MYTANAR TOP LEAGUE 26/27 SEASON REVIEW PART 2
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 11
1896 Ebor 1–0 Rudar
Nyva 1–2 Olympic
Tekstil 2–0 Liria
1923 Esca 1–2 Atletik
Energija-Nuklearna 0–5 Ararat
CDSA 1–1 Crvena Zvezda
Arka 3–1 Pretia
FK Magevskaya 3–3 Partizan
Zdeslav Nesic's team got a hard-earned victory over Rudar, who made things very difficult for the Northmen. Majdandzic's header was the sole goal of the game and it meant that 1896 Ebor seized the first victory since Matchday 5. Olympic secured top spot for themselves with a solid if unspectacular win in Zvornik, it wasn't pretty but it was the sort of performance that wins you the league title - at times scrappy and disjointed - could it really be Olympic's year? Olympic secured top spot for themselves due to Liria's defeat in Ibon. Tekstil were brilliant, their performance was organised and they didn't allow Liria a sniff of goal in the entire game - something which will worry Danek Badjkev no end. Mersudin Smajic's double, one before and one after half-time, got the three points for Tekstil. Atletik moved up to 2nd with a second-half comeback courtesy of goals from the Andrijasevic twins, cancelling out Nanusevski's first-half stunner. Ararat perhaps finally displayed that new attacking style that Misel Ravnjak had talked-up prior to the season, Aaliyah Johnson took the match ball home with her after her hat-trick. Vasya Kanadin will be disappointed in how his side fell apart after the first couple went in, though. Arka made it 4 wins in a row after comprehensively beating Pretia in Snezhnaya, Lamarca added two more to his tally for the campaign. FK Magevskaya and Partizan played out the game of the round and couldn't be separated at the end of it, a point for each of them but both teams would have been hoping for a little bit more. Olexandr Sokolenko finally notched his first (and second) goal for his hometown team.
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 12
Rudar 2–1 Partizan
Pretia 1–0 FK Magevskaya
Crvena Zvezda 1–1 Arka
Ararat 0–2 CDSA
Atletik 2–0 Energija-Nuklearna
Liria 3–2 1923 Esca
Olympic 3–0 Tekstil
1896 Ebor 3–3 Nyva
Olympic look like they mean serious business here, Tekstil have been a very good team so far this season and on Matchday 12 Olympic turned up and were simply too good. Ask any Olympic fan if they're starting to believe and the answer will still be no, they've suffered too much heartache to trust their team at this early juncture. Jzvanic, Petrovic and D'Aramitz scored the goals in front of a raucous home crowd. Atletik kept pace with their local rivals with a 2-0 win over Energija-Nuklearna, whilst Liria were made to work hard for their win against a spirited 1923 Esca side. Sava Grgurovic has perhaps been a little unlucky in his new job, he has certainly fostered a never-say-die attitude that will serve them well this season. Ararat tasted defeat for the first time this season when CDSA came to Severyan, Zgela and Everdeen grabbed a goal each - their relationship on the field is becoming close to telepathic, although you do feel that if one of the two is missing for a prolonged period CDSA could be in trouble. 1896 Ebor and Nyva couldn't be separated in their 6-goal thriller, whilst two proverbial six-pointers went on at the bottom of the table, Rudar seem to be making Velenija a bit of a fortress in this type of fixture as they ground out a 2-1 win thanks to Marc Bolosan's pair of clinical strikes. Pretia won their game against FK Magevskaya and truth be told they were completely undeserving of the three points - that won't matter a jot to them though as they gained only their second win of the season. The bottom of the table looks very tight at this point:
