At the start of the match Olimpija Ljubljana was the first to threaten the opponent’s goal. In the 14th minute Denis Klinar struck the ball from the edge of the penalty area into the lower right corner of goalkeeper Matko Obradović, who saved the goal with a dive. The ball then bounced over to Leon Benko who tried to score with a header but Obradović was once again on the spot.
Vodišek stops Zahović
On the other side the somewhat "inferior" Maribor first threatened to score in the 21st minute, when following some nice passes Luka Zahović hit the ball from the right side of the penalty area. However, goalkeeper Rok Vodišek made a save with his leg.
Fruitless attacks from Olimpija
In the continuation of the match Olimpija was more active and did try to make some plays to score a goal, but the team was always short of one or two good passes to really threaten Maribor’s goalkeeper Obradović. The score at half-time was 0:0.
Zahović assists and Vršič scores
Maribor took the lead in the second half. In a counter-attack in the 48th minute Zahović on the left made a nice pass to Dare Vršič, who ran in and fired the ball with a diagonal strike right under the bar, leaving no chance for goalkeeper Vodišek. With the goal Vršič proved his good form this spring. A little later Zahović found himself in a similar opportunity but failed to take advantage of the situation, sending the ball above the goal. As the match progressed Maribor again let Olimpija take over the initiative, but all its attacks were fruitless.
Two Benko goals and a comeback for Olimpija
And when it seemed that the “Violets” would slowly bring the match to an end, Olimpija staged a comeback with two goals in four minutes by Leon Benko. The Croatian striker first scored in the 81st minute after some unsure play by Maribor’s defenders (Matej Palčič, Marko Šuler). He ran in after a head pass from Blessing Eleke to finish off the play with an attractive bicycle kick, beating goalkeeper Obradović. And in the 85th minute Daniel Avramovski sent in a nice ball from the left into the penalty box. Obradović did not react well allowing Benko to make contact with the ball and place it in the net. The “Dragons” managed to hold on to the minimal lead until the end. After all the blows it received in the last couple of weeks, the Ljubljana football team is now enjoying its first victory over Maribor in their fourth encounter this season.

The final statistics say: ball possession 55:45, shots 13:4, and shots on goal 5:3 - all in Olimpija’s favour.
The return leg will be played on the 12th of April at 17:15h at the Ljudski Vrt stadium in Maribor.

A. V., MMC; translated by K. J.