Academy of Pandev made light work of Veneț Negotino in the Round of 32, running out 8-0 winners on Tuesday evening. The visitors never looked back after their early strike, and here's the thing — they'd already set the tone before the half-hour mark. By then it was clear this wouldn't be a contest so much as a demonstration.
M. Sejmenov opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute, latching onto a loose ball and slotting past the keeper. I. Mitrov doubled the lead shortly after, and then Sejmenov struck again in the twenty-second. Three goals in nine minutes, and Veneț's defence had nowhere to hide.
M. Mitrov added a fourth before the break, finishing a move that had been building all afternoon. Academy of Pandev pressed high up the pitch, refused to let the home side breathe, and by the time the whistle blew they'd already put the game beyond doubt.
Sejmenov completed his hat-trick in the forty-seventh minute, and then came the eighth. G. Buckov wrapped things up in the eighty-sixth, a simple finish that felt almost perfunctory after the earlier onslaught.
Academy of Pandev's recent form tells its own story. They'd drawn with Pelister, lost to Rabotnicki and Skopje, but bounced back with wins over Kamani and Gorno Lisiche. This wasn't a team finding its feet — it was a team that knew exactly what it wanted.
The result sees them advance comfortably in the Cup. Eight goals without reply is a statement, and one that suggests they'll be difficult to stop when the draw produces tougher opposition.