Struga Trim Lum emerged victorious in the derby against Vardar in the third round of the Macedonian First Football League, winning 1-0 at home. Hristijan Maleski scored the only goal of the match, while Vardar missed a huge chance to avoid defeat in the very closing stages. In the 96th minute, David Babunski failed to convert a penalty for the champions.
This was the reigning champions’ second consecutive defeat in the first three rounds, while Struga Trim Lum continue their excellent start to the season.
The first serious chance came in the 11th minute, when a scramble unfolded in front of the hosts’ goal, but Pape Fall intervened in time and cleared the ball before it crossed the goal line.
Four minutes later, Filip Najdovski tried his luck from distance, but the ball went wide of the goal.
Struga could have taken the lead in the 41st minute. Following an excellent pass from Bunjamin Shabani, Marjan Radeski found himself in a good position and shot from around 15 metres, but Davor Taleski made an excellent save.
Vardar responded two minutes later through Darko Velkovski, who headed the ball after a corner from the right, but straight at Andrej Jovchevski.
The final chance of the first half fell to Diego Castañeda, who shot from around 18 metres, but the ball went over Struga’s goal.
The hosts took the lead in the 61st minute. Shabani played an excellent pass to Maleski, who unleashed a powerful shot from the right and beat Taleski to make it 1-0.
Just two minutes later, Maleski could have scored his second goal, but this time Vardar’s goalkeeper came out on top and prevented the lead from being extended.
Vardar pushed for an equaliser as the match progressed. In the 75th minute, Mislav Matić threatened with a header, but Jovchevski was reliable and kept a clean sheet.
The visitors were handed an ideal opportunity to equalise in the 96th minute. Following Mihail Manevski’s cross, Diako handled the ball inside the penalty area, and the referee pointed to the spot.
David Babunski took responsibility, but his shot went high over the goal. Vardar thus missed their final chance to earn a point, while Struga Trim Lum secured three points in the derby.