## Top League Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
12 Rudar 12 3 1 8 7 16 −9 10
13 1923 Esca 12 2 3 7 12 20 −8 9
14 Partizan 12 2 3 7 11 23 −12 9
15 FK Magevskaya 12 1 5 6 7 13 −6 8
16 Pretia 12 2 1 9 9 22 −13 7
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 13
Nyva 1–1 Rudar
Tekstil 1–0 1896 Ebor
1923 Esca 2–2 Olympic
Energija-Nuklearna 0–1 Liria
CDSA 1–2 Atletik
Arka 1–0 Ararat
FK Magevskaya 0–1 Crvena Zvezda
Partizan 0–4 Pretia
The first Avnali Derby of the season ended with what could be an extremely important point gained for Rudar. Nyva were on-top throughout the game, but that man Bolosan got nodded in the equaliser to Derajevic's opener in the 75th minute and then Rudar mustered an extremely creditable rearguard action during the closing stages to seal a point. Tekstil moved up to 4th with their 1-0 win over 1896 Ebor. Aleksic scored his first goal since the Rijeka Derby to win the game for the Ibon side. Olympic dropped points after Strahinja Nanusevski and Edin Zahovic scored a pair of late goals to draw 1923 Esca level at Radnika. That result allowed Atletik to join Olympic on 30 points after they beat CDSA at Psenicova, a goal each for Vesuvia Carrick and Yuanchiki Larrimbe either side of Dejan Zgela's equaliser bringing Atletik the three points there. Liria also moved only a point further back after Alen Zekic headed home only his 3rd goal of the season against Energija-Nuklearna. Ararat fell to only their second defeat against the league's in-form team, Arka have won five of their last six (and drew the other), with Lamarca's 8th goal of the season putting him right in the race for the Golden Boot and his team 6th. Finally, Pretia went to Partizan in the hope that they could gain some, no, absolutely any kind of win. They managed a truly emphatic one following an early red card for Partizan's Neven Kolsa. Drago Danchev celebrated the first hat-trick of his career rather fortuitously, two were penalties.
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 14
Rudar 2–2 Pretia
Crvena Zvezda 2–0 Partizan
Ararat 2–1 FK Magevskaya
Atletik 5–1 Arka
Liria 1–0 CDSA
Olympic 1–2 Energija-Nuklearna
1896 Ebor 3–2 1923 Esca
Nyva 1–0 Tekstil
Atletik moved top with a crushing defeat of Arka, the league's in-form team were dispatched with relative ease, Vesuvia Carrick scored two and set-up two more in a performance which indicates exactly why she's the current favourite with the bookies for the Player of the Season award. Olympic lost to Energija-Nuklearna, many in the media painted it as either a loss of nerve on the part of Olympic Thessia, although truth be told it was perhaps more down to the Miago side's performance than anything else. Maks Shishkin was irresistible at times and he was the one to score the winner, with even the hitherto impressive centre-back partnership of Anac and Jernejec unable to deal with the youngster's dribbling ability. Sava Grgurovic's tenure in-charge of 1923 Esca is turning into a bit of a nightmare, his side went 2-0 up only to concede three goals in the last fifteen minutes against 1896 Ebor, turning a sure-win into a devastating loss through some shocking defending. Pan Alfan-Zylyz got the winner and is turning into a bit of a super sub for the Northmen this season. The third (!), Tsrvena Derby of the season was - like the first two in the National Cup - won by Crvena Zvezda. Grigorij Savicevic scored a towering header and put in a man-of-the-match performance from centre-half, the experience of Azanovic and Bobic alongside him clearly rubbing off on the youngster.
