The weather conditions called for a cautious start, as the players were greeted by rain which at times made the pitch excessively slippery, while in certain areas standing water prevented the normal movement of the ball.
Pelister were the first to show more initiative after the opening feeling-out period, creating two chances: the first in the 8th minute, when Boshkovski assisted Ivanovski, and the second in the 20th minute, when Spirovski took a shot. However, Tikvesh took the lead after Atskovski made a solo run into the Bitola side’s penalty area, beating the entire defence in green-and-white shirts with a series of moves.
That happened in the 29th minute, and less than ten minutes later, Tikvesh extended their lead after Sila converted the awarded penalty, his sixth goal of the season. The penalty was given after the duel between Ristovski and Laval, with the main referee penalising the pulling of the opponent’s shirt.
Before the end of the first half, Pelister created two more half-chances. First, in the 42nd minute, Bulatovic sent in a cross, and after Ramadani’s clearance, the ball reached Ristovski, who shot inaccurately. Meanwhile, Boshkovski’s second brilliant pass to Ivanovski was stopped because the forward was offside.
The second half began with initiative from Tikvesh and several efforts from corner kicks, but the shots taken from poorly developed positions posed no danger to Pelister’s goal. Lucianinho led two counterattacks, playing in Kuel on the first occasion, while taking the shot himself on the second, straight at Jovcevski.
After 60 minutes of play, the balance of power on the pitch changed drastically and Tikvesh handed the initiative to the visiting team. In the 63rd minute, Kerim played in Ivanovski, who found the net, but after a check by the VAR room, the referee ruled him offside. In the 72nd minute, Milojevic assisted through the middle for Ivanovski to score and give Pelister hope. Just three minutes later, the Bitola side equalised—again through Ivanovski, who emerged as the man of the match—this time after Kerim dribbled down the left and sent the ball to the far post past Kavadarci’s poorly positioned defence.
A complete turnaround was within reach: Pelister found Stevkovski’s net after a cross from Srbijanac actually ended up in the goal, but with the assistance of the VAR room, another offside was awarded against Mirko Ivanovski, who had tried to get his head to the ball.
Tikvesh’s only chance in the closing stages came in the 83rd minute, when they again had several efforts from corner kicks, and on one of them Sila’s header forced Jovcevski into another save, punching the ball behind for yet another corner.
With this point, Pelister moved to 37 points and overtook AP Brera in 8th place, with both teams on 37 points, but the Bitola side having the better goal difference. In the final, 33rd round, Pelister host Bashkimi, who are in 7th place with 42 points, so their encounter will decide only 8th and 9th place—that is, which club from the PMFL will face the second-placed or third-placed team from the VtMFL in the playoff for a place in the elite division.
