Although they lost in Cyprus last night, Shkëndija’s players managed to advance to the playoff phase of the UEFA Conference League, which guarantees them at least two more matches in February.
photo by KF Shkendija Tetovo: the team before the match against AEK
The Macedonian champion withstood the attacks of the Cypriot AEK, who had a goal disallowed by VAR in the 43rd minute due to offside. Moreover, the team from Tetovo had to play with ten men from the 53rd minute after Liridon Latifi got a direct red card for a rough start. Shkëndija’s bunker almost hold out, but 7 minutes from time Polish striker Karol Angielski scored the winning goal for the Cypriots.
“Of course, what we have achieved is something really significant. It is normal to have positive emotions. First, we dreamed of entering the Conference League, then of passing the league stage, and now that we have done that we will dream of passing another round. That is who we are, especially the people of Tetovo. Although it is right after the match, emotions are strong, but I am convinced that Shkëndija has shown stability in these six matches. With a little more luck and experience, I think we deserved more points. The opponents we can get in the draw are strong and attractive teams. A beautiful spring awaits us, a spring that will bring positive things.” – said Shkëndija coach Jeton Bekjiri after the match in Larnaca.
The defeat left Shkëndija with 7 points and a goal difference of 4:5 (-1), but they still did not fall below the 24th place in the overall table of 36 teams, thanks to some other results. Of those who could have overtaken them, only Finnish side KuPS won a point, while all the others did not achieve the necessary results.
With the 22nd place finish, Shkëndija has chosen the European spring and will play two playoff matches on 19 and 26 February, with the opponent to be determined by a draw on 16 January. According to the UEFA scheme, Shkëndija will play against one of Polish side Lech from Poznań or Turkish side Samsunspor, with the first match to be played in Skopje. Moreover, the total income from UEFA with this placement has increased to 6 million euros.
A little lacking lacked for the opponent to be the Premier League side Crystal Palace, but AEK from Athens screwed up and made an epic turnaround against Romanian Universitatea from Craiova. The Greeks were losing 1:2 at home, but with goals in the extra time in the 8th minute and from the penalty spot in the 14th minute they made a complete turnaround. Thus, the Romanians fell behind Shkëndija in the table, moved the Tetovo based team up and removed them from a possible duel with Crystal Palace.
However, Shkëndija is the first Macedonian club to play in UEFA competitions after New Year. So far, Macedonian clubs have mostly ended their European adventures in the middle of the summer, rarely surviving until September, and previously only Vardar managed to enter a group stage, but failed to advance.