NATIONAL CUP THIRD ROUND
Third Round
BVK Dinamo 2–6 Rudar 2–3 0–3
Lok. Cassia 1–5 Tekstil 1–3 0–2
Slovan 4–2 Atletik 3–2 1–0
Pretia 1–3 1896 Ebor 1–1 0–2
Zeljeznicar 1–2 FK Magevskaya 0–2 1–0
Ararat 2–2 a Crvena Zvezda 2–1 0–1
Energija-Nuklearna 4–1 Arsenal 1–0 3–1
Arka a 3–3 Torpedo 1–1 2–2
Rudar may be in a relegation scrap but that doesn't mean they aren't trying in the National Cup, a solid win in the first leg against BVK Dinamo was backed-up with a 3-0 beating at Velenija to secure their progression. Tekstil were dominant over the two legs against Lok. Cassia, whilst their Rijeka Derby rivals Atletik were subject to the upset of the round. Slovan dispatched with Mytanija's most successful club 4-2 on aggregate in an enormous shock, Adem Fejzic could well be in trouble if he doesn't win a trophy this season and the National Cup now isn't an option for him. All credit to the Eskobirsk side though. 1896 Ebor kept their hopes of winning a first trophy since the 20/21 season alive after they beat Pretia 3-1 on aggregate, whilst FK Magevskaya negotiated a tricky tie against Druga Liga Zeljeznicar with a 2-1 win, although the second leg was made nervy after Zeljeznicar went 1-0 up, but FK Magevskaya held on to go through. Ararat versus Crvena Zvezda was the tie of the round and it didn't disappoint in an enthralling tactical encounter, Luka Kostic demonstrated he could win a big game without Jezdimir Ocokoljic although it was by the skin of his (and his team's) teeth, they lost 2-1 in the away leg but that all-important away goal was indeed crucial in the end, their 1-0 win at home paved the way for them to progress on away goals. Misel Ravnjak was apoplectic in the post-match press conference, complaining about the referees, the weather and his counterpart, with the FSM believed to be investigating his comments. Energija-Nuklearna dealt with Arsenal fairly easily, the team that slayed Liria were comparatively meek in this tie, although they did only lose 1-0 in Miago, a creditable performance. Finally, Arka were nearly upset by Torpedo Vershina, having to rely on away goals to progress.
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 15
Tekstil 1–1 Rudar
1923 Esca 2–0 Nyva
Energija-Nuklearna 0–1 1896 Ebor
CDSA 1–1 Olympic
Arka 0–2 Liria
FK Magevskaya 2–4 Atletik
Partizan 0–1 Ararat
Pretia 0–2 Crvena Zvezda
Atletik won a topsy-turvy encounter with FK Magevskaya thanks to four unanswered second-half goals, the Thessia side found themselves two goals down in the opening ten minutes thanks to goals from Olexandr Sokolenko and Rais Andaya, but a second-half fightback ensued as Zlatan Andrijasevic, Fejzuli and then two late goals from substitute Safet Smajlovic took the three points back to the Novi Atletskistadion. FK Magevskaya look like they could be in bit of bother at the other end of the table at the halfway point in the league season. Liria kept pace with their close rivals with a routine win over Arka, Anton-Dusan Straka and Radovan Pogaenik with the goals. The Klasicni clubs now find themselves a little way clear of 3rd place Olympic as they drew away to CDSA. Ararat now have Olympic in their sights after their 1-0 win over Partizan, Aaliyah Johnson's goal the difference between the sides. Tekstil drew with Rudar, a result the away side will be ecstatic with, they weren't expected to get anything from the game but they could return south to Uchenik with a hard-earned point. Crvena Zvezda have been resurgent in recent weeks and they demonstrated this with a comfortable 2-0 win over Pretia, Chen Zexi with a brace for the Tsrvena side there. 1896 Ebor won in a battle of "Teams Who Used To Be Quite Good, But Aren't That Great Now" against Energija-Nuklearna. That win lifted them above the Miago side (and CDSA and Nyva), to 8th. Here's a quick look at the league table at the mid-way point of the season:
## Top League Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
01 Atletik 15 11 3 1 38 17 +21 36
02 Liria 15 11 2 2 29 16 +13 35
03 Olympic 15 9 4 2 31 15 +16 31
04 Ararat 15 8 5 2 22 10 +12 29
