Llapi edged past Shkendija Tetovo in a club friendly on Saturday, winning 1-0 at home. The match ended with a late twist when the visitors had a man sent off near the final whistle.
And here's the thing — it was a quiet affair until the seventeenth minute. Llapi struck first and held on for the rest of the ninety. The visitors had nothing to do all evening after that opening goal.
By then the game had settled into a rhythm, but Shkendija switched off at the back in the eighty-seventh minute. A red card changed everything, though there was little time for the away side to respond.
Llapi kept their discipline throughout, picking up no cards of any kind. Shkendija finished with one red card and no yellows — a costly evening for the visitors.
To be fair, Llapi had struggled before this win. They'd lost four of their last five matches, including heavy defeats against Driniça Skënderaj and Malisheva. This result extended their unbeaten run to one.
Shkendija, meanwhile, had been finding their feet with a 3-0 victory over Kamyanı on their previous outing. The red card will leave a bitter aftertaste after what looked like a competitive match.
