Shkendija and Pelister to face in cup final again (Video)

Shkendija eliminated Renova while Pelister denied Akademija Pandev a historic final after being better on penalties. Pelister is cup title holders after beating Shkendija last season so this will be a replay final.

photo by KF Shkendija: the red and black players celebrate the first goal

The game featuring Renova and Shkendija kicked-off an hour earlier than the other semi-final. With the first having ended 1:1, Renova had a small advantage thanks to the away goal so Shkendija had to put everything in the front line. Just on Saturday these two met in a league match and Shkendija easily celebrated a 5:0 win. After a goalless first half, it was top goalscorer Besart Ibraimi who broke the dead lock just two minutes after the break. He took a free kick from the left and with a precise shot beat Matija Kobetić.

In the 61st minute the same player doubled the lead, putting an end to mystery of the first finalist. It will be a third consecutive final for Shkendija. Last season the lost on penalties by Pelister, while a year before they lifted the trophy after beating Rabotnichki.

Gradski stadium in Tetovo
Renova – Shkendija 0:2 (0:0) 1:3 agg.
Goals: 47′, 61′ (pen) Besart Ibraimi
Renova: 41. Kobetić; 18. Mishkovski, 6. Neziri, 2. Stojanov, 5. Kostov, 7. Sadiki, 8. Jusufi (66′ 21. Kadriu), 15. Gafuri, 23. Nafiu, 10. Nuhi (C) (70′ 19. Temelkov), 16. Stojanovski (80′ 30. Lucas Meireles).
Shkendija: 1. Zahov; 16. Murati, 6. Cuculi (C), 15. Musliu, 4. Bejtulai; 8. Totre (70′ Bojku), 5. Alimi (83′ Fazlagikj), 18. Stênio Júnior, 20. Emini (76′ Shefiti), 14. Radeski’ 7. Ibraimi.
Yellow cards: Kostov, Gafuri, Sadiki (R)
Red cards: /
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (Skopje)

The other semi-final started at 16.00 CET. Pelister traveled to Turnovo with a 2:1 advantage, but also recovering from food poisoning that saw their Saturday league match get postponed.

An incident occurred in the 21st minute when one of the away fans hit assistant referee Goce Petreski with a sharp object that lead to the match being interrupted for few minutes in order for the medical team to take care of the injured referee. The police immediately arrested the notorious fan and also expelled all of Pelister’s Chkembari from the stadium. That and couple of chances for the home side marked the first half.

Akademija Pandev takes a free kick in the first half

After the break Akademija Pandev took even bigger initiative towards the visiting goal. However, it was the Bitola team that scored a goal. A counter attack in the 62nd minute saw Filip Milenkovski assisting to Blagojche Markovski in the box.

Akademija Pandev equalized in the 74th minute when Konstantin Cheshmedjiev found himself in front of the visiting keeper and unselfishly passed the ball to Jani Atanasov who scored on an empty net. That goal gave the hosts hope for at least one more and than penalty kicks. And that goal came in the 90th minute when substitute Mario Krstovski scored on a header.

The penalties saw more misses than goals. Pelister eventually celebrated after 7 series after keeper Ilche Petrovski managed to save 4 shots including the one in the last series. Of those who missed for Akademija Pandev, the shots of Baldovaliev, Dimov, Doriev and Atanaskoski got saved by Petrovski, while Krstovski sent the ball wide. Pelister’s misses were by Manevski who hit the post, Todorovski missed the target, while Istatov saved the shots of Markovski and Dragarski.

Riste Markoski takes the decissive penalty kick

Kukush stadium in Turnovo
Akademija Pandev – Pelister 2:1 (0:0), 3:3 agg. 2:3 p.s.o.
Goals: 74′ Jani Atanasov, 90′ Mario Krstovski – 62′ Blagojche Markovski
Akademija Pandev: 99. Istatov; 5. Iliev, 4. Dimov, 98. Mihailov (71′ 17. Krstovski), 3. Atanaskoski, 7. Ivanov, 77. Cheshmedjiev, 9. Mishov (71′ 18. Velinovski), 10. Atanasov, 11. Milovanovikj (71′ 14. Doriev), 28. Baldovaliev (C).
Pelister: 1. Petrovski; 23. Ljamchevski (63′ 77. Manevski), 4. Todorovski (C), 5. Dragarski, 15. Ilievski, 85. Markovski, 21. Markoski, 8. Naumoski (86′ 19. Nedanoski), 10. Konjarski, 9. Milenkovski, 22. Trifunovski.
Yellow cards: Cheshmedjiev, Atanaskoski (AP), Trifunovski, Milenkovski, Konjarski (P)
Red cards: /
Referee: Dimitar Mechkarovski (Skopje)

Akademija Pandev 2 3 Pelister
Zoran Baldovaliev X X Borche Manevski
Jani Atanasov O O Ive Trifunovski
Konstantin Cheshmedjiev O X Blagojche Markovski
Dime Dimov X X Goce Todorovski
Mario Krstovski X O Blagojche Konjarski
Ljupcho Doriev X X Hristijan Dragarski
David Atanaskoski X O Riste Markoski

The penalties:

The cup final is scheduled for May 9, but it may be postponed for the 23rd. The first league calendar got too narrow due to the many postponed matches, so FFM is considering to move the cup final at the end of the month.

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