Rudar saw off Dravinja 3-1 in the Second Slovenian League on Monday evening, a match that produced four goals in the first half alone. The hosts moved into their eighth round of the regular season with a decisive victory at home. Dravinja dropped further down the table after failing to find a way past a resilient Rudar defence for large stretches of the game. And here's the thing — the scoreline tells only part of the story.
Two goals in quick succession gave Rudar an early grip on proceedings. The first arrived in the fifteenth minute, catching Dravinja flat-footed. By then the visitors had already surrendered territory and were struggling to get into rhythm. The second goal followed shortly after, in the twenty-first minute, and Rudar were suddenly in control of the tempo.
Dravinja did not go away without a fight. They pulled one back in the seventy-fifth minute, giving themselves a lifeline. But Rudar were not done yet. They added a fourth goal in the eighty-eighth minute to seal the result and put the game out of reach.
Recent form suggests this was a result Rudar deserved. They had lost their last away match 2-0 to Ilirija before this run, but since then they have won three of four games, including a 4-3 thriller against Brežice. Dravinja, meanwhile, have not won since their 3-1 victory over Bistrica. They have lost four of their last five league outings and are closing in on trouble.
The result leaves Rudar in eighth place with twelve points from seven games. Dravinja remain in fifteenth, four points from safety after seven matches. The gap between them is widening, and the visitors will need to turn things around quickly.
