good Partizan fans are and atmosphere they create for a derby game, something rarely seen around Balkans and Europe. I truly want them to pack the stands for the derby game, to get their energy down on the field. I`d like to thank them for their support tonight!”, said Zahid.
