The clash between Rabotnichki and Pelister was of great importance in the battle for survival, and both teams entered the match motivated to score and dictate the course they wanted. Surprisingly, both managed to do so almost „at the first attempt“, meaning that after just nine minutes of play, the score was 1-1 and the match seemed to have started all over again.
First, Rabotnichki took the lead in the fourth minute, when a run down the left resulted in an ideal delivery to the far post and Suhel Muarem scored with ease. In a similar situation, following an attack from the left, Kire Ristevski received the ball in the opponents„ penalty area and, after his “easy stroll”, played it to Bulatović, who fired accurately.
The restart was less explosive than the previous one, and the action only heated up again in the 26th minute, when a penalty was awarded to Rabotnichki, with Demiri converting it. Pelister again looked to respond, but until the end of the first half we recorded only the chance in the 34th minute, when Kerim crossed from the left and Ondoa, despite being the highest in the air, dropped the ball. However, there was nobody to punish the mistake and Merdjani cleared.
The second half began with Rabotnichki dominating, and in the 51st minute Muharem had another chance from almost the identical position from which the first goal was scored, but this time he was inaccurate, while two minutes later Manojlov fired inaccurately from the left.
Pelister applied pressure and managed to win several corners, but in the 55th minute, after Bulatović collected a loose ball, he shot into a wall of home players. This resulted in a counterattack, which Rabotnichki converted, with Ditmir Hodža the scorer this time.
The home side then stopped playing, even though more than half an hour remained. Chances came one after another for Pelister. In the 57th minute, captain Mirko Ivanovski played the ball to Bulatović, but he shot over the bar. In the 65th minute, following Srbijanac’s counterattack, the deflected ball fell to Spiroski, but he produced a weak effort straight at goalkeeper Ondoa. Just two minutes later, Kerim dribbled clear down the right, but then shot without conviction.
The home side demonstrated a solid defence and tried to reach the opponents’ half exclusively through counterattacks, but in fact managed only one more shot in that manner, through Muarem in the 71st minute. In the closing stages, Pelister’s pressure finally paid off when Kerim calmly played the ball to substitute Petkovski between several players, and he spectacularly volleyed past the goalkeeper.
In the 86th minute, the Bitola side appealed for a penalty for a foul on Petrović, but the VAR officials rejected the claim. An attack followed in which Kerim and Petkovski again gave Ondoa the chance to shine, before Mirko Ivanovski finally managed, in the 92nd minute, to react „at the first attempt“ and convert Spiroski’s assist, beating Ondoa with the help of the post.
The Bitola side also had a chance to complete the comeback in the 95th minute, but after Srbijanac’s pass, Petrović forced Ondoa into another clearance for a corner.,
With this point, Pelister drew level with Brera (both teams have 33 points) and now take eighth place in the table with the same number of points but a better goal difference. Rabotnichki, with 29 points, are second from bottom, behind Makedonija GP, who defeated Shkupi yesterday and are 10th with 30 points.
The next round brings two new head-to-head clashes between teams involved in the battle for survival: Pelister – Shkupi and Brera – Rabotnichki.
