The 19th round, or the first from the third stage, ended today and hosts noted five victories in five matches.
Vardar managed to turn things around after an early deficit to Metalurg by eventually winning 2:1. Mile Krstev scored the opening goal of the match in the 10th minute when he successfully converted a penalty kick after Stefan Spirovski fouled Marjan Radeski in the box. Afterwards, Metalurg had another big opportunity when Antonio Bujchevski was one-on-one with Vardar’s keeper, but he could not convert. The hosts did manage to level the score just before half-time when Dejan Blazhevski sent a shot to the back of the net after a good pass by Goran Popov. Moments into the second half, Blagoja Ljamchevski set the final score with a wonderful goal on a volley. Overall, Vardar did not play well for long stretches of the game, but the end result meant they kept their three point lead at the top of the table.
Renova also managed a 2:1 win against Bregalnica thanks to two goals by Izair Emini, scorer of a brace in two consecutive rounds. Renova had a furious start and scored two goals in the span of four minutes, but then defender Jasmin Mecinovikj was sent off after getting a red card for a bad looking foul in the 24th minute. This was a lifeline for Bregalnica who got right back into the game just before half-time when Goran Zdravkov scored directly from a free-kick. However, the hosts maintained their lead the rest of the way to snatch three three points on the tough playing surface in Tetovo.
The round, which started on Sunday, was completed with the matches Shkendija – Pelister and Sileks – Teteks. Due to the fact that Renova played its game at the Gradski stadium in Tetovo, the pitch was not in good condition to host another game so, Shkendija has decided to host Pelister at Bashkimi’s stadium in Kumanovo. The visitors held Shkendija to 0:0 at half-time but Kirovski opened the scoreline in the second half and it was easier for Shkendija to proceed from there. In the end, they managed to double their lead and note a 2:0 win when former Pelister man Stênio Júnior scored a goal in the dying minutes of the match.
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Sileks had a bad start against rock-bottom Teteks, conceding early when Russian newcomer Vasiliy Pavlov opened the scoreline, but the hosts then took control of the match and completely turned it around. First, they managed to level the score in the 32nd minute when Aleksandar Panovski successfully converted a penalty and then Teteks were in trouble when Filip Najdovski was sent off in the 54th minute. Shortly after, Angel Timovski gave his team the lead and when Dragan Nachevski was also sent off and Teteks was left with 9 players on the pitch, it seemed like Sileks job was made much easier. That turned out to be true when Stefan Rudan set the final score of 3:1 in the 83rd minute.
Played on Wednesday:
Shkendija – Pelister 2:0 (0:0)
54′ Hristijan Kirovski, 90′ Stênio Júnior
Sileks – Teteks 3:1 (1:1)
33′ (pen) Aleksandar Panovski, 56′ Angel Timovski, 83′ Stefan Rudan – 8′ Vasiliy Pavlov
Played on Tuesday:
Vardar – Metalurg 2:1 (1:1)
43′ Dejan Blazhevski, 50′ Blagoja Ljamchevski – 10′ (pen) Mile Krstev
Renova – Bregalnica 2:1 (2:1)
9′, 13′ Izair Emini – 42′ Goran Zdravkov
Played on Saturday:
Rabotnichki – Turnovo 2:0 (1:0)
42′ Marjan Altiparmakovski, 50′ (pen) Bazhe Ilijoski