Rijeka secured a narrow 2:1 victory over Rudeš in the opening round of the HNL regular season on Sunday evening. The hosts controlled proceedings from the outset, taking the lead through J. Lasickas in the thirty-first minute. D. Adu Adjei doubled their advantage just before the hour mark before S. Vukic pulled one back for the visitors with ten minutes remaining.
And here's the thing — the match wasn't decided by volume of chances. Rijeka kept knocking on the door throughout, creating four big opportunities while Rudeš managed none. The visitors kept their side in it with efficiency, converting three shots on target from just four attempts, whereas the hosts had to work harder for their returns.
Discipline proved important at both ends. J. Poldrugac picked up the first booking for Rudeš before half-time, and by then the visitors were already second to everything. D. Zivulic and J. Puljic went yellow later, adding to the tension as Rijeka looked to see out the game.
The statistics tell the story — Rijeka held 68 per cent possession and registered twenty shots, ten on target. Rudeš offered little in attack but made life difficult with twenty-nine clearances and goalkeeper saves of eight. The hosts dominated aerial duels with eighteen wins, though the visitors matched them on that count.
Coaching changes were made on both sides. Rijeka brought on Xavi and A. Susak together at the hour mark, looking to hold the result. Rudeš responded with Felipe Curcio and T. Fruk, hoping to find another equaliser but coming up short.
For Rijeka, the win keeps them in fifth place with ten points from five matches. They've shown they have the deeper squad when it matters. Rudeš remain ninth on three points from six games, still searching for consistency after a difficult run of results.