League Play-Off

Niže Pole Gradski St
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Slobodan Saliu took the kick off in the first half of the match. Zlatko Brnjacevski didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Slobodan Saliu went, in the 7th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-1 was the resulting score. Zlatko Brnjacevski stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Slobodan Saliu's shot from short distance in the 10th minute. Lopate's Lurtim Živkovski proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 18th minute of the match, managed to save Lopate from getting a goal against them. In the 20th minute, Niže Pole FK's Slavoljub Micevski ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Lurtim Živkovski. Lurtim Živkovski yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 1-1. Nace Rusevski might have been able to make a better finish in the 30th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Zlatko Brnjacevski. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Nace Rusevski ran back to his position shaking his head. 32 minutes into the match, Niže Pole FK's goal looked a bit too open when Slobodan Saliu came free, but Zlatko Brnjacevski reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After 35 minutes, Miša Vasilevski mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Lopate and the Niže Pole FK players grew even worse after the yellow card. Miša Vasilevski kicked well hit freekick during the 35th minute of the match. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Slobodan Saliu in the 38th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Zlatko Brnjacevski prevented the ball from getting in the gole. A collision led to Niže Pole FK getting a freekick after 40 minutes play. Jane Lozanov hit a great ball. After having played for 41 minutes, Slobodan Saliu managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Lopate's supporters crossed their fingers, but Slobodan Saliu was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Slavoljub Micevski received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 43rd minute. Lurtim Živkovski tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Lopate's Lurtim Živkovski played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Slavoljub Micevski in the 46th minute of play. In the 47th minute, Ditmir Grigorijevski got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. The fans had the chance to grab some refreshments as the whistle went for half-time. The score stood at 1-1 after a close first half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Slavoljub Micevski made a kick off. When Niže Pole FK's Ditmir Grigorijevski in the 54th minute got a chance for a shot 54th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Lopate's goalie prevented a goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ditmir Grigorijevski in the 60th minute of play forced Lopate's goalkeeper Lurtim Živkovski to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Lopate's Nace Rusevski got a good chance for a goal in the 64th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Slobodan Saliu recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 66th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Ditmir Grigorijevski scored 2-1 in the 73rd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Lurtim Živkovski, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Slobodan Saliu fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 77th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Zlatko Brnjacevski having to interfere. When Slavoljub Micevski came up free with the goalie in the 78th minute, the Niže Pole FK fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Slavoljub Micevski couldn't finish the play. After 80 minutes of play, Niže Pole FK's Ditmir Grigorijevski made it 3-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Lurtim Živkovski was left in no man's land by his defense there! Lopate's Lurtim Živkovski played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Grozdan Krasnicki in the 87th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Lopate's zone, Slavoljub Micevski stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Lurtim Živkovski came out of the goal and Slavoljub Micevski tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. The referee blew his whistle, and the match came to a close. The players exchanged shirts and headed down the tunnel. The Niže Pole FK fans cheered their team off the field, for while Lopate had put up a good fight, they were unable to come out of the game with any points to show for their effort.