National cup

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Bradley Sheehan got the match started through his kick off. 7 minutes into the match, U21 England's goal looked a bit too open when Dojčin Nano came free, but Dion Stayton reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 7th match minute, U21 England was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Howard Haylock to maneuver through the defense. Jovan Dejti stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Bradley Sheehan's shot from short distance in the 10th minute. The supporters of U21 England booed when U21 Macedonia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 11 match minutes in a wonderful position. Najden Simonov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Jovan Dejti came out of the goal in the 13th minute to try and stop a shot by U21 England's Dave Cullen. But to his dismay, Dave Cullen quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 1-0. U21 England's Dion Stayton played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Dojčin Nano in the 17th minute of play. Dion Stayton made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dojčin Nano in the 18th minute of play. Vidoe Romevski kicked well hit freekick during the 20th minute of the match. In the 22nd match minute, U21 Macedonia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Zoki Krstevski to maneuver through the defense. Jovan Dejti showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Bradley Sheehan in the 25th minute of the match. 26 minutes into the game, one of U21 England:s players got tackled near the goal, and the referee blew for a penalty. A collision led to U21 Macedonia getting a freekick after 28 minutes play. Slavko Beriša hit a great ball. Jovan Dejti came out of the goal in the 30th minute to try and stop a shot by U21 England's Bradley Sheehan. But to his dismay, Bradley Sheehan quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-0. If Shane Groom had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 32nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Dion Stayton showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Dojčin Nano, who was totally free with the ball in the 38th minute. 40 minutes into the match, U21 England's goal looked a bit too open when Dojčin Nano came free, but Dion Stayton reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. After a rather tough play, U21 England's Damion Teague got a free kick in the 43rd minute. Dojčin Nano recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 46th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Dojčin Nano was the one to do the kick off. An unexpectedly hard shot by Dave Cullen in the 52nd minute of play forced U21 Macedonia's goalkeeper Jovan Dejti to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Martyn Oldham got a throw-in 54 minutes in the game and the ball was received by Shane Groom. The audience was convinced that Dojčin Nano's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dion Stayton was relentless in the 57th minute of the game. U21 Macedonia's Jovan Dejti played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Howard Haylock in the 59th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Howard Haylock in the 59th minute of play forced U21 Macedonia's goalkeeper Jovan Dejti to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 61st minute Damion Teague shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jovan Dejti saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 63rd minute the ball was on its way in behind U21 Macedonia's goalkeeper Jovan Dejti, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Dion Stayton made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Dojčin Nano in the 65th minute of play. U21 Macedonia's Darko Trajkov was substituted for Borče Rajkov. An unexpectedly hard shot by Neil Best in the 70th minute of play forced U21 Macedonia's goalkeeper Jovan Dejti to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Jovan Dejti showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Neil Best, who was totally free with the ball in the 72nd minute. Kiril Mojsov's late challenge caught a U21 England's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Kiril Mojsov helped the player get up and apologised. In the 73rd match minute, U21 Macedonia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Kiril Mojsov to maneuver through the defense. The supporters of U21 England booed when U21 Macedonia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 74 match minutes in a wonderful position. Kiril Mojsov didn't get a good kick on the ball. Dion Stayton took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Dojčin Nano, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience was convinced that Dojčin Nano's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dion Stayton was relentless in the 83rd minute of the game. After 89 minutes, Tris Byrom mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the U21 England and the U21 Macedonia players grew even worse after the yellow card. After 89 played minutes U21 England got a freekick which was hit by Tris Byrom. For all the effort they put into the match, the U21 Macedonia players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for U21 England.