05 Tekstil 15 7 4 4 21 19 +2 25
06 Crvena Zvezda 15 6 5 4 20 13 +7 23
07 Arka 15 5 5 5 24 25 −1 20
08 1896 Ebor 15 5 5 5 20 23 −3 20
09 CDSA 15 5 4 6 18 19 −1 19
10 Energija-Nuklearna 15 4 6 5 12 18 −6 18
11 Nyva 15 4 5 6 16 20 −4 17
12 1923 Esca 15 3 4 8 18 25 −7 13
13 Rudar 15 3 4 8 11 20 −9 13
14 Pretia 15 3 2 10 15 26 −11 11
15 Partizan 15 2 3 10 11 30 −19 9
16 FK Magevskaya 15 1 5 9 10 20 −10 8
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 16
Rudar 0–4 Crvena Zvezda
Pretia 0–2 Ararat
Partizan 0–2 Atletik
FK Magevskaya 0–1 Liria
Arka 1–3 Olympic
CDSA 0–1 1896 Ebor
Energija-Nuklearna 2–1 Nyva
1923 Esca 1–0 Tekstil
Not one draw in the Top League on Matchday 16, not one! Crvena Zvezda's resurgence continued with a crushing win over Rudar in Uchenik, João Silva was instrumental in the victory from central midfield, his double combined with two assists meaning he was involved in every goal the away side scored. He's quickly becoming their key player this year. All of the top four retained their position as they won, Ararat got yet another clean sheet in their 2-0 win over Pretia, whilst Zlatan Andrijasevic notched his 8th and 9th goals of the season as Atletik beat Partizan. Liria compounded FK Magevskaya's misery at the foot of the table with their 1-0 win and Olympic dealt with Arka fairly easy, an unexpected Sasa Zebic hat-trick bringing them the three points. 1896 Ebor moved up to 7th after Petar Majdandzic's strike was the only goal in their win away at CDSA. There's an argument that Vasya Kanadin's Energija-Nuklearna are the most inconsistent side in Mytanar football at the minute, one game they can come out and look brilliant, the next they can be awful. Some games they can show no resistance whatsoever and sometimes (like in their 2-1 win over Nyva), they can show some mettle and come from a goal down to take the points. Kanadin will want to fix this inconsistency as soon as possible. 1923 Esca beat Tekstil to give themselves some breathing room ahead of those fighting it out from 13th downwards, Strahinja Nanusevski scored the winner, his 6th of the season.
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 17
1923 Esca 2–0 Rudar
Tekstil 2–0 Energija-Nuklearna
Nyva 2–2 CDSA
1896 Ebor 2–0 Arka
Olympic 2–0 FK Magevskaya
Liria 1–2 Partizan
Atletik 2–2 Pretia
Ararat 1–0 Crvena Zvezda
Atletik were unexpectedly held by Pretia in a result nobody could have predicted pre-game, Drago Danchev's late penalty gaining a potentially enormous point for the away side. Liria managed to do worse than their rivals from Thessia, though, by losing to Partizan. Those two results allowed Olympic and Ararat back into the fight and both duly obliged with victories over FK Magevskaya (who look in real trouble, now four points adrift of Partizan in 15th and five away from safety), and Crvena Zvezda respectively. Tekstil got back to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Energija-Nuklearna, Nebojsa Aleksic recovering from his second mini-drought of the season with a fine brace. Tekstil are 7 points back on Ararat in 4th, so would need some results going their way to harbour hope of a really unexpected Globe Cup spot. The Northern Derby at the Olujastadion is an iconic game in Mytanar football and the Northmen got a great victory this time around, Majdandzic seems to be coming into form at a great time and he headed two past Jozi Peklenik to seal the win here. Nyva and CDSA's talismans cancelled each other out, Derajevic and Zhivkov's goals were interspersed between Zgela and Everdeen's as both teams got a point in Zvornik. 1923 Esca beat Rudar in a result that arguably ended their involvement in the relegation battle, Zahovic's goal and assist got him the man-of-the-match award and put his team 6 points clear of their opponents, a gap which will likely be enough for 1923 Esca to be comfortably ahead of those seriously worried about relegation at the end of the season. Sava Grgurovic will not rest on his laurels though, he'll be aware that there's still a long way to go.
