Pobeda progress with late rally

By Igor Panevski

FK Pobeda left it until the closing stages to seal a UEFA Intertoto Cup second-round berth, coming from a goal down in the second leg to win 2-1 and eliminate FK Smederevo 3-1 on aggregate.

Late drama
After a 1-0 first-leg victory for the Macedonian side in Serbia and Montenegro, the return fixture looked to be heading for extra time when goalkeeper Darko Tofiloski allowed Petar Divic to score for Smederevo. However, the final 15 minutes proved crucial as Vladimir Vujovic and Dimitar Kapinkovski struck to ensure Pobeda prevailed.

Divic delight
The home side had the first opening of the game on 14 minutes when Sašo Krstev broke through on goal only to miss the target, and the forward was made to pay a minute later when Smederevo scored to level the tie on aggregate. Defender Dejan Kekezovic fed Divic in the Pobeda area and Tofiloski failed to deal with his header as the ball looped into the net.

Vujovic joy
Petar Kurcubic's team pushed forward in search of an equaliser to regain the overall advantage, with Krstev missing from a metre out and Vujovic striking the crossbar. However, Vujovic was to have more luck in the 75th minute, latching on to Aleksandar Popovski's pass to score past Dejan Rankovic.

Kapinkovski decisive
Krstev could have put the result beyond doubt three minutes later only to send his rebound wide after Dejan Ristovski's intial shot had been parried. But Kapinkovski secured victory with seven minutes remaining, curling in an 18-metre free-kick to earn a tie with German Bundesliga side Hamburger SV.

'Big success'
"It was a tough match," said coach Kurcubic. "But I'm happy that we won both games against a very good Smederevo team. This was a big success for Pobeda and we now look forward to Hamburg in the next round."