Week 20 brings us a match on Feb 3rd, where Istra 1961 and Varaždin will play a match in Pula in a clash of these two evenly matched 1. HNL teams. The game day is forecasted to be a cloudy and cool day, with daytime temperatures of only 8 degrees, which will make playing unpleasant. Istra 1961 sits at 6th place in the tables. In their last match they recorded a 3-0 shutout win against Hajduk Split. Ante Erceg struck first for Istra 1961 in the 29th minute, then Einar Galilea added another in the 53rd minute At the end of 90 a dissapointed Hajduk Split couldn’t manage to score, and Istra 1961 took the shutout win. Istra 1961 is looking for direction having earned 16 points in their last 10 matches, while 4th placed Varaždin is fresh off their 1-0 shutout win against Slaven Koprivnica. Tonio Teklić struck first for Varaždin in the 89th minute from the penalty spot, and that single goal was all that was necessary as neither team could manage any more scoring In the end, Slaven Koprivnica couldn’t muster any offence and Varaždin ran away with the shutout win. Varaždin is looking for direction having earned 12 points in their last 10 matches.
In their last match together, in Stadion Anđelko Herjavec, Varaždin and Istra 1961 battled to a 1-1 draw. Tonio Teklić struck first for Varaždin in the 37th minute, then F. Cáseres tied it up for Istra 1961 in the 69th minute squeezing out at least the one point for Istra 1961.
Kolaric and Fran Brodić are the top scorers for Varaždin in the last five matches, but unfortunately they only have one goal. It’s hard to imagine having success with those stats. Istra 1961’s top weapon lately has been Ante Erceg, who has two goals in the last five matches.