Maksimir goalkeeper Fahrija Dautbegović launched Dinamo into the Cup final with brilliant reflexes and heroic performance in the penalty shootout. The Blues defeated Partizan after 120 minutes of play in Belgrade in front of 50,000 spectators with better penalty execution and secured their place in the final.

The black and whites were in excellent form during those days, having maximum efficiency at home in league matches that spring, but the top of the table was held by – the Zagreb side. After 23 rounds, Dinamo was flying high in first place with 33 points, three more than Red Star and four more than third-placed Partizan.

This was, however, a Cup semifinal match, but there were no goals in 120 minutes of play. Only Krasnodar Rora threatened the home team's goal in the 20th minute, but goalkeeper Ivan Ćurković managed to stop the ball with a brilliant save. The home side responded in the 72nd minute when Ilija Katić shot, the ball had already passed goalkeeper Dautbegović, but Josip Gutzmirtl cleared it off the goal line. Extra time of two 15-minute periods followed, and the only serious situation was in front of Partizan's goal when Denijal Pirić fired sharply from about 20 meters, but the ball flew just over the crossbar.

The winner was therefore decided by penalty kicks, but the rules at that time were somewhat different from today: the opponents did not take penalties alternately, but the order meant that first one team would take all five shots, and only then would five players from the opposing team take their turn. Before the shootout, the coin fell on Dinamo's side, so the Blues chose for Partizan to be the team that would take penalties first. First was Mane Bajić who scored, then Dautbegović saved from Katić, in the third series Svemir Đorđić was successful, and then Idriz Hošić and Blagoje Paunović placed the ball, whose shots the Maksimir goalkeeper stopped with spectacular dives.

Then came five Dinamo penalty takers, first Marijan Čerček sent the ball low past the post, but the remaining four were successful – Ivica Kiš, Krasnodar Rora, Slaven Zambata and Denijal Pirić.

Interestingly, after this qualification to the final, each Dinamo player received a bonus of one million old dinars. In the other semifinal, Hajduk defeated Red Star 1-0 with Petar Nadoveza's goal five minutes before the end. Later, the Blues and Whites played 3-3 in the final in Belgrade, and since there was no winner in that match, they had to play a new match according to the rules at that time. In that new attempt, Dinamo triumphed 3-0 and won the trophy.