Vardar Beat Shkendija of Aračinovo 2–0 and Climb to Third in the First League

Macedonian champions Vardar beat Shkendija of Aračinovo 2–0 in the 8th-round match of the Macedonian First Football League, played at the field of the Football Federation of Macedonia complex. It was a deserved win for the Skopje side, which dominated the second half of the match and took three golden points in the race for the top of the table.

The first half ended goalless, but not without excitement. The hosts came close to scoring in the 12th minute, when Babunski hit the visitors’ post. Shkendija of Aračinovo also had its golden chance: Fazlagiq went one-on-one with the goalkeeper but failed to convert.

The match changed in the second half. Just two minutes after the restart, Boban Nikolov capitalized on a defensive error by the visitors and in the 47th minute put Vardar ahead 1–0. The hosts pushed hard for a second goal, and in the 55th minute Goran Zakarić hit the crossbar.

The safety goal came in the 69th minute: after a beautiful assist from Omeragiq, Zakarić scored for 2–0, sealing the reigning champions’ victory.

With this triumph, Vardar climb to 14 points and take third place in the standings, level with Struga TL, five points behind leaders Shkendija of Tetovo. Shkendija of Aračinovo, meanwhile, remain fifth with 13 points, and this defeat ended the Aračinovo side’s three-game winning streak.

Source: Sport1