Rabotnicki will return home with big advantage because of the 1:2 win away to Nova Gorica in Slovenia, while Vardar were unluckily defeated in the last minutes with a goal from dubious offside position by the Cypriot club Anorthosis.
Rabotnicki will return to Macedonia with high hopes of reaching the second qualifying round after the narrow victory in Slovenia. The visitors were happy to sit back and absorb Gorica's counterattacks, yet their opener was a touch fortunate as home defender Marko Šuler inadvertently sent the ball into his own net in the 74th minute. Tim Matav leveled for Gorica two minutes later with a lovely shot from outside the box, although the late drama went the way of Rabotnicki as Krste Velkoski made it 1:2 in the final minute.
Vardar controlled big part of the game against the Cypriot club Anorthosis from Famagusta but undeservedly lost at the end. A late goal from Bulgarian Metodi Deyanov gave the Cypriot club a narrow advantage ahead of the second leg. Anorthosis should have taken the lead after 15 minutes but Marians Pahars headed wide from close range before the hosts missed two good chances prior to the interval. Ostoja Stjepanović shot narrowly wide while Hristijan Kirovski beat three defenders only to fire over the bar. In the last minutes of the match Deyanov scored a goal after a dubious offside position. The referee's decision made the Vardar's fans and players very angry and Milan Perendija was sent off seconds later because of his protests.