The 2012 Slovenian Cup final was a football match played between

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

and

Maribor Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

on 23 May 2012 at the Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana. It was the final match of the

2011–12 Slovenian Football Cup The 2011–12 Slovenian Football Cup was the 21st season of the Slovenian Football Cup, Slovenia's football knockout competition. Domžale were the defending champions, having won their first Slovenian Cup the previous season. Maribor won their ...

, the 21st season of Slovenia's football knockout competition, the Slovenian Football Cup. Celje were participating in their sixth final; they had previously won one and lost four. Maribor were appearing in their tenth final; they had previously won six and lost three. Celje entered the competition in the first round and Maribor in the second (round of 16) after receiving a bye as one of the top four clubs in the

2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga The 2010–11 Slovenian PrvaLiga was the 20th season of top-tier football in Slovenia. The season began in July 2010 and ended on 29 May 2011. Koper were the defending champions, having won their first the previous season. Teams Drava were dir ...

. Matches up to the quarter-finals were contested on a one-off basis, with

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

and

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

being played if a match ended in a draw. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were played over two legs. To reach the final Celje defeated Grad, Triglav Kranj, Interblock and Šenčur. Maribor's route to the final comprised victories over Adria,

Zavrč Zavrč (, in order sources ''Zavrče'', german: Sauritsch) is a settlement in the Haloze area of Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Zavrč. It lies between the right bank of the Drava River and the border with Croatia. The area trad ...

and

Rudar Velenje Nogometni klub Rudar Velenje ( en, Rudar Velenje Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Rudar Velenje or simply Rudar Velenje, is a Slovenian football club from Velenje which competes in the Slovenian Second League. History The club was fo ...

. Watched by a crowd of 4,132, Alen Romih scored in the 36th minute giving Celje the lead at the end of the first half. Dalibor Volaš was substituted on at the start of the second half and equalised for Maribor in under a minute. The score remained 1–1 after 90 minutes and the game went to extra time. Within a minute of the start Celje restored their lead through Benjamin Verbič. Maribor levelled the scores for a second time in the 99th minute with Matic Črnic scoring. At full-time with the score being 2–2, the cup winners were to be decided by a penalty shoot-out. Celje missed three of their five penalties while Maribor converted three of five to win the shoot-out 3–2. The victory meant Maribor won the Slovenian Football Cup for the seventh time. They later played against their Eternal derby rivals, the

2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga The 2011–12 Slovenian PrvaLiga was the 21st season of the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top-tier football league in Slovenia. The season began on 16 July 2011 and ended on 26 May 2012, with a winter break in effect between 4 December 2011 and 2 March ...

runners-up, Olimpija Ljubljana in the 2012 Slovenian Supercup. Given Maribor had already qualified for Europe as league champions, their UEFA Europa League spot was awarded to runners-up Celje.

Route to the final

Celje

Celje entered the competition in the first round. They were drawn away to Slovenian Third League side Grad. Goals from Saša Bakarič and

Dejan Krljanović Dejan Krljanović (born 12 July 1989) is a retired Slovenian footballer who played as a midfielder. References External linksDejan Krljanovićat NZS * Dejan Krljanovićat ÖFB The Austrian Football Association (german: Österreichischer ...

gave Celje a 2–0 lead at half-time; each team scored one goal in the second half with Celje winning 3–1. Their second round (round of 16) draw was away to fellow PrvaLiga side Triglav Kranj. Iztok Močivnik's twelfth-minute goal was enough for Celje to progress through. Their quarter-final opponents were Second League side Interblock. The first leg was played at Interblock's home stadium. Second half goals from

Andraž Šporar Andraž Šporar (born 27 February 1994) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League Greece club Panathinaikos and the Slovenia national team. Club career Olimpija Ljubljana In June 2012, Šporar transferred ...

and Maximiliano Klebčar gave the home side a surprise 2–0 advantage going into the second leg. Within 22 minutes of the second match Celje scored twice to wipe out Interblock's advantage and went on to win the match 7–0 to reach the semi-finals. Celje's final tie before the final was against Second League side Šenčur; with Šenčur at home first. In both legs Celje game from a goal down to draw 1–1, the second leg remained at 1–1 after extra time and Celje won the subsequent penalty shootout 8–7.

Maribor

As one of the top four clubs in the

Maribor were given a bye into the second round. They were drawn away to Third League side Adria. A goal from

Zoran Lesjak Zoran Lesjak (born 1 February 1988) is a Croatian footballer who plays for Hungarian top flight outfit Zalaegerszeg. External linksPrvaLiga profile * 1988 births Living people Footballers from Čakovec Men's association football midfiel ...

in the first half and Dalibor Volaš in the second saw Maribor win 2–0 to qualify for the quarter-finals. Their first two legged tie of the competition was against

also of the Third League. The first match ended 1–1 and a 76th-minute goal from Etien Velikonja in the second match was enough for Maribor to reach the semi-finals. Fellow PrvaLiga member

were Maribor's last tie before the final. They won both legs (away first) 4–2 with forward Etien Velikonja scoring a brace in each. The 8–4 aggregate score is the highest scoring semi-final of the competition with 12 goals breaking the 11 goals record in the 2009–10 semi-final between Celje and Maribor.

Match

Details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slovenian Football Cup Final 2012

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, c ...

May 2012 sports events in Europe

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

NK Celje matches NK Maribor matches Sports competitions in Ljubljana