The second half of the Serbian Domestic League began over the weekend and it began with quite a bang.

On Saturday in the famous Belgrade Derby, Red Star Belgrade managed to win convincingly 4:1 over Partizan Belgrade in front of an empty stadium and reduce the lead at the top. After having been penalized for fan violence back in December, Red Star took to the field against league Leaders Partizan without their huge fan support. It didn't seem too good when Partizan's Lazic gave his side the lead only after 3 minutes. Instead of taking advantage of the lack of home-support, Partizan failed to control this lead and gave up the lead in the 19th minute when Milovanovic would score. Castillo would give Red Star the lead at the 37th minute and would score again in the 2nd half. Milijas would score from the Penalty spot and three very important points.

While Partizan still lead over Red Star, the lead is now only 3 points. This was an important match for Partizan where a win would have all but promised them the title. With the loss, it puts a lot of pressure on Partizan as they can no longer afford another loss.

In other scores, Vojvodina, who have also been under a lot of pressure with the recent scandals in Serbia, failed to pick up points against Mid-table Smederevo. Vojvodina are still in 3rd place, but now drop 4 points behind 2nd place Zvezda. This should be the beginning of the pull-away for the top two. Vojvodina, if not penalized, should still be in control of a UEFA Cup spot as they have 10 point lead over 4th place Borac Cacak.

When you look at the standings, you'll see that there are quite of few races for spots in Europe and staying afloat. Partzian, Red Star and Vojvodina* all seem destined for places in Europe come August, but the chance the possible 3rd club reaching the UEFA Cup (all depending on who wins the League Cup) is fairly tight. The fact that only 5 points separates 4th from 10th (and relegation) will make the last 1/3 of the season extremely interesting. Bezanija will have to pray for a miracle to avoid relegation, but everyone else from 4th and below will have to pick up the pace to avoid the drop.