Macedonia resurrect ghost to spook Ireland
Goran Stavrevski will be the guest of honour when the Macedonians unveil their revamped âPhilip The Second â The Macedonianâ stadium to their fans.
Stavrevski was never a big player in world football but he is a huge name in Irish soccer history â the defender was the man whose late, late headed goal broke Mick McCarthyâs heart on the same Skopje sod back in 1999.
Ireland were literally seconds away from automatic qualification for the 2000 European Championship finals when Stavrevski popped up unmarked for the equaliser as the Spanish referee prepared to blow the final whistle four minutes into added time.
His goal sent Ireland into a doomed play-off against Turkey and it still haunts McCarthy and the Ireland players present to this day, including two who will see action tonight.
Captain Robbie Keane and left-back Kevin Kilbane played in that nightmare draw so the sight of Stavrevski on the same Skopje pitch â but in a rebuilt stadium â wonât be a pleasant one.
âWe have a number of special guests tonight and Goran is top of the list,â said Macedonian FA spokesman Zoran Nikolovski.
âThis match is a very special one as the first game in our new stadium and Goran is a national hero for that goal against Ireland so he will be present.
âWe have also asked our first national coach Andon Donchevski and the great Georgi Hristov as our guests for this historic game.â
The other bad news for Ireland emanating fro the opposition camp concerns the fitness of Dinamo Kiev defender Goran Popov, one of their star performers in Dublin.
Popov has shaken off the ankle injury that threatened his place against Ireland and will start tonight after coming through yesterdayâs final training session unscathed.
Jonuz wonât reveal his team until this morning when they have a work-out scheduled in the match stadium but he has confirmed Popovâs availability.
Well aware of the significance of tonightâs first game in the new stadium, Popov expects Macedonia to rise to the occasion.
âWe expect a hot atmosphere but all our players have played in big venues before like this and we know how to handle the additional pressure of the first game in the new stadium,â claimed Popov.
âThe stadium is now one of the best in the Balkans and we expect the stands to be full so we will play good for those fans in a game we have to win.â
Inter Milan striker Goran Pandev, meanwhile, wants Macedonia to draw on their Spanish experience, from a 3-2 friendly defeat in Skopje in 2009, when they face Ireland tonight.
âWe were two goals up inside 32 minutes against Spain in that game and that is the sort of football we must play tonight,â said Pandev.
âIreland will be tough opponents but we must win this game to get back into contention for the European finals and also to boost our FIFA rating ahead of the World Cup draw.â
MACEDONIAâS top scorer, he comes into this game on the back of an Italian Cup win with Inter Milan last Sunday and is keen as mustard to mark the opening of the Philip II Stadium with another international goal. Pandev is a handful for any defence and will relish the fact Richard Dunne is missing tonight.
THE Dinamo Kiev full-back was one of the most impressive players in the field when Macedonia lost in Dublin and played a huge part in their second-half revival that probably deserved a draw that night. Reported in on Monday with an ankle injury but cleared to play yesterday, a major boost for the home side. He will be glad that Damien Duff is missing and now knows all about Aiden McGeady from Russian football.
ALREADY linked with Rangers, the Apoel Nicosia winger really impressed the scouts with his pace and his goal in Dublin back in March. Strong on the ball and keen to cut in from the wing, Trickovski was voted the best foreign player in Cyprus last year and seems destined for a big move when the transfer window opens.
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