Metalurg defeated Rabotnichki to take over the top spot, Horizont Turnovo slipped against Renova, while Vardar and Pelister shared the points in a goalless draw.
In the earliest match from today, Metalurg managed to celebrate an extremely important 1:2 road win against Rabotnichki. This was a crucial game as head to head will be the first tie breaker taken into consideration for breaking an eventual tie at the end of the season. Rabotnichki was up 3 points over Metalurg and had a chance to make it a 6 point advantage, but Metalurg had other thoughts and notched the win. Ljubomir Stevanović scored an early goal in the 5th minute, while Bazhe Ilijoski equalized midway through the opening half after a great assist by Tauljant Sulejmanov. The game winner came just before halftime when Rabotnichki keeper Petar Basnarkov fouled Marko Simonovski inside the area, and the same player successfully converted a penalty to hand Metalurg the win.
Highlights of the match:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=43EjW5mO5ws
Horizont Turnovo failed to win against Renova by only getting one point from their home encounter. Although taking an early lead through Muzafer Ejupi in the 3rd minute, Turnovo was wasteful and missed numerous opportunities throughout the match. They were punished by Renova who grabbed a goal in the 20th minute thanks to Emran Ramadani. Renova mostly relied on counter attacks and managed to hold on to the one point the rest of the way.
Shkendija and Bregalnica had no problems in their home games against already relegated teams Napredok and Gostivar by winning 4:0 and 3:0, respectively.
For highlights of Bregalnica – Gostivar, click here.
In the Skopje derby featuring two teams near the bottom of the standings, Gorno Lisiche defeated Makedonija Gjorche Petrov and all but sent them to the Second League. The Lions are now 11 points behind 9th ranked Renova, the last spot on the table that leads to survival, and only a miracle can save them from relegation since there are just 4 rounds remaining. Gorno Lisiche opened the scoring in the first minute of the match and then their job was made easier in the 40th minute when opposing defender Jasmin Mecinovikj was sent off with a red card. In the second half, the Vulpines added two more goals, while all Makedonija GjP could muster was a late consolation goal by Kristijan Kostovski in the 79th minute.
In the biggest derby of Macedonian football, Vardar and Pelister shared the points in a goalless draw in a rather uneventful match. Vardar was the more active team, while the visitors focused mostly on counter attacks. So, it was not the most attractive match. Both teams made it a priority to keep a clean sheet and maybe get a fortunate goal, but in the end the low number of fans in attendance did not see a goal on either side.
Highlights of the match:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=msNQZgTTZzs
Rabotnichki – Metalurg 1:2 (1:2)
25′ Blazhe Ilijoski – 4′ Ljubomir Stevanović, 44′ (pen) Marko Simonovski
Horizont Turnovo – Renova 1:1 (1:1)
3′ Muzafer Ejupi – 20′ Emran Ramadani
Shkendija – Napredok 4:0 (1:0)
30′ Bojan Vrucina, 51′ Muhamed Useini, 72′ Mensur Kurtishi, 75′ Shpend Asani
Bregalnica – Gostivar 3:0 (2:0)
17′ Ivan Mitrov, 42′ Riste Naumov, 86′ Gligor Gligorov
Gorno Lisiche – Makedonija Gjorche Petrov 3:1 (1:0)
2′, 53′ Vladimir Tufegdžić, 72′ Aleksandar Stojanovski – 79′ Kristijan Kostovski
Vardar – Pelister 0:0
Standings | Fixtures & results