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 18
Rudar 2–2 Ararat
Crvena Zvezda 1–2 Atletik
Pretia 0–3 Liria
Partizan 2–2 Olympic
FK Magevskaya 2–0 1896 Ebor
Arka 0–1 Nyva
CDSA 3–1 Tekstil
Energija-Nuklearna 1–1 1923 Esca
Well, it's increasingly looking like we will have our first title race between the Klasicni clubs for a few years, Olympic and Ararat are both excellent teams built on solid defences but they both dropped points to lowly opposition on Matchday 18. Rudar at Velenija is turning into a nightmare proposition for almost any Top League side and this was again proven as the Ararat were held to a 2-2 draw in Uchenik. Aaliyah Johnson's brace was not enough to get the three points as Marc Bolosan and Thorvar Spinkvik scored to secure Rudar a share of the spoils. Olympic were also held to a 2-2 scoreline away at Partizan, disappointing for Olympic who are now five points behind Atletik at the top, not an unassailable gap but one that will be difficult to overturn given how good Atletik look. They have the look of champions and this was demonstrated in Tsrvena as Atletik beat last season's Top League winners Crvena Zvezda. They were made to work hard for the victory though, going 1-0 down to a fine finish from Chen Zexi. The woman who they look to for inspiration, Vesuvia Carrick, promptly provided some with a brilliant free kick that some may not have believed was in her repertoire. She then assisted from the byline for Larrimbe's winner, a combination that has occurred more and more over the course of the season. Liria stayed within touching distance of Atletik with their 3-0 win in the Prizren Derby, Anton-Dusan Straka wrote himself into Liria folklore with a hat-trick at the Pretia Stadion, a feat that not even the great Miki Sipilainen could achieve. FK Magevskaya got an important win over 1896 Ebor, closing the gap to Pretia directly above them to a single point. The bottom four are now separated by only three points. Elaine Everdeen lived up to the banner CDSA revealed pre-game declaring her to be 'simply the best' as she marked her 100th appearance for the club. CDSA's captain scored two and set-up Dejan Zgela as they beat Tekstil 3-1 at Psenicova.
NATIONAL CUP QUARTER FINAL
Quarter Final
Energija-Nuklearna 3–1 Arka 1–0 2–1
1896 Ebor 4–2 Tekstil 0–1 4–1
Slovan 0–1 Crvena Zvezda 0–0 0–1
FK Magevskaya 3–6 Rudar 2–3 1–3
We get to the real business end of the Cup here, with the final eight teams battling it out for a place in the Semi Finals. There was only one side from outside the Top League left, Slovan Eskobirsk, the team that disposed of Atletik Thessia in the last round. They were rewarded with a tie against last season's National Cup winners, Crvena Zvezda. 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire' is a phrase that springs to mind. Energija-Nuklearna kept their National Cup hopes alive as they beat Arka 3-1 on aggregate, Mijat Simic scored his first goal for the club in the second leg to confirm their passage through to the final four. 1896 Ebor put in an excellent second leg performance to beat Tekstil rather comprehensively 4-1, they were worried after the first leg though as Nebojsa Aleksic's penalty gave the Ibon side a 1-0 lead going into the second leg. Zdeslav Nesic's men did what they needed to do in the return leg, though. Then we come to Slovan! They nearly did it again, a 0-0 draw at home a brilliant result as they prevented Crvena Zvezda from getting any away goals - meaning a 1-1 draw in Tsrvena would be enough to see them through to the next round. Sadly, Crvena Zvezda scraped through as Luka Kostic took his side one step closer to defending the National Cup. Rudar and FK Magevskaya met in a Quarter Final that they may both have preferred to do without, they're both involved in a relegation mire at the bottom of the Top League and the extra fixtures could deplete their already small squads. Still, they fought it out like they didn't have a care in the world, the 3-2 game in the first leg arguably the single best Cup game of the season. Rudar shaded that one and took a slender lead back to Velenija where they ripped through the FK Magevskaya defence to go 3-0 up before allowing a late consolation. Rudar progress. Looking ahead to the Semi Finals: Crvena Zvezda were drawn against Energija-Nuklearna and 1896 Ebor were drawn against Rudar. The Northmen will fancy their chances of ending their trophy drought from this position, you would think.
