Maribor kept their perfect start to the 1. SNL campaign alive with a 2-0 win over Koper at home on Sunday. The result leaves the hosts top of the table with 16 points after four matches, while Koper move to second place with 15 points. Both sides had won four and drawn four and three respectively before kick-off, so the margin between them was razor-thin.
And here's the thing about the opening goal — Repas found space in the box and finished clinically in the 10th minute. Maribor controlled the tempo after that, playing through the middle with purpose rather than rushing into long balls. Koper tried to stay compact but struggled to win the ball back in their own half. By then, the visitors were already on the back foot, chasing the game rather than shaping it.
The second half brought a change in rhythm. Tomek came on for Koper at the break, a tactical shift that didn't immediately alter the balance. Bangaly picked up a yellow card in the 58th minute, a sign of the pressure building on the away side. Tshipamba pulled one back for Koper in the 65th minute, but Maribor responded with composure, keeping their shape and waiting for their moment.
Substitutions followed in quick succession. Rimac, Goncalves, Irabor, and Repas himself all came off for the hosts, while Koper introduced Viher in the 86th minute. The game opened up a little as both sides looked for a winner, but Maribor's defence held firm. The final yellow card for the match came in stoppage time, a late caution that meant nothing in terms of the result.
The statistics tell a clear story. Maribor dominated possession at 54 per cent and registered 135 attacks compared to Koper's 110. Four shots on target for the hosts yielded two goals, while Koper's single shot on target produced their sole effort. Maribor's shot accuracy of 44 per cent against 17 per cent for the visitors shows where the quality lay in the final third.
To be fair, Koper created better opportunities from set pieces with five corners to Maribor's two, but they couldn't convert that into sustained pressure. The hosts' defensive solidity — two offsides called against them, one blocked shot — meant Koper rarely tested the goalkeeper. Things came to a head when Maribor stopped chasing and started controlling.
By then, the result was never really in doubt. Maribor ground out the win, extending their unbeaten run to four matches and keeping a one-point lead at the summit. Koper remain in the mix, but the gap feels wider now than it did before kick-off.