Domžale doing better than expected

Titleholders NK Domžale may top the Slovenian table ten rounds into the season, but coach Robert Pevnik is adamant his side did not start the campaign as 1. Liga favourites.

Momentum maintained
With just ten points separating Domžale from bottom team FC Koper, the new season is proving a competitive one – with the early supremacy of the 2007 and 2008 champions even surprising some observers. Because they lost coach Slaviša Stojanović, sporting director Nenad Protega and leading scorer Dario Zahora over the summer, Domžale had been expected to dip, but Pevnik maintained their forward momentum at least for the first eight games.

Measured response
The wheels came off a little, with a 3-0 loss at NK Drava and a 3-3 draw at NK Primorje sandwiching a 4-1 cup defeat by second division strugglers NK Livar. Pevnik, though, was in no mood to complain. "Overall, we have to be satisfied, because very few people expected us to be top after the first quarter of the campaign," he said. "Maybe in our most recent matches our desire has not been what it should be, but we have to learn from the defeats and take a positive approach."

Provincial battlers
Domžale are level on points with second-placed NK Maribor – a side widely tipped to be among the frontrunners. The same cannot be said, however, of NK Nafta Lendava, who are two points back in third position. Damir Rob's team have no star players, yet the club from Slovenia's easternmost region, Prekmurje, have proved the equal of most of their opponents. Their excellent home record means few sides relish a trip to the Mestni Stadium.

Broken dreams
Drava, coached by former Yugoslavian international Ljubinko Drulović, are overachieving in fourth spot, while promoted NK Rudar Velenje are more than holding their own under Marijan Pušnik in fifth. But broken dreams predominate in the lower reaches. Three-time champions NK Gorica are third from bottom, above NK IB Ljubljana – who have the biggest budget in the league – and Koper, who must be wondering what went wrong after finishing second last term.