Makedonija 3 - 1 Canary (393411035)

The crowd of 101682 turning up at F.K. Makedonija Arena today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Wan-Kyun Yi was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Ernst-Dieter Oberkirch and Alvyras Sosunovas. All of Skopje was shut down for the day, as fans of both clubs came to the derby. Makedonija decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. The following players took the field: Le Bon - Kösten, Pranczk, Craveira, Seymour - Triana, Bertin, Timmermans, Patronen, Rytel - Pedreira.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Canary. The following players had been chosen: Năstase - Grabec, Chapov, Chulev - Marcus, März, Tallone, Advíncula, Ybarra Muñoz - Porquinho, Moroşanu.

V. Ybarra Muñoz slipped and slithered in the wet grass. His usual rapid runs were nowhere to be seen today. The visitors were very close to gaining the lead with a marvellous free kick after 12 minutes, but L. Le Bon made a beautiful one-handed save. 14 minutes into the game, Makedonija seemed a little tentative in their play as their organization fell to solid. The rain made it hard for players like L. Tallone to show their technical control of the ball on this soggy day. Canary's D. Advíncula gave the visitors a 0 - 1 lead after 19 minutes with a superb strike from the right. With the crowd on their feet chanting wildly, some great moves down the right hand side after 26 minutes gave Makedonija a wonderful opportunity to level the score, and J. Triana stepped up to the challenge. 1 - 1 38 minutes into the game, Makedonija wanted to bring some new energy to their game. M. Seymour gave G. Eltyshev a quick hug as he left the field. Makedonija broke through on the left 38 minutes into the game, with G. Eltyshev firing in from an acute angle to give the home side a 2 - 1 lead. 2 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession was split evenly between the teams.

Despite his frustration resulting in the smashing of a few teacups, the coach of Makedonija was able to get his message across, and raised Makedonija's organisation to solid. Given a free kick in a difficult position after 58 minutes, Canary tried a variation that they had practised in training. The kick was sent into the area just in front of the keeper. However, the defence were on their toes and allowed no space for a finish. G. Pedreira could have increased the lead after 78 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. J. März made a run for the goal 80 minutes into the game but the home team's left back managed to sort the situation out in the end. 81 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as G. Pedreira broke through, making the score 3 - 1 for Makedonija. S. Chulev was having a great game - if anything the pouring rain seemed to be spurring him on! The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave L. Tallone from Canary a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 84 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! Makedonija were forced into a substitution as G. Eltyshev couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing L. Ignjatoski to come in off the bench. Makedonija's T. Kösten swung in a good chance from the left, but the visitors' defence were able to clear the ball. After 87 minutes Canary's S. Chapov limped slightly after a late challenge, but he was able to continue. Makedonija claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 51 percent.

Makedonija's best player was J. Bertin. However, L. Ignjatoski made a disastrous appearance. Canary's top performer was clearly S. Chulev. S. Chapov on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 3 - 1.