Celik Zenica in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Football Cup

Celik Zenica will be looking to provide the perfect birthday
gift for their Robijasi fans when they take on Siroki Brijeg
in Zenica today.
(Source: scu1988.blogspot.com)

In just over four hours' time, Celik Zenica will take to the pitch at the city's Bilino Polje stadium to tackle Siroki Brijeg in the second leg of their quarter-final tie of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Cup.

The result of the first match, played on this day in Siroki Brijeg two weeks ago, was a 1-all draw - providing Celik with a fantastic opportunity this afternoon to win through to the next stage of the competition on home soil.

On paper, the fixture seems a bit of a mis-match; Siroki sit third on the BiH League table, whilst Celik remain languishing in ninth position. However, it is worth noting that Celik are unbeaten in their last seven matches, and, in fact, defeated Siroki in the league competition in Zenica when they were 2-1 victors back in August. Mind you, it is also worth pointing out that Siroki have lost just one of their 14 matches since that fixture.

One thing is for certain: it will be a tense match, with plenty on the line.

Should Celik progress through to the semi-finals of the competition, it will place them one step closer to realising their dream of returning to European competition. For that to occur, however, they would almost certainly have to win the Cup competition, or hope that they play-off in the Final with the winner of the league competition.

The Zenica side made the final of the BiH Cup in the 2010-11 season, only to lose out convincingly to Bosnian heavyweights Zeljeznicar over two legs.

The last time Celik played in European competition was in 2008, when they were knocked out in the first round of the now-defunct Intertoto Cup by Montenegro outfit OFK Grbalj.

Nonetheless, there is a long way to go before Celik is in Europe again. A good result against Siroki Brijeg today is an absolute must! I'll be on the stadium this afternoon to lend my support as usual.

PS. Happy birthday to the supporters' group of Celik Zenica - Robijasi - who celebrated their 24th birthday a number of days ago (not a bad innings for a group of fans!). I'm sure a win today would be the perfect present for them.

' .. bit ce Celik opet sampion ..'