Both Macedonian participants in the Conference League recorded road victories, while Vardar disappointed in the Champions League after suffering a home defeat.

photo by FK Dinamo Minsk: a duel from Dinamo – Sileks

It was champion Vardar who opened the European summer on Tuesday when hosted KuPS, the champion of Finland in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. Newly appointed Argentinian coach Cristian Gastón Fabbiani did not have a positive debut as his team was inferior on the field. The Fins deserved the win and are now practically in the second round as they play the return leg at home.

Highlights:

Sileks visited Belarussian side Dinamo from Minsk, but on a neutral ground in Bulgaria as for some strange reason UEFA is still not allowing the teams from Belarus, noir their national team, to host matches in their motherland. The Belarussians were favorites before the match, but Sileks surprised them with its approach. The Macedonians controlled the game flow, not allowing Dinamo to fire any shot at their goal. One goal decided the4 winner and it was from the spot as in the 40th minute Borjan Panovski was brought down in the box by Abdoul Touré. Newly signed Esmir Hasukić converted the penalty.

The winner:

It was expected for Shkëndija to record a victory despite playing away, because the opponent was Europa from Gibraltar. Fahd Ndzengue broke the dead lock in the 28th minute, while Fabrice Tamba with a brace in the second half secured a comfortable win. Later Almir Kryeziu and Bersart Ibraimi set the final score of 0:5.

Highlights:

Shkëndija is sure to advance in the second round, while Sileks despite the win will still have to earn his place. On the other hand, Vardar has a mountain to climb in Finland and will most probably be eliminated and continue in the Conference League.