Rabotnicki complete double in FYROM

FK Rabotnicki have completed their second double in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia thanks to a 2-0 home win against FK Gorno Lisice that ended the title race just four days after the capital side also won the national cup.

Going into Sunday's penultimate round of games, Rabotnicki held a two-point lead over second-placed FK Turnovo and were a further point clear of FK Metalurg Skopje, in third. Both their rivals needed wins to keep their hopes alive, but Turnovo went down 2-1 at outgoing champions FK Vardar, while Metalurg suffered a home loss by the same scoreline to FK Shkëndija 79.

That enabled Rabotnicki to clinch their first title since 2008 and fourth overall with one match remaining, but they did not have everything their own way against Gorno Lisice. The Skopje outfit had failed to overcome their visitors in two previous encounters this season and had to wait until the 66th minute to make their breakthrough, when Borche Manevski collected a fine pass from Petar Petrov and struck from inside the box. Rabotnicki's top scorer Manevski was on target again four minutes from time to seal the title with his 17th goal this season.

"I want to congratulate my players, my assistants and the club's president Dragan Popovski," said victorious coach Igor Angelovski. "This was a perfect season for us. We worked very hard and that was crucial for our successful campaign."