With not so impressive performance, the Macedonian Cup winner Rabotnicki defeated Crusaders with 4:2 and are the only Macedonian team that "survived" the first qualifying matches in the European competitions this summer.

After the slow play on both sides under the big heat on the stadium in Skopje, Rabotnicki took the lead in the 20th minute when after a fast counter attack Filho got in the box from the right side and assisted to Bobi Bozinovski who didn’t find it hard to score. In the 35th minute, after another counter attack, the Brazilian Zé Carlos Filho came out alone with the goalkeeper and doubled the lead.

The Northern Irish cup winners Crusaders FC didn’t give up and went more forward in the second half. After the pressure they gave towards Bogatinov’s goal, Owens finally scored in the 69th minute and made the match more interesting. But all doubts for the winner of this match were lost when Filho in the 79th minute scored fantastic goal from outside the box for 3:1. Six minutes before the end, the newly entered Petkovski scored the fourth goal for Rabotnicki but the inexperienced player soon received two yellow cards and was sent-off. In the last seconds of the match Donelly scored for Crusaders and set the final score.

With this win and the 5:3 on aggregate, Rabotnicki have qualified for the next round of the UEFA Europa League where they will face Odense BK from Denmark.

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