Vardar and Shkendija made easy work of Mladost CD and Metalurg, respectively, Shkupi edged Bregalnica in Shtip, while Sileks’ 0:0 draw against Turnovo meant there is no longer a team with the maximum number of points this season.
Round 3 didn’t really have exciting matchups on the schedule. Vardar and Shkendija breezed past two overwhelmed sides, Rabotnicki was off due to their Europa League participation, while the other two games, Bregalnica vs. Shkupi and Turnovo vs. Sileks, are far from rivalries.
Vardar was the most impressive team on Sunday. Their match against Mladost Carev Dvor was a test following their 3:1 road victory over Shkendija last weekend. Usually, after a big win, a team may lose focus and underestimate a club like Mladost. However, that wasn’t the case. Vardar came out firing on all cylinders and absolutely destroyed Mladost. Dejan Blazhevski and Artak Dashyan both scored two goals apiece, while Hovhannes Hambardzumyan and Blagoja Ljamchevski got on the scoresheet once.
Highlights:
Vardar: Pachovski, Hambardzumyan, Velkovski, Mijušković, Ljamchevski, Nikolov, Gligorov, Juan Felipe (69′ Petkovski), Dashyan, Blazhevski (65′ Brdarovski), Ivanovski (58′ Romero).
Mladost Carev Dvor: Petrovski (7′ Korunovski), Gjoreski, T. Veljanoski, Grozdanoski, Elmazovski (46′ Markovski), Dalcheski, Ristevski (14′ N. Veljanoski), Cvetanoski, Ilijovski, Konjarski, Kalanoski.
Shkendija also had an easy time against Metalurg. Two early goals by Besart Ibraimi and Besir Demiri in the opening 10 minutes pretty much put an end to Metalurg’s hopes. After that, Shkendija was on cruise control and never looked in doubt. Brazilian Stênio Júnior even managed a third goal in the 2nd half as Metalurg was no match for Shkendija.
Highlights of the game:
Metalurg: Taleski, Ristovski, Mitrevski, Jevtoski, Gjorgievski, Krivanjeva, Bakracheski (69′ Naumoski), Mersovski (79′ Bujchevski), Danoski, Naumoski (46′ Stojanovski), Angelov.
Shkendija: Jovanovski, Todorovski, Polozhani, Cuculi, Demiri, Totre (58′ Bejtulai), Alimi (75′ Kirovski), Radeski (46′ Useini), Stênio Júnior, Hasani, Ibraimi.
Turnovo and Sileks shared the points in a goalless draw. Sileks was the only perfect team going into this round with the maximum 6 points, so this result means that is no longer the case. Turnovo, too, has started in solid form this season, even playing well in last weekend’s 4:2 loss to Rabotnichki. They now have compiled one win, one draw and one loss.
Turnovo: Stoilkov, Tashev, Mavrov, Tafe, Milushev, Tanushev, Matute (64′ Iliev), Stoilov (82′ Ivanov), Kochoski, Imeri (82′ Bozhinov), Pandev.
Sileks: Mitrović, Timovski, Ivanov, Rudan, Gucev (66′ Ristevski), Mickov, Todorov (82′ Mitevski), Duranski, Panovski, Gjorgiev (68′ Acevski), Nedeljković.
In Shtip, Bregalnica was surprised at home by newly promoted side Shkupi. The visitors had two leads, the second one deciding things in the 75th minute when Ardian Nuhiu notched the game winner. That cancelled out Nikola Tonev’s equalizer in the 35th minute.
Bregalnica: Zahov, Ristovski (74′ Mihailov), Stojanov, Tonev, Kostov (50′ Mitrev), Stanković, Kocev, Hristov, Zdravkov, Iliev (50′ Velkovski), Nacev.
Shkupi: Zendeli, Murati, Adili, B. Asani, Lazarevski, E. Asani, Bajrami (90′ Arif), Janevski (56′ Maksuti), Adem, Demiri (56′ Osmani), Nuhiu.
Renova vs. Rabotnichki, meanwhile, was postponed due to Rabotnichki’s participation in the Europa League qualifications. Their full focus right now is on Rubin Kazan for the return leg on Thursday.
Round 3:
Vardar – Mladost 6:0
9′, 35′ Dejan Blazhevski, 45′ Hovhannes Hambardzumyan, 55′, 62′ Artak Dashyan, 76′ Blagoja Ljamchevski
Metalurg – Shkendija 0:3
5′ Besart Ibraimi, 9′ Besir Demiri, 80′ Stênio Júnior
Turnovo – Sileks 0:0
Bregalnica – Shkupi 1:2
35′ Nikola Tonev – 4′ Mevlan Adili, 75′ Ardian Nuhiu
Renova vs. Rabotnichki was postponed (no make-up date announced at this time)