National Team Friendly

National stadium
Spectators: 10301 (Terracing: 7726, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) Josif Serafimov sent away a hard shot on goal in the 2nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Josif Serafimov in the 6th minute of play forced Albania's goalkeeper Vezir Margjeka to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Dragoljub Despotovski made an important save on a dangerous shot by Driton Bespalla in the 8th minute. In the 10th minute of the match Simon Lefkovski sent off a long shot with destination to the right of the goalkeeper, but Vezir Margjeka skillfully saved the ball. In the 13th minute, Nertil Lazellari hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Vezir Margjeka took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Bledar Gaši, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 18th minute Trim Bardhi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Vezir Margjeka saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 20th minute, one of Albania:s players had the ball in front of the goal but got pushed and fell. The referee felt it was an obvious case and blew a penalty for Albania. Albania:s Vezir Margjeka showed great skill when he stopped Trim Bardhi:s penalty. In the 21st minute of the game, Driton Bespalla landed unfortunately after trying to head the ball, and pulled a muscle in the back, so badly that he had to leave the field. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Slobodan Bogdanovski during the 21st minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. Albania made a substitution. Sabian Hila replaced Driton Bespalla. The supporters of Albania booed when Macedonia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 23 match minutes in a wonderful position. Slobodan Bogdanovski didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 31st minute, Trim Bardhi ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Vezir Margjeka was frozen by the shot and now it was 0-1. Albania's Vezir Margjeka played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Josif Serafimov in the 34th minute of play. After having played for 37 minutes, Trim Bardhi managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Macedonia's supporters crossed their fingers, but Trim Bardhi was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Trim Bardhi in the 39th minute of play forced Albania's goalkeeper Vezir Margjeka to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Dragoljub Despotovski stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Lutfi Curri's shot from short distance in the 45th minute.

Macedonia made a substitution. Pandil Filipovič replaced Bledar Gaši. Dragoljub Despotovski showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Lutfi Curri in the 52nd minute of the match. Albania's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Sejfullah Shahini in the 54th minute. A nice corner shot did that Sejfullah Shahini got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Dragoljub Despotovski quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. Macedonia's Alban Bushi was substituted for Simon Lefkovski. Trim Bardhi's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 60thth minute, Vezir Margjeka skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Albania's Vezir Margjeka played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Pandil Filipovič in the 64th minute of play. Sabian Hila sent away a hard shot on goal in the 68th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Muharem Lulo fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 72nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Dragoljub Despotovski having to interfere. When Sabian Hila came up free with the goalie in the 74th minute, the Albania 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 Sabian Hila couldn't finish the play. Vezir Margjeka showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Josif Serafimov, who was totally free with the ball in the 78th minute. The audience was convinced that Sabian Hila's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Dragoljub Despotovski was relentless in the 85th minute of the game. Vezir Margjeka took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Trim Bardhi, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 88th minute, Trim Bardhi reached a very good position and smashed the ball with a huge effort into the net, just to the left of Vezir Margjeka. The goal made the score 0-3. Alban Bushi struck a weak shot in the 95th minute. Vezir Margjeka didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Macedonia. The away crowd were delighted with the way their team had played and cheered loudly when the final whistle sounded. Macedonia walked away with the win, even though the match was close until the end.