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GFK Tikvesh 1930 (), commonly referred to as Tikvesh, is a professional football club from Kavadarci that competes in the Macedonian First League. After playing at different home grounds in the early years,Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 15, 162 the club moved to Gradski Stadion Kavadarci on 19 March 1950 and have remained there since.
The 'golden age' of the club came in the late 1960s and lasted throughout the entire 1970s. Tikvesh had won the Macedonian Republic League twice (1971–72; 1977–78), and they have competed in the Yugoslav Second League for five seasons (1955–56; 1968–69; 1969–70; 1972–73; 1978–79). Tikvesh was one of the 18 founding members of the Macedonian First League in 1992. In the 2023–24 season the club has won their first Macedonian Football Cup. The club's traditional colours are red and white, they are nicknamed the Winegrowers and they have contested the Winegrowers Derby with their neighbouring rivals FK Vardar Negotino, although Tikvesh have predominantly played in higher league so their meetings have only been sporadic.
History
Foundation and early years
Tikvesh was founded on 21 December 1930Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 11 by a group of young enthusiasts who held their meeting in the Balkan restaurant in Kavadarci. Slavcho Temkov became the first president of the newly formed club, Todor Janakiev was chosen as secretary while Aleksandar Hadzhivasilev was the first main sponsor.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 9, 11
The club's early years were mostly spent playing friendly matches with other teams from Kavadarci and some neighbouring towns.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 16 At this early stage Tikvesh was overshadowed by the other football clubs from Kavadarci,Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 20 such as FK Zanaetchiski, FK Ljubash, FK JugoslavijaFirst football club from Kavadarci to be admitted into the Skoplje Football Subassociation in 1936Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 19 and FK Strasho Pindzhur, but after the resumption of football following World War II Tikvesh were admitted into the Football League and the club established itself.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 28 In 1948–49 Tikvesh achieved a 6th-place finish in the Macedonian Republic League, level on points with 5th placed FK Shar Tetovo but weaker goal difference.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 30
1950s and 1960s (Vuko Karov's era) First taste of success
The club made its first notable achievements in the 1950s.
In 1950 the Football Association of Yugoslavia based in Belgrade created a unified third-tier football league in Yugoslavia.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 32 Tikvesh started their qualification campaign for the Yugoslav Third League with a 4–2 win against FK Crvena Dzvezda (Veles), followed by a 3–1 win over FK Goce Delchev (Prilep). These two wins gave Tikvesh a chance to play further in two-legged play-off games. But they failed to qualify in the Yugoslav Third League after losing 4–1 (home) and 7–1 (away) to Rudar, and 11–0 (away) and 4–1 (home) to Radnički,Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 33 who later went on to win the Yugoslav Third League and were promoted to the Yugoslav Second League alongside Rudar. The 11–0 loss by Radnički is Tikvesh's largest defeat. After failing to qualify in the Yugoslav Third League, Tikvesh continued the season in the Macedonian Republic League and finished in third place, behind champions FK Rabotnik Bitola and second placed FK Goce Delchev (Prilep).Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 34Founded in 1941 as FK Goce Delchev Prilep and renamed in late 1950 to FK Pobeda Prilep
During the 1950s and 1960s the league system was changed several times and the Macedonian Republic League was often divided into three parallel divisions (Shtip, Bitola, Skopje),Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 38, 42, 53, 57 at the end of the seasons the winners of each division played in the play-off finals to decide the Macedonian Champion.Although that wasn't always the case, as in some seasons during this period, the best placed Macedonian teams competing in the higher Yugoslav Leagues were automatically proclaimed as Macedonian Champions Tikvesh won the Shtip Division in 1952–53 but lost in the play-off finalsNapredok Kumanovo 1–0 Tikvesh; Tikvesh 1–1 Pobeda Prilep; Tikvesh 4–1 Napredok Kumanovo; Pobeda Prilep 4–1 Tikvesh (match abandoned after 55min.) and missed out on a chance to be crowned champions for the first time. The following season they came close to winning the title. With two losses in their final three games of the seasonSloga Skopje 1–0 Tikvesh; Pobeda Prilep 4–0 Tikvesh; Tikvesh 2–0 Tekstilec Skopje including a 4–0 loss to the eventual champions in the penultimate game, Tikvesh finished as runners-up to FK Pobeda Prilep in the Macedonian Republic League trailing by 4 points. The 1954–55 season was successful for Tikvesh despite finishing third in the table in the Macedonian Republic League, level on points with Pobeda Prilep and just three points behind Metalec Skopje. They were promoted to the Yugoslav IV Zona (2nd tier football league in Yugoslavia at the time) for the first time in its existence. The club's stay in the Yugoslav IV Zona was short-lived as they were relegated the following season, together with Rabotnik Bitola, Borac Čačak and Bregalnica Shtip, while Vardar Skopje won the league and were promoted to the Yugoslav First League.
