Macedonia’s bid to come back from a five goal deficit came up just short as the U21 team suffered a 6:5 loss away to Denmark in the city of Aalborg.

It was a tale of two halves as Denmark U21 controlled the 1st half, while Macedonia improved after the break.  The Macedonian defense in the 1st half was disorganized and looked out of sorts as Denmark created numerous chances on their way to a 5:1 lead.  Macedonia U21 improved after the break and managed to score four goals after the 65th minute but still came up just short by losing 6:5.

The first goal of the game was scored in the 6th minute by Denmark following a converted penalty kick by captain Mads Albæk.  It was a questionable and late penalty given by the referee as the Danish player had already attempted a lob before the Macedonian keeper Filip Gachevski made contact with the opponent.  However, the referee pointed to the spot and the penalty was calmly converted.  In the 8th minute, Macedonia wanted a penalty for a similar violation.  Ferhan Hasani got past several players before his cross reached Ilija Nestorovski who sent his shot over the goal.  However, as Nestorovski was unleashing the shot, he was brought down but the referee waved play on this time.

Denmark made it 2:0 in the 19th minute after some nice build up play by several Danish players ultimately reached Anders Christiansen whose effort found the back of the net despite Gachevski getting a slight piece of the ball.  Denmark was gaining in confidence and added a third goal in the 25th minute.  Following a corner kick, the ball was first cleared but a Danish player sent a header back into the box which reached Erik Sviatchenko who scored with a powerful shot from a tight angle.  Macedonia U21 responded seconds later to reduce the deficit to 3:1 when midfielder Stefan Spirovski scored a great goal from long range as the Danish keeper did not move.  That goal did not provide momentum for Macedonia as Denmark would go on to add two more goals before halftime.  First, in the 37th minute, Gachevski saved a shot but he allowed a rebound opportunity which resulted in an easy goal by Anders Christiansen (his second of the game) from close range.  Finally, in the 45th minute, Nicklas Helenius scored directly from a free kick to make it 5:1 heading into halftime.

Manager Boban Babunski made a change to the defense at the start of the 2nd half by bringing on Kire Ristevski to replace Jasmin Mecinovic.  Macedonia continued to struggle early in the 2nd half as Denmark added a sixth goal in the 55th minute when a cross from the left was sent home by Emil Larsen.  In the 60th minute, Gachevski made a good save to prevent a seventh goal for Denmark as the Macedonian defense was caught napping with a ball over the top.  At this point, Macedonia seemed headed for a shellacking but the players did not give up and made for an interesting finish.

Ferhan Hasani, the danger man for Macedonia, displayed great skill in the 65th minute when he dribbled past two opposing players before his low cross was tapped in from close range by Ilija Nestorovski.  Macedonia then made it 6:3 in the 68th minute when a free kick by Hasani eventually found defender Goran Bogdanovic who fired a shot to the back of the net.  The two quick goals energized the Macedonian side and defender Yani Urdinov then provided the assists on the final two goals of the game.  In the 83rd minute, Urdinov’s cross was controlled by Fljamur Tairi who then slotted a shot to the bottom left corner, while Samir Fazli made it 6:5 in the 88th minute when he headed home a cross by Urdinov.  Macedonia U21 looked for an equalizer in the dying moments of the game but a serious chance could not be created and Denmark held on to the 6:5 win.

With the three points, Denmark overtook Macedonia on the standings of Group 4.  Denmark is now tied with Serbia for first place with 11 points, while Macedonia dropped to third place with 9 points.  In addition, both Serbia and Denmark have a game in hand over Macedonia.

Denmark U21 – Macedonia U21 6:5 (5:1)

Scorers: 6′ (pen) Albæk, 19′, 37′ Christiansen, 25′ Sviatchenko, 45′ Helenius, 55′ Larsen (Denmark); 26′ Spirovski, 65′ Nestorovski, 68′ Bogdanovic, 83′ Tairi, 88′ Fazli (Macedonia).

Yellow Cards: 27′ Sloth (Denmark); 5′ Gachevski, 12′ Mecinovic, 44′ Brdarovski, 58′ Urdinov, 90′ Spirovski (Macedonia).

Red Cards: None

Denmark U21: Larsen, Gundelach, Sviatchenko, Vestergaard, Kirkeskov, Sloth (68′ Bech), Larsen, Albæk (C), Helenius (85′ Makienok), Christiansen, Laudrup.

Macedonia U21: Gachevski, Brdarovski, Mecinovic (46′ Ristevski), Bogdanovic (C), Urdinov, An. Stankov (34′ Tairi), Spirovski, Babunski (65′ Husmani), Hasani, Nestorovski, Fazli.

Game highlights:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=jYZwtsKDbGs