Rabotnichki is the winner of the 96th edition of the oldest active Skopje derby after beating Vardar with two second half goals.
photo by FK Vardar Skopje moment into the derby
Skopje’s oldest derby dating back to 1951 eventually came back to its home, the National Arena Todor Proeski. Around 5 thousand fans attended the match, which is an excellent number for the domestic league.
The match did not star good as in the opening minute Rabotnichki striker Vlatko Stojanovski injured himself and had to taken out. Later it was confirmed that he has a torn tendon, meaning that the season for him is over. The first half saw very bad football from both sides, especially from Rabotnichki who never threatened Vardar’s goal. The game flow was slow and inactive with only Vardar managing to fire a shot, but only once.
After the break Rabotnichki started playing like a different team. The Reds took the possession and did not allow Vardar to came out of its own half. When it seemed that there won’t be a winner, Rabotnichki broke the dead lock in the 75th minute. Ali Reghba sent a cross from right on the far post where Adthe Mazari with a header served newly entered Dimitar Todorovski, who fired past Filip Gachevski.
Vardar tried to look for an equalizer and came close to creating good chances, but the finishing was not good. Instead, Rabotnichki cemented the win in the stoppage time through Mazari.
This is the 34th win for Rabotnichki against Vardar, who has 38.
After this weekend’s Round 27 the battle for both top and bottom are still very open. In the other matches Bregalnica managed to grab a big point away at holders and leaders Struga, Shkendija hammered Sileks 6:1 despite being 1:1 on half-time, Brera Strumica edged Voska Sport, Gostivar beat Tikvesh, while defeated Makedonija GjP.
1.MFL 2023/24
| Pos | Club | Pts | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Shkëndija | 61 | 31 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 53 | 25 | 28 |
| 2 |  Struga | 61 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 53 | 30 | 23 |
| 3 |  Shkupi | 58 | 31 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 40 | 22 | 18 |
| 4 |  Tikvesh | 42 | 31 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 38 | 1 |
| 5 |  Rabotnichki | 41 | 31 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 29 | 32 | -3 |
| 6 |  Sileks | 41 | 31 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 34 | 38 | -4 |
| 7 |  Voska Sport | 40 | 31 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 36 | 40 | -4 |
| 8 |  Gostivar | 40 | 31 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 31 | 37 | -6 |
| 9 |  Brera Strumica | 38 | 31 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 29 | 30 | -1 |
| 10 |  Vardar | 35 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 40 | -15 |
| 11 |  Bregalnica | 27 | 31 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 47 | -22 |
| 12 |  Makedonija GjP | 26 | 31 | 7 | 5 | 19 | 23 | 38 | -15 |