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 19
Energija-Nuklearna 4–3 Rudar
1923 Esca 0–1 CDSA
Tekstil 2–2 Arka
Nyva 3–0 FK Magevskaya
1896 Ebor 3–2 Partizan
Olympic 3–0 Pretia
Liria 1–0 Crvena Zvezda
Atletik 4–1 Ararat
Well, Atletik look near unstoppable at the minute and they absolutely ripped through the league's best defence throughout the game at the Novi Atletskistadion on Matchday 19. Misel Ravnjak looked extremely pensive at times on the sidelines as Carrick (1), Larrimbe (1) and Zlatan Andrijasevic (2) combined delightfully throughout the game to put Atletik 4-0 up and Kobro's late consolation did nothing to improve his mood. Liria got a very important three points in their cagey 1-0 win over Crvena Zvezda, Alen Zekic scored the game's only goal as the Prizren club stay only two points back on their great rivals. Olympic also maintained their gap to the leaders with a solid 3-0 win over Pretia, Jzvanic scored for the first time since Matchday 12, ending the drought with a fine brace. All of the bottom four lost, in varying ways: Rudar were involved in the game of the round, a seven-goal thriller against Energija-Nuklearna, losing out by the odd goal. Not to be outdone (at least not by too much), Partizan were beaten by the odd goal in five by 1896 Ebor. Nyva crushed FK Magevskaya in Zvornik, Derajevic's hat-trick perhaps acting as a reminder to Robin Hjik that he can still score goals and could do a job for the national team (his infamous attitude issues seem to have dissipated as he has matured).
TOP LEAGUE MATCHDAY 20
Rudar 2–7 Atletik
Ararat 2–2 Liria
Crvena Zvezda 1–4 Olympic
Pretia 1–1 1896 Ebor
Partizan 1–2 Nyva
FK Magevskaya 5–2 Tekstil
Arka 2–0 1923 Esca
CDSA 1–0 Energija-Nuklearna
Atletik are rampant right now (13 goals in their last 3 games and they've won 9 out of their last 10 - drawing the other) and opened up a four point gap as Liria were held to a draw against Ararat in Severyan. Atletik beat Rudar 7-2 at Velenija, Vesuvia Carrick scored four and the Atletik supporters were singing the Brenecian's name long into the night following her superlative performance. At full-time, the Kippax Ofras' capo handed her the megaphone and encouraged her to lead the club anthem as the travelling support celebrated wildly. She struggled through it in broken Thessian, but it is with her performances that she has cemented herself as a fan favourite in her first season with the club. Ararat were clearly second-best against Liria but they battled to a point and the away side will feel that it is definitely two points dropped after going ahead twice and being pegged back each time. Olympic kept themselves in with a shout by thrashing Crvena Zvezda in Tsrvena, Luka Kostic's attention may already be focused on trying to retain the National Cup, they have their Semi Final tie to look forward to. A 1-0 win through Dejan Zgela's goal moves CDSA up to 6th as they beat Energija-Nuklearna in the North Vojovitican Derby. A win apiece for those two in that fixture this season. FK Magevskaya moved themselves out of the relegation zone for the first time in a long while, they beat Tekstil 5-2 in a result nobody saw coming. FK Magevskaya scoring 5 goals in a single game is something that just shouldn't happen this season, but they did it and got an all-important three points Rudar and Partizan both lost (and Pretia drew as mentioned). Arka beat 1923 Esca with Lamarca and Redsmith scoring, a result that puts them ten clear of the drop and will have the club believing that their Top League status is very nearly secured for another year. 1923 Esca may be feeling a little bit more nervous. Let's have a look at the league table following 20 games of the Top League season:
## Top League Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
01 Atletik 20 15 4 1 55 23 +32 49
02 Liria 20 14 3 3 37 20 +17 45
03 Olympic 20 13 5 2 45 19 +26 44
04 Ararat 20 10 7 3 30 18 +12 37
05 1896 Ebor 20 8 6 6 27 28 −1 30
06 CDSA 20 8 5 7 25 23 +2 29
07 Tekstil 20 8 5 7 28 30 −2 29
08 Nyva 20 7 6 7 25 25 0 27
09 Crvena Zvezda 20 7 5 8 26 21 +5 26
10 Energija-Nuklearna 20 6 7 7 19 26 −7 25
11 Arka 20 6 6 8 29 33 −4 24
12 1923 Esca 20 5 5 10 22 29 −7 20
13 FK Magevskaya 20 3 5 12 17 28 −11 14
14 Rudar 20 3 5 12 18 39 −21 14
15 Pretia 20 3 4 13 18 37 −19 13
16 Partizan 20 3 4 13 18 40 −22 13
Atletik lead the way as we head into the home straight, their four point gap isn't enormous but they will feel confident, they've been the best team so far this season and have scored 55 goals in 20 games (ten more than anyone else in the notoriously low scoring Top League). Adem Fejzic may be on the verge of delivering Atletik their 10th Top League title. Vesuvia Carrick is writing herself into Atletik folklore each week, her 16 goals in 20 games leading the goalscoring charts at this point too. Liria are 2nd, their team is built on a stout defence and whilst not as free scoring as Atletik, they can do a bit going forward too. The Klasicni rivals are expected to battle it out for the title but Olympic are only a point further back on Atletik than Liria and everybody remembers their 4-1 win over their greatest rivals earlier in the season, if they could repeat the feat and beat Atletik again in the second meeting of the sides then the league table would become very interesting indeed.
