Round 2 of the First League concluded today with three more matches.  Napredok stunned Vardar 1:0, proving that the defending champions are beatable.

In the three matches played on Saturday, Renova easily overcame Teteks 0:3 on the road to win in the managerial debut of Kjatip Ostani, Filip Petkovski netted a hat-trick to lead Horizont Turnovo past Shkendija, while Rabotnichki needed a late equalizer in stoppage time to pick up a point against Drita.

Although a close match was expected in Tetovo between Teteks and Renova, the match proved to be one sided with Renova rolling to a comfortable win.  Sashko Pandev opened the scoring in the 33th minute, while things got even tougher for Teteks in the 49th minute when Vladimir Sekuloski was given a direct red card, leading to a penalty for Renova.  Muharem Bajrami converted the spot kick for a 2:0 Renova lead before youngster Ljavdrim Skenderi completed the 3:0 scoreline in the 81st minute to ensure an excellent debut for new manager Kjatip Osmani.

Rabotnichki, after losing to Vardar in the opening round, was looking for their points of the season against newly promoted side Drita at home, but could only claim a point with a late equalizer deep into stoppage time of the 90th minute.  Krste Velkoski handed Rabotnichki the initial lead in the 14th minute but Drita striker Ardijan Nuhiu then scored two goals, one in each half, to hand the visitors a surprising 1:2 lead.  However, Velkoski also managed to score a brace, coming in the fifth minute of stoppage time, to bring Rabotnichki at least a point. 

In Turnovo, the fans saw the most entertaining game of the day.  Shkendija seemed to be in command with a 0:2 lead thanks to goals by Artim Polozhani in the 15th minute and Izair Emini in the 51st minute, but Turnovo had other thoughts and striker Filip Petkovski scored a hat-trick to hand his team a come from behind victory.  Petkovski reduced the deficit to 1:2 in the 53rd minute, tied the game in the 77th minute, before scoring the game winner in the 90th minute to bring Turnovo the three points.  Turnovo was helped in that Shkendija went down to 10 men in the 80th minute when defensive midfielder Muhamed Huseini was sent off by the referee.

Video of Petkovski’s game winning goal:

On Sunday, Vardar was looking for their second consecutive win to open the season but fell short in Kichevo.  Napredok managed to narrowly get past Vardar 1:0 thanks to a goal by Zharko Simjanoski in the 70th minute, and celebrate three hard fought points.  After the 1:1 road draw against Renova in the first round, Naprekok has now notched two good results against two of the toughest opponents in the league.

Metalurg collected a minimal home win over Pelister who played the majority of the game with 10 men after Hristijan Dragarski was sent off in the first half.  Not only was Pelister down a man, but the sending off resulted in a penalty which Metalurg captain Mile Krstev converted for what proved to be the only goal of the game.  The win meant that Metalurg has collected the maximum 6 points from the first two rounds.

Bregalnica Shtip also has the maximum 6 points after beating Sileks 2:0.  Summer signing Riste Naumov scored the first goal in the 28th minute while Elmir Mandak put the game away in the dying moments to hand Bregalnica the three points.

Teteks – Renova 0:3 (0:1)
Sashko Pandev 33′, Muharem Bajrami 50′ (p), Ljavdrim Skenderi 81′

Rabotnichki – Drita 2:2 (1:1)
Krste Velkoski 14′, 90’+5 – Ardijan Nuhiu 40′ (pen), 78′

Horizont Turnovo – Shkendija 3:2 (0:1)
Filip Petkovski 53′, 77′, 90′ – Artim Polozhani 15′, Izair Emini 51′

Metalurg – Pelister 1:0 (1:0)
Mile Krstev 37′ (p)

Bregalnica Shtip – Sileks 2:0 (1:0)
Riste Naumov 28′, Elmir Mandak 90’+1

Napredok – Vardar 1:0 (0:0)
Zharko Simjanoski 70′ 

Round 2 Fixtures and Current Standings

Next on the schedule are the matches of the 1/16 final of the Macedonian Cup which will be played on Wednesday.