National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Russia's Parfen Babarykin started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Spase Kastrati made a fantastic save in the 4th minute, when Parfen Babarykin sent off a good shot on target. Polikarp Miheev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ramadan Hristov in the 8th minute of play. 8 minutes into the match, Ramadan Hristov had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Polikarp Miheev. Russia's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Ramadan Hristov was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. In the 14th minute Ognen Čaparovski shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Polikarp Miheev saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Polikarp Miheev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ramadan Hristov in the 15th minute of play. Polikarp Miheev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ramadan Hristov in the 17th minute of play. Serafim Hanok came free with the goalkeeper in the 19th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Spase Kastrati could save by the left post. Polikarp Miheev showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ramadan Hristov, who was totally free with the ball in the 21st minute. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ramadan Hristov in the 24th minute of play forced Russia's goalkeeper Polikarp Miheev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 28 minutes into the match, Russia's goal looked a bit too open when Ramadan Hristov came free, but Polikarp Miheev reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 30 minutes into the match, Macedonia's goalkeeper Spase Kastrati had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Serafim Hanok. After 31 minutes Macedonia's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Aleksey Potanin who took care of the corner kick. In the 39th minute Parfen Babarykin shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Spase Kastrati saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ramadan Hristov in the 41st minute of play forced Russia's goalkeeper Polikarp Miheev to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Ramadan Hristov scored 0-2 in the 42nd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Polikarp Miheev, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. 45 minutes into the match, Macedonia's goal looked a bit too open when Parfen Babarykin came free, but Spase Kastrati reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 45 minutes into the match, Macedonia's goalkeeper Spase Kastrati had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Parfen Babarykin. Disappointed in the 0-2 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

The wind increased when Ramadan Hristov made the kick off in the second half. Sergey Zhdanov hit a great freekick 51 minutes into the match. Ramadan Hristov blasted a shot towards the goal in the 52nd minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Polikarp Miheev having to make a save. Polikarp Miheev made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ramadan Hristov in the 62nd minute of play. When Ramadan Hristov came up free with the goalie in the 65th minute, the Macedonia 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 Ramadan Hristov couldn't finish the play. After having played for 71 minutes, Deljan Nastevski managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Macedonia's supporters crossed their fingers, but Deljan Nastevski was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Spase Kastrati made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Georgiy Voroshilov in the 75th minute of play. Deljan Nastevski sent away a hard shot on goal in the 76th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Emilijano Kitanovski hit a great freekick 79 minutes into the match. Evgeniy Kobeko recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 80th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Macedonia's Spase Kastrati played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Yaroslav Gladyshev in the 87th minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in Russia's zone, Deljan Nastevski stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Polikarp Miheev came out of the goal and Deljan Nastevski tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. After having played for 94 minutes, Deljan Nastevski managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Macedonia's supporters crossed their fingers, but Deljan Nastevski was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. The Macedonia players were relieved to hear the final whistle blow to end the match. The away crowd was happy to see their team win after a very tight game.