Round nine of the Macedonian first league was marked by the big derby of Skopje between Rabotnicki and Vardar, after which the current champions came out more successful and managed a big 2:0 over the arch rivals.
Rabotnicki Skopje – Vardar Skopje 2:0 (1:0)
44' Savic, 47' Kirovski
The big rivalry between Rabotnicki and Skopje was again displayed today on the "Gradski" stadium in Skopje, but this time the derby had a different charm after the situations between the clubs this summer. Almost all of the players involved in the match today wore the shirt of the opposite team in the past, so the players were extra motivated, but the motivation was on the highest level for the players who were suspended by Vardar and moved to Rabotnicki and today they defeated their former club.
The "dream team" of Vardar who was supposed to have an easy walk to the title, today were leaded by Zikica Tasevski who took over the coaching position only couple of days ago after the resignation of Dostanic. But Tasevski failed to dictate the right tactics for defeating Rabotnicki and he had a very bad debute. Vardar had more of the ball possession during the match, but had no idea how to use it and threaten on Rabotnicki's goal. On the other side, Babunski again set a more passive tactics and waited for mistakes by the opposition. And it turned out to be smart tactics because they scored twice by using the mistakes of Vardar's defence and also threatened on Pacovski's goal on couple of occasions with fast counter attacks.
In the 44th minute, Mojsov sent an excellent through ball to the undefended Dusan Savic who came out face to face with goalkeeper Pacovski and sent the ball in the net.
Right on the start of the second half, Rabotnicki used another mistake by Vardar's defence. Roberto Carlos from the right side sent a cross ball in the box where the defence failed to clear the ball and it ended in Kristijan Kirovski's legs who was again undefended and didn't find it hard to score for Rabotnicki's big 2:0 lead.
During the rest of the match Vardar tried to put everything in attack. Rabotnicki spent big part of the second half with 11 men in their half and Vardar had more of the ball possesion, but had no idea how to create chances. Rabotnicki's lead created big pressure and nervous atmosphere between Vardar's players which resulted with the second yellow card for the leading striker Boban Jancevski in the 68th minute.
Vardar continued with the pressure with 10 men, but the few chances that they had on the opposition's goal were successfully saved by the motivated goalkeeper Georgievski. Rabotnicki also had their chances in the second half, mostly by counter attacks and long shots. They could have even scored a third goal, but Fabio missed the empty net with his header.
The 2:0 win for Rabotnicki today was their 14th in the so far 39 played derbies against Vardar. 12 matches have ended with a draw while Vardar has 13 wins and a better goal record of 58:50.
Makedonija GjP Skopje – Milano Kumanovo 0:0 (0:0)
Another very important match from the 9th round. The match was very important for both teams, especially for the hosts who after Vardar's defeat on Saturday, could have taken over the top with a two point lead. But Milano succeeded in their attempt to go home undefeated and Makedonija leveled with Vardar on the top with 18 points.
In a not so entertaining match, Makedonija failed to continue their winning trend on home field and after four won home matches, Milano won the first point in Gjorce Petrov this season. The guests arrived in Skopje with aim to leave undefeated and they were successful in that. Not just that they successfully defended their goal, but they also had their chances on this match. In the opening part of the match, they threatened on Makedonija's goal with three long shots and free kicks, but the goalkeeper Pavlovic made some good saves. The tall Brazilian Washington had a chance to score for Makedonija in the 43rd minute, but the score stayed 0:0 in the first half.
Makedonija had the controll of the play in the second half and created few good chances. The most serious attempt came in the 63rd minute when Nigerian player Osa Guobadia had two shots on the goal, but Milano's defender Statovci managed to block the ball twice from the goal line.
Napredok Kicevo – Pelister Bitola 3:1 (2:0)
9' Angeleski, 31' 56' Levkov – 76' Spirovski
Napredok and Pelister played a very interesting match in which the hosts finally managed to get the first win this season. The motivated home players started attacking from the begining of the match. In the 9th minute Ristevski took a free kick from 20meters. Pelister's goalkeeper blocked the shot, but the ball came to Angeleski who scored the opening goal. Napredok continued attacking and soon scored another goal, but it was disallowed because of a hand play by one of Napredok's players. Finally in the 31st minute Napredok scored another goal, similar to the first one. Simjanovski sent a cross and Nikov blocked it but just to Levkov who didn't find it hard to score.
Napredok continued attacking in the second half. This was probably the reason for Miranda's fury who was sent off in the 56th minute in the same attack when Nicevski sent a long through ball to Levkov who passed the goalkeeper and scored his second goal. But the guests didn't gave up here and started making pressure on Napredok's goal with 10-men on the pitch. In the 76th minute the substitute Spirovski scored for 3:1 and in the 84th minute Pelister had big chance to make the match very interesting. A penalty was awarded for Pelister, but Karamacovski managed to save Todorovski's shot.
Sileks Kratovo – Pobeda Prilep 2:1 (1:0)
10' Natkov, 78' Stupic – 63' Nestorovski
Sileks finally managed to win a match this season and it took them nine matches and one coach change. Ane Andonovski had good start on the coaching position with the 2:1 over former Macedonian champions Pobeda. The hosts dominated in the first half and went on the half time break with 1:0 lead with the goal by Natkov in the 10th minute.
In the second half, Pobeda improved the impression and played a lot better and that resulted with a goal in the 63rd minute by Nestorovski. Sileks continued attacking and Stupic managed to score the winning goal in the 78th minute.
Horizont Turnovo – Renova Dzepciste 0:0 (0:0)
Another goalless draw was played this round on the match in Turnovo. The hosts managed to win a big point against the favorites Renova, a point that will be very important for their fight against relegation.
Video: Rabotnicki-Vardar
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qAmBOHCOGhM 400 300]