Dinamo travelled away to Rijeka four days after drawing with Bayern in the second leg of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup quarter-final. The Blues had convincingly triumphed in the first match in the heart of Munich with a remarkable 4-1 victory, then played out a 0-0 draw in the return leg in Zagreb to secure their place in the semi-finals. In such an atmosphere, they headed to Rijeka with the desire to continue their impressive league run: Dinamo had gone through all 17 rounds played so far this season without a single defeat. And they continued that streak in Rijeka, winning 2-0. The Blues, despite their excellent record of 11 wins and six draws before their visit to Kantrida, were still second in the table. League leaders Partizan had an identical points tally with 12 wins, four draws and just one defeat. However, after their victory at Kvarner, the Blues took top spot with a one-point advantage, given that Vojvodina and Partizan had drawn 1-1 in Novi Sad. Even today it sounds almost unreal that Dinamo went unbeaten for 21 rounds that season, only to then lose all five matches from the 22nd to 26th round - the final five games - and finish in second place. The protagonists at Kantrida were competing not only against their opponents, but also against the slippery and muddy pitch. Rain had been falling all night and morning, creating difficult playing conditions, but despite such weather, more than 20,000 spectators gathered in the stands. Dinamo took the lead in the 53rd minute when, in a scramble in Rijeka's penalty area, Berislav Ribić played a short pass to Stjepan Lamza, who from the edge of the six-yard box managed to deflect the ball into the goal between two defenders. Some media outlets reported that Slaven Zambata was the goalscorer in that scramble, but Lamza was officially credited with the goal. Just 15 minutes later, Željko Matuš struck from 20 metres, goalkeeper Marijan Jantoljak got to the ball, but it deflected off home defender Ivan Šangulin, a former Dinamo player, and ended up in the net. Interestingly, the number eleven shirt for Rijeka in this match was worn by Miroslav Ćiro Blažević. In the media preview, Sanjin Mandekić was listed in that position, but Blažević stepped into the starting lineup instead.