After relegation from the Yugoslav IV Zona, Tikvesh went on to win comfortably the Shtip Division in 1956–57 with some high-scoring road winsKozhuf Gevgelija 3–4 Tikvesh; Tikvesh 4–2 Pobeda Valandovo; Tikvesh 4–2 Bregalnica Shtip; Tikvesh 8–2 Keramichar Veles; Tikvesh 9–0 Malesh Berovo while registering 14 wins-2 draws-2 losses. Consistency followed in the next season, as the side led in attack by Vuko Karov and Blazho Malinkov finished as runners-up to Belasica Strumica in the Shtip Division only on goal difference.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 54, 56
In the early and mid 1960s Tikvesh were second-best on four occasions in the Macedonian Republic League (1962–63 – 1st FK Pobeda Prilep, 1964–65 – 1st FK Teteks Tetovo, 1965–66 – 1st FK Rabotnichki Skopje, 1967–68 – 1st FK Rabotnichki Skopje).
In 1967–68 Tikvesh finished as runners-up to Rabotnichki Skopje in the Macedonian Republic League, but had done enough to gain promotion to the Yugoslav Second League – East. In 1968–69 Tikvesh avoided relegation from the Yugoslav Second League – East and finished one point ahead of Ei Mladost Niš, securing survival with one game to go after a late run of good results.Bregalnica Shtip 2–2 Tikvesh; Tikvesh 1–1 Prishtina; Pobeda Prilep 0–2 Tikvesh; Tikvesh 4–1 Mladost Smederevska Palanka Angel Kimov and Gligor Totov combined for 18 league goals (Kimov 10 and Totov 8), while Miodrag Aleksić, a winter loan signing from FK Vojvodina scored 6 goals. They failed to establish themselves in the Yugoslav Second League – East and to avoid the drop in the 1969–70 season.
Golden 1970s Led by the renowned goalscorer Angel Kimov () and under the guidance of manager Nakjo Totovski () Tikvesh claimed their first major honour in 1971–72 winning the Macedonian Republic League. The partnership of Kimov – Totov combined 36 goals throughout the season (Kimov 20 and Totov 16)Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 95, 96 to help Tikvesh win its first league title for 42 years and to get promotion to the Yugoslav Second League – East. In the next season, they returned to the Macedonian Republic League after finishing 15th out of 18 teams, a position that would have guaranteed survival in the previous seasons. But due to drastic changes in the Yugoslav football league system in 1973 Tikvesh were relegated from the Yugoslav Second League – East.
On their return to the Macedonian Republic League in 1973–74 Tikvesh achieved 3rd place whilst in the next season (1974–75) they went one place better and finished as runners-up to FK Pelister Bitola.
Tikvesh won their second title in 1977–78 and with it came yet another promotion to the Yugoslav Second League – East. Angel Kimov scored 34 goals in 34 matches, which made him the league's top goalscorer, the only player to earn the honour in the club's history. The 1978–79 season saw Tikvesh compete in the Yugoslav Second League – East for the last time. After a promising start to the season including wins over Teteks (1–2), Dubočica (5–0), Jedinstvo (1–0), Sutjeska (3–0) and draws against Liria (2–2), Budućnost (0–0) their form dipped drastically and they were relegated to the Macedonian Republic League, Vardar Skopje were promoted as champions to the Yugoslav First League, a recurring scenario of 1955–56 season.
In the 12-year period from 1967 to 1979, Tikvesh competed for four seasons in the Yugoslav Second League (1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73 and 1978–79), were Macedonian champions twice (1971–72 and 1977–78), finished as runners-up twice (1967–68 and 1974–75) and sustained one third-place finish (1973–74).
1980s decline
After the successful 1970s the club's fortunes declined in the 1980s. In 1980–81, despite beginning the season as one of the favourites to win the title Tikvesh suffered an unprecedented run of poor results,5 wins-6 draws-19 losses culminating in their first-ever relegation to the Macedonian Republic 2nd division,Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 116 bringing to a close one of the most successful periods in Tikvesh's history. For two consecutive seasons they failed to achieve promotion, Tikvesh struggled in 1981–82 and 1982–83 only finishing 4th and 5th in the table respectively.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 117, 119 In the meantime Petar Angjushev () guided FK Bor Kavadarci to back-to-back promotions. FK Bor have won the Macedonian Republic 3rd division in 1981–82, and in 1982–83 they stormed the Macedonian Republic 2nd division winning promotion to the Macedonian Republic League at their first attempt.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 119 In their title run in 1982–83 FK Bor won 3–1 and drew 2–2 against Tikvesh, the only time in which two teams from Kavadarci faced each other in any of the top two football divisions. During the summer of 1983, after FK Bor were promoted to the Macedonian Republic League the two clubs from Kavadarci merged and FK Tikvesh continued to play in the Macedonian Republic League.Karovski, Ilija (1996) FK Tikvesh 1930–1995 p. 120 Over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, 5th in 1983–84, 9th in 1984–85, rising to 4th in 1985–86 before dropping to 17th two seasons later in 1987–88 which meant another relegation to the Macedonian Republic 2nd division. Tikvesh