Macedonian champions Vardar successfully began their title defence after defeating Bregalnica 2-0 at the National Arena „Todor Proeski“. Dimitar Danev in the 27th minute and Goran Zakarić in the 81st minute scored the goals for Vardar, who absolutely deserved the three points based on their performance on the pitch.
Pireš threatened in the second minute, but Amir Jašar managed to save his shot from 14 metres and push it out for a corner.
After that, Bregalnica won four corners in succession, while Kalpački sent a shot over the goal in the 10th minute. 
Vardar had a good chance through Goran Zakarić in the 19th minute, but the Serbian international's shot went just wide of the goal.
Eight minutes later, Vardar took the lead. Zakarić launched a counter-attack and played Spahiu in on the right, followed by a cross into the six-yard box, where Dimitar Danev finished routinely.
In the 30th minute, Goran Zakarić scored, but following an intervention from the VAR room, it was determined that he had handled the ball immediately before the shot.
At the beginning of the second half, Bregalnica had a chance to equalise, but Nenad Miškovski blocked Martin Stojanov's shot at the last moment.
Vardar coach Kristian Fabijani made five substitutions, bringing in Omeragić, Rodriguez, Castañeda, Jankulov and Manevski, giving the attack an even stronger dimension.
In the 63rd minute, Vardar produced an excellent team move, which ended with Azer Omeragić hitting a volley, but the ball went just over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, Martin Stojanov threatened, but Dikovski managed to save. Two chances for Azer Omeragić followed, but the hosts' minimal lead remained intact.
Gerson Rodriguez also tried, but was inaccurate. However, in the 81st minute he created an excellent opportunity for Goran Zakarić, who found the net from 17 metres to make it 2-0.
Vardar will now once again focus on the European challenge, the second leg against Riga in the UEFA Conference League.
