Pelister seized their chance to claim three more points in the battle for survival by defeating bottom side Shkupi in a match that was the Bitola team’s most prolific of the season.
The start of the match did not suggest a high-scoring outcome, primarily because the Bitola team began without a pair of regular starters, including captain Mirko Ivanovski and the team’s most prolific player this year, Luka Bulatović. There was an attempt following an attack involving Kerim and Petkovski in the second minute, as well as one by Filip Petrović in the fifth minute. Petkovski tried once again in the seventh minute, while the visitors had their clearest chance in the 10th minute, when Ziberi attempted to punish the advancing Jovčevski from the halfway line, but was not precise enough.
The first goal came in the 25th minute, following an attack in which Filip Petrović was played in at the right moment and finished accurately to score his first goal in the PMFL. Two more goals followed in the next two attacks: first, in the 31st minute, Spirovski played Petkovski through from the middle of the pitch and he converted without difficulty, and then, in the 39th minute, after Srbijanac’s run down the left, Filip Petrović again received an assist which he managed to turn into a goal. Right at the end of the first half, Petkovski scored his second goal to make it 4:0, and Pelister’s victory appeared to be a foregone conclusion.
In the second half, it came close to another goal in Sefer Musliu’s net in the 49th minute, but Filip Petrović’s header was stopped by the goalkeeper, and the rebound struck the crossbar.
The Bitola club’s coach, Marjan Sekulovski, also gave some younger footballers a chance, and they responded with more goals. In the 70th minute, Mrmachovski got his name on the scoresheet, while Mihajo Petrović did the same ten minutes later. For both of them, it was their first goal in a Pelister shirt and in the Macedonian championship altogether. The final 7:0 came after another attack in the 86th minute, from which Filip Petrović once again made the most of the opportunity to complete his hat-trick.
„The Green-and-whites now have 36 points and share eighth place with AP Brera, who have the same number of points but a game in hand (tomorrow they host Rabotnički in a match that could prove decisive in the battle for survival).
Following their ninth victory of the season, Pelister will finish the championship with an away match against Tikveš and a home game against Bashkimi.
