A tough break for Riste Naumov who suffered a broken leg, Aco Stojkov scores his 8th goal of the season for Aarau, Stevica Ristic with a goal for Bunyodkor, and Goran Maznov and his team Tom Tomsk get off to a good start as the Russian League got underway this weekend.

Italy, Serie A, Catania – Inter 3:1
A terrible performance by Inter.  Goran Pandev started on the bench as Inter went with Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o up front in a 4-3-1-2 formation.  Catania started the better team and had the better scoring chances throughout the first half but their finishing let them down.  Inter looked disinterested and played with no energy as their minds were on next week’s Champions League game against Chelsea.  Inter took the undeserved lead through Diego Milito in the 54th minute before Catania equalized in the 74th minute.  Then three minutes later, Pandev came on replacing Dejan Stankovic and Sulley Muntari also entered the game replacing Esteban Cambiasso.  Inter had a very attacking minded lineup and were vulnerable in the back.  Things got worse when Muntari received two yellow cards within two minutes of him coming on, the second resulting in a penalty as he intentionally used his arm in the box.  Catania converted the penalty and never looked back as they added a 3rd goal in the 90th minute.  Pandev had one shot on goal in the 89th minute but his shot lacked power and was easily saved by the Catania keeper.

Germany, 1. Bundesliga, Mainz – Koln 1:0
A gutsy performance by Nikolce Noveski and Mainz.  They played with 10 men as their leading goal-scorer Aristide Bance received a red card in the 27th minute.  They showed a lot of character by not letting that affect them and they went on to get all three points when Andre Schurrle scored the lone goal of the game in the 56th minute.  Noveski once again played all 90 minutes for Mainz.

Germany, 1. Bundesliga, Schalke 04 – Stuttgart 2:1
Besart Ibraimi was an unused substitute for Schalke 04.

Germany, 1. Bundesliga, Hannover 96 – Eintracht Frankfurt 2:1
Oka Nikolov played the entire game for Eintracht who lost their third consecutive game.  Hannover took the lead in the 14th minute before Eintracht equalized just before halftime through Halil Altintop.  Oka Nikolov made a great save in the 57th minute but Hannover was able to score on the rebound and they went on to win 2:1.  Eintracht finished the game with 9 men.  Aleksandar Vasoski did not play for Eintracht because of an injury and he might be out for the remainder of the year because he has suffered a setback to his troublesome knee.

France, Ligue 1, Montpellier – Auxerre 1:1
Robert Popov continues to be left out of the team by Auxerre manager Jean Fernandez.

Russia, Premier-Liga, Rostov – Tom Tomsk 0:2
This was the first week of the Russian League and Goran Maznov and Tom Tomsk got off to a good start.  Maznov was very active in the 1st half and was giving Rostov’s defenders a lot of problems.  He had chances in the 1st and 15th minute but his best opportunity came in the 20th minute but his shot was straight at the keeper.  He slowed down in the 2nd half and was substituted in the 77th minute.

Netherlands, Eredivisie, Vitesse – Heerenveen 0:1
Goran Popov played all 90 minutes for Heerenveen who needed a goal in the 83rd minute to get a hard fought win on the road.  Samir Fazli was also called up by Heerenveen but he stayed on the bench for the entire game

Ukraine, Vyshcha Liha, Dynamo Kyiv – Vorskla Poltava 1:0
It looks as if though another Macedonian midfielder is no longer a regular for his team as Filip Despotovski spent the entire game on the bench for the second straight week.  He joins Velice Sumulikoski and Slavco Georgievski as players who start for the national team yet can’t even hold a starting place on teams such as Vorskla Poltava, Preston North End, and Ethnikos Achnas

Switzerland, Axpo Super League, Aarau – Zurich 1:3
Aco Stojkov opened the scoring in the 10th minute for Aarau who once again took the lead but they couldn’t hold it and it resulted in another loss for Aarau.  Stojkov had a chance to add his 2nd goal of the game in the 14th minute but his shot was well saved by the Zurich keeper.  Aarau was the better team in the first 20 minutes but it was all Zurich after that.  Surprisingly, Stojkov was substituted in the 55th minute even though he seemed the most likely to get Aarau back in the game.  The fans were not happy and couldn’t understand the decision by manager Martin Andermatt.  Things got even worse for Aarau as Belinzona, the team they are competing with to avoid relegation, won their game and is now 7 points ahead of Aarau.

Switzerland, Axpo Super League, Young Boys – Sion 1:0
Aleksandar Mitreski was not among the 18 players called up by Sion.

Romania, Liga I, Universitatea Craiova – Brasov 3:0
Dusan Savic started on the bench for the visitors before he came on in the 77th minute replacing Hadnagy.  Brasov fell behind quickly as the home team scored all three goals in the first half.

England, League Championship, Preston North End – Nottingham Forest 3:2
Velice Sumulikoski was not called up for the game by Preston North End.

Austria, T-Mobile Bundesliga, Ried – Mattersburg 3:0
Goce Sedloski and Ostoja Stjepanovic began on the bench for Mattersburg while Ilco Naumoski was serving the 2nd of his four game suspension.  Goce Sedloski entered the game in the 58th minute with Mattersburg down 1:0 but Ried was the better team and they eventually won 3:0.  Stjepanovic stayed on the bench for the entire game.

Austria, T-Mobile Bundesliga, Magna Wr Neustadt – Sturm Graz 0:0
Mensur Kurtisi got the start after scoring a hat-trick in the last game for Magna.  Kurtisi almost scored a spectacular goal as he tried to lob the ball over the keeper but his shot bounced over the goal by inches.  Kurtisi played until the 63rd minute when he was replaced by Diego Viana.

