For 86 minutes it looked like history would repeat itself when Red Star Belgrade clashed with Bayern Munich in their UEFA Cup Group F match on Thursday.

Red Star were leading 2-1 in front of their passionate 45,000 home crowd, who were as jubilant as in 1991 when the Serbian side beat their Bavarian rivals 4-3 on aggregate in the European Cup semi-finals with a last minute own-goal.

I was in the northern section of the stadium that day in 1991 along with the Red Star faithful and watched them invade the pitch after the final whistle and tear down the goalposts in wild celebrations that lasted until the early hours.

Red Star went on to win Europe’s premier club competition with a penalty shootout victory over Olympique Marseille.

There were never going to be any such antics even if Red Star had beaten Bayern again but a cruel twist of fortune left the home fans mourning what my colleagues in the press box instantly qualified as payback.

Bayern drew level in the closing stages and then scored a freak winner in the last minute of injury time, leaving the 1,000 or supporters who made the trip from Munich to do all the singing and dancing this time (you can read a full report in English on the Bayern website).

Having praised his youthful team for a valiant effort, Red Star manager Milorad Kosanovic had no complaints about the wheel of fortune turning the other way.

“You have to earn your luck and while we must have deserved it 1991, I hope this is the last time we have to repay the most famous win in the club’s history,” he said. “It’s a pity because I know our fantastic fans would have staged an almighty party if we had won.”

Instead, broken hearts rather than chilly weather made the densely populated residential area surrounding the stadium eerily empty as sobbing Red Star fans made their way home.

PHOTO: Red Star Belgrade’s Ognjen Koroman celebrates scoring a goal against Bayern Munich during their UEFA Cup Group F soccer match in Belgrade October 25, 2007. REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic