Skopje and Shkendija 77 are the new members of the Macedonian top tier, after the incredible and dramatic play-off matches in which the teams of Brera Strumica and Pelister suffered defeats and moved to the Second League.

photo by FC Skopje

Skopje celebrated with a lone goal over Brera Strumica in Bitola. The key moments began in the 86th minute when Angelov missed a colossal chance to bring Skopje into the lead, after failing to convert the penalty. However, in the next attack, after a perfectly executed corner kick from the right, Trajchevski managed to get the ball into the opponent’s penalty area and, with the help of the post, put the ball in the net.

The match in Kavadarci brought even greater excitement, where the nets remained silent until the second half. The team from Aracinovo was the first to take the lead with a goal by Nazifi. After the goal, the Pelister players went for an all-or-nothing approach, and such an offensive soon brought them a penalty. However, the experienced striker Mirko Ivanovski failed in this crucial situation, first his shot from the penalty spot was saved, and then he sent the rebound high over the crossbar.

Although at that moment it seemed that Pelister was close to defeat, they did not give up. In the extra time, they first hit the crossbar, and in the 98th minute, after an assist from Spirovski, Petkovski scored a life-saving equalizer, taking the match to penalty shootout. The penalty shootout turned into a real drama in eight series, where the absolute hero was the goalkeeper of Shkendija 77, Antonio Stolevski.

Gradski stadium in Kavadarci
Pelister – Shkendija 77 1:1 (0:0) 5:6 p.s.o.
Goals: 90’+8 Petar Petkovski – 54’ Zani Nazifi
Referee: Igor Stojchevski (Skopje)

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Petar Miloshevski stadium in Bitola
Brera Strumica – Skopje 0:1 (0:0)
Goals: 88′ Dushko Trajchevski
Red cards: 87′ Kire Stojanov (BS), 90’+2 Marko Stojilevski (BS)
Referee: Fatmir Bafto (Ohrid)

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