Diego Contreras stars as Arsimi hold Shkëndija 2-2
Contreras came off the summer loan from Partizani and scored a second-half brace to secure a 2-2 draw with the league leaders.
Diego Contreras rescued Arsimi a point in a dramatic 2-2 draw with league leader Shkëndija, scoring twice after his team trailed 0-2 and earning recognition as Player of Round 7.
Match impact and individual award
The Colombian forward, who joined Arsimi this summer on loan from Partizani, turned the game around in the second half: Shkëndija had a two-goal advantage before Contreras netted a brace to level the score at 2-2. His performance was singled out in the round selections as the standout individual display.
Contreras’s profile accompanying the selection lists his date of birth as October 10, 2003, born in Colombia, and his senior clubs as Jaguares, Partizani and Arsimi. The loan signing has already made a visible difference for Arsimi’s attack.
Arsimi leave the match with one valuable point gained against the title contenders; the draw denied Shkëndija a full three points and, as described in commentary around the fixture, effectively saw their rival "steal" two precious points in the race for the championship.
Alongside Contreras, the round’s team selection included: Dardhishta (Arsimi); Stolevski and Elezi (Shkëndija Arachinovo); Fal and Hamza (Struga TL); Ismaili and S. Ristovski (Bashkimi); Lucianinho (Tikvesh); Zakarić (Vardar); and M. Stojanov (Bregalnica).
The result and Contreras’s display underline Arsimi’s growing threat this season and add pressure on the league leaders as the campaign passes the opening rounds.
Photo: press material from the event
