Kozara Gradiska beat Romania Pale 3:0 in the First League - RS on Friday. The hosts opened the scoring in the twentieth minute and never looked back after that. By then the visitors had already started to look nervous, and the pressure told.
The opening goal changed everything. Kozara Gradiska took the lead and went on to control the tempo. Romania Pale found no answer as the home side moved the ball between the lines with purpose. It was the kind of start that sets the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
The second goal came shortly after the break and killed any hope of a comeback. Romania Pale were second to everything in midfield, and the gap widened. The hosts needed the points badly and took them.
And here's the thing — the third goal sealed the result before the final whistle. Romania Pale had shown they could score against stronger opposition recently, but they could not respond here. The home side ended a barren spell with three clean points.
To be fair, the visitors had arrived with momentum. They had beaten Omarska 3:2 on the previous matchday and won 2:1 against Drina Zvornik. But against a side that knew what was at stake, that form evaporated. We had called for a home win before kick-off, giving the prediction 55 per cent confidence. It came through, and the margin was wider than expected.
This was the fourth stage of the RS campaign, and Kozara Gradiska moved up with confidence. The result ended what had been a mixed run — they had drawn with Potkozarje and lost to Laktaši since their last win. A sell-out crowd saw their side pull away from the middle of the table.