The Macedonian U21 national team recorded their first win during the 2013 UEFA Under-21 championship qualifying tournament.

With the lone goal scored by striker Samir Fazli, Macedonia U21 noted a slim home victory against the Faroe Islands.  Although a bigger win was expected, the result was deserved and will serve as a good morale booster before the upcoming match against Denmark on the 15th of November in Skopje.

Faroe Islands opened the match with an attacking mindset and that surprised the home players but after the initial 10-15 minutes, Macedonia took control of the game.  Ilija Nestorovski and Marjan Altiparmakovski created chances for Macedonia but the visiting keeper saved Altiparmakovski’s shot while Nestorovski missed the target.  The away team looked dangerous on set pieces but overall, the Macedonian defense played solid and kept things quiet for keeper Filip Gacevski.

Just before halftime, in the 41st minute, LB Dzelil Abdula sent a great cross from the left which reached Samir Fazli who sent his header to the back of the net.  After the goal, Macedonia played more relaxed and found itself in a better position.  In the second half, Babunski substituted Altiparmakovski with Aleksandar Trajkovski and Nestorovski with Nikola Jakimovski who made his debut with the U21 team.  Macedonia controlled possession and seemed to be in cruise control with the 1:0 lead.  However, problems emerged in the 77th minute when Samir Fazli received his second yellow card of the game, thus resulting in a red card.   His first yellow card came earlier in the 72nd minute so he picked up two yellow cards in the span of five minutes.  Defensive midfielder Zeni Husmani was brought on to replace Stefan Ristovski in the 90th minute as Macedonia U21 looked to hold on to the victory.  Substitute Aleksandar Trajkovski had two quality chances towards the end of the game but he rushed things and squandered both opportunities. Two minutes after entering the game, Husmani suffered a shoulder injury so Macedonia ended the match with 9 players.  Faroe Islands pushed forward but could not score the equalizing goal so Macedonia U21 recorded an important victory to move into third place of Group 4 during the 2013 UEFA Under-21 championships.

Highlights of the game (courtesy of Sport Efe):

Stadium Boris Trajkovski in Madzari, Skopje
Referee: Þóroddur Hjaltalín (Iceland)
Goalscorer: Fazli 41′ (M)
Yellow cards: Spirovski, Brdarovski, Fazli (M); Davidsen, Olsen (F)
Red cards: Fazli 77′ (M)
Macedonia U21: Gacevski, Brdarovski, Bogdanovik (c), Mecinovik, Abdula, Ristovski, Spirovski (90′ Husmani), Tairi, Nestorovski (72′ Jakimovski), Altiparmakovski (67′ Trajkovski), Fazli.
Faroe Islands U21: Jørgensen, Vatnsdal, Holm, Eysturoy, Løkin, Davidsen (c), Edmundsson, Sørensen (63′ Klettskard), Bartalstovu (79′ Ellinsgaard), A. Olsen, Lakjuni (90′ K. Olsen).