The match kicked off 30 minutes after the scheduled time, with the first half proving to be a tight scrabble between the two sides. Sloboden would prove to be the most threatening, although they weren’t able to make their chances count. A solid first half performance by the defensive trio of Simeon Tanaskoski, Andrej Najdovski and Nikola Minovski was able to keep our box tidy, and any chances that passed them would quickly be picked up by Boban Avramoski.

The most defining moments of the first half would involve Nikola Bosheski, as the number ten saw himself miss a clear cut chance and get injured by the poorly placed foot of a Rechica player, leaving him to watch the second half on the bench.

It is about this point that the Rechica attack truly sprung into action, with momentum swinging into their hands just as it seemed that the Robins had taken the tie. This led to a mistake from Georgi Bozhikov leaving the team in black and white’s left wing free to cross it in, finding their own man in the box and leaving the score at 2-1.

Rechica kept up the pressure for the duration of the half and certainly made life difficult for the Robins, but even so the fresh faces in defense were able to withstand their many waves of attacks and ultimately seal the victory.