The Lucko Gazette
Match8 Aug 2026
No mercy from Lucko
Varteks will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Lucko were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A brace, and Josip Šoljić takes the afternoon — 7.96
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Josip Šoljić provided it, and the 7.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Ivan Ninčević arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Ivan Ninčević has, at Lucko, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Mario Karadakić at 20 — 7.96
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mario Karadakić did not need any: 7.96, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Mario Babić yet — 8.32
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.32 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Frane Runjić pops up at the right end — 7.82
7.82, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Door shut on Florent Shehu
Lucko asked and HNK Rijeka said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
Lucko supporters have found a favourite in Frane Runjić
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Frane Runjić has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market10 Aug 2026
Lucko promote Hrvoje Livaja from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hrvoje Livaja has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- Market Fran Knezevic steps up from the Lucko academy
- Market One of our own: Goran Kovacevic joins the Lucko first team
- Market One of our own: Ivica Petkovic joins the Lucko first team