Istra 1961 beat Rudeš 3-2 at the Aldo Drosina Stadium on Saturday in the Croatian First League, round seven. Emil Frederiksen scored three times for the hosts before Rudeš pulled one back late on through Lenny Ilecic.
Frederiksen opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the eleventh minute and added a second just before half-time. The Dane made it three in the fifty-eighth minute, and that stood until Cherno Saho's goal for Rudeš in the eighty-fifth minute. Ilecic then scored in the eighty-ninth minute to make it interesting.
By then Istra had already built a cushion that Rudeš could never quite reach. Marko Stolnik went off after picking up a yellow card in the thirty-fifth minute, and Hamza Jaganjac turned yellow in the fifty-eighth minute before being substituted himself. Lovre Rogić also saw a yellow card in the seventieth minute for the visitors.
Istra kept 57 per cent of possession and took thirteen shots, four on target. Rudeš had 43 per cent possession, took fifteen shots, five on target. The hosts created three big chances to Rudeš's two, and the difference in shots accuracy—36 per cent against 33 per cent—tells you how clinical Istra were.
The win moves Istra to nine points, keeping them in sixth place after seven games. Rudeš remain ninth with just three points from seven matches, still searching for their first victory of the season.