Ararat are a little bit on their own at this point, they've only lost three games all season but draws against teams they should be beating have troubled them. Their low-scoring nature means that as long as you score you have at least a chance, they've the best defence in the league and Kasun remains the best goalkeeper but Ravnjak hasn't managed to implement the more attacking style he promised and that may have cost them the chance of a title this season. 1896 Ebor are 7 points behind Ararat and few would believe they have a chance of catching them, Zdeslav Nesic's team are likely more focused on the National Cup - the Northmen have an eminently winnable Semi Final against relegation-threatened Rudar to look forward to and the chance to end a trophy drought dating back all the way to their famous treble-winning season in 20/21 when they won the Top League, National Cup and UICA Champions' Cup all in the same season. CDSA and Tekstil are a point further back, separated by goal difference. CDSA's reliance on Zgela and Everdeen to contribute goals is obvious, but Alen Hrdaljko's performances behind them have been excellent and he's emerged as a key player for the Decraa club too. Tekstil were brilliant through the first half of the season but in their last five games or so, maybe a couple before that, they've seemingly lost their defensive organisation that characterises Emir Saric's approach. They remain a constant threat on the counter attack for any team in the Top League, but if they can find that hard-nosed defensive organisation again then they may hold out hope of finishing as 'best of the rest' this season.
Nyva are 8th, about where they would expect to finish and are a point ahead of Crvena Zvezda who have suffered an almighty collapse this season. Champions last year, the loss of Ocokoljic and Todorov has hit them very hard and the change in approach to a more defensive formation and mindset - whilst relatively successful going off their excellent defensive stats - hasn't generated the results that Kostic had hoped for. Still, they're in a National Cup Semi Final and two wins would mean they defend the Cup for the first time in their history. Energija-Nuklearna have been as inconsistent under Vasya Kanadin as they were under Branko Tolic and at the minute they look like they may finish more or less where Tolic had the club finishing last season. The club know Kanadin can't perform miracles but they would have been hoping for an improvement in terms of league position. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Miago side over these last few games. Arka look safe from relegation and they'll be pleased with that, Francesc Lamarca - the Audioslavian forward - has been a revelation for them, his 9 goals in 20 games have been pivotal so far and he will be drawing envious eyes from clubs in Mytanija and abroad.
1923 Esca will expect to stay up from this position, but stranger things have happened. Sava Grgurovic has done about as well as he would have expected to do and his move from Partizan to the capital looks like it may pay off: Partizan are bottom and he has his new club 12th, an advert for disloyalty if ever there was one. The bottom four are separated by a point and it really is anyone's guess as to which will manage to retain their Top League status. It's interesting that FK Magevskaya have the best defence out of the four, with the three promoted sides conceding a similar amount, perhaps demonstrating that staying in the Top League for a couple of seasons means a club can build resources to improve their playing staff (in this case, their defenders), but also perhaps evidence that experience of being in a relegation battle and keeping things tight at the back is important. With the teams being so close together, goal difference may not even come into play at the end of the season as a couple of wins could put one team ahead of the others. At the same time, with everyone so close together, FK Magevskaya's much better goal difference could be a huge advantage when the final whistle of the 30th game sounds.