Belgium, Jupiler League, St. Truiden – Germinal Beerschot 2:0
Tome Pacovski saved a penalty in the 54th minute and made a good save just before halftime but it was not enough as his team still lost 2:0.

Belgium, Jupiler League, Westerlo – Cercle Brugge 1:1
Igor Gjuzelov did not play for Cercle Brugge.

Belgium, EXQI League, Tienen – Lierse 0:1
Nderim Nedzipi was not called up by Lierse.

Czech Republic, 1. Gambrinus Liga, Slavia Praha – Teplice 0:0
Riste Naumov started for the home team and suffered a broken leg in the 34th minute.  It was a nasty collision and a tough break for Naumov who started the past two games for Slavia.  In the 68th minute, Mirko Ivanovski entered the game and he was very active for the remainder of the game but his best chance came in the 73rd minute but his shot was just wide of goal.

Czech Republic, 1. Gambrinus Liga, Bohemians – Slovacko 1:1
Ilija Nestorovski did not play for the visitors.

Poland, Orange Ekstraklasa, Polonia Warszawa – Ruch Chorzow 1:1
Filip Ivanovski has really struggled lately and he wasn’t even among the 18 players called up by Polonia, who are last place in the Polish Ekstraklasa.

Poland, Orange Ekstraklasa, Belchatow – Lech Poznan 1:1
Zlatko Tanevski was an unused substitute for Lech Poznan.

Hungary, Soproni Liga, Debreceni – Honved 2:1
Mirsad Mijadinoski played all 90 minutes for Debreceni.

Bulgaria, A PFG, CSKA Sofia – Sportist Svoge 4:1
Igor Mitreski played the entire game for CSKA.

Bulgaria, A PFG, Slavia Sofia – Pirin 0:0
Robert Petrov started for Slavia but picked up an injury and had to be substituted in the 35th minute.  For Pirin, Dragi Kocev played all 90 minutes while Zoran Zlatkovski started on the bench but came on in the 42nd minute.

Cyprus, Protathlima A’Katigopias, APEP – Enosis Neon Paralimni 1:2
Petar Milosevski, Bojan Markoski, and Ivan Trickovski played the entire game for the visitors who overcame a 1:0 deficit and came back to win against the last placed team in Cyprus.

Cyprus, Protathlima A’Katigopias, AE Paphos –Nea Salamina 0:1
Jane Nikoloski was back as the starting goalie for Paphos but his team suffered a narrow loss at home to Nea Salamina.  Paphos was the better team but they missed a penalty and wasted some good scoring chances.

Cyprus, Protathlima A’Katigopias, Ethnikos Achnas – Ermis Aradippou 0:0
Edin Nuredinoski and Vance Sikov started for Ethnikos Achnas while Slavco Georgievski did not play.  Nuredinoski made a good save in the 2nd half to keep the game tied while Sikov played until the 72nd minute.

Cyprus, Protathlima A’Katigopias, Apollon – APOEL 2:0
Boban Grncarov almost opened the scoring for APOEL in the 12th minute with a strong header but the Apollon keeper made a good save.  The score was 0:0 at halftime but Apollon grabbed the lead in the 48th minute before Grncarov had another good chance in the 57th minute, but again his header was saved by the keeper.  Apollon put the game away in the 78th minute when they doubled their lead and it finished 2:0.  Grncarov played all 90 minutes.

Cyprus, Protathlima A’Katigopias, Omonia – AEL 4:0
Vlatko Grozdanoski had a very successful stint with Omonia where he became a fan favorite but today he returned as an opponent and his team AEL was thrashed 4:0.  Grozdanoski started on the bench before he came on in the 2nd half.

Serbia, Jelen Superliga, Javor – BSK 1:0
Filip Petrov began on the bench but he came on in the 72nd minute replacing Nenad Panic.

Serbia, Jelen Superliga, Hajduk Kula – Partizan 0:2
Aleksandar Lazevski did not play for Partizan.

Serbia, Jelen Superliga, Vojvodina – Cukaricki 4:0
Mario Gjurovski for the second straight week did not play for Vojvodina.

Serbia, Jelen Superliga, OFK Beograd – Rad 3:2
Aleksandar Todorovski played the entire game for the visitors.

Croatia, T-Com 1.HNL, Hajduk Split – Rijeka 1:1
Vlade Lazarevski played all 90 minutes for the visitors.

Croatia, T-Com 1.HNL, Istra 1961 – Croatia Sesvete 1:0
Armend Alimi did not play for Istra because of an injury.  Alimi pulled his muscle on Thursday and wasn’t even on the bench.  He should be out for two more weeks.

Israel, Ligat Toto, Maccabi Petah Tikva – Hapoel Petah Tikva 0:0
Vanco Trajanov was not among the 18 players called up by the home team.

Uzbekistan, Uzbek League, Bunyodkor – Pakhtakor 2:1
Stevica Ristic got the start for the home team coached by Luis Felipe Scolari and scored in the 69th minute to give his team a 2:0 lead.  The other goal by Bunyodkor was scored by Brazilian Rivaldo.  Ristic played all 90 minutes and received a yellow card in the 57th minute.

Slovenia, 1.SNL, Olimpija – Publikum Celje 1:3
Agim Ibraimi played the entire game for Olimpija who started with an attacking minded lineup but didn’t create many opportunities as they couldn’t control the midfield.  Ibraimi attempted a shot from distance but it was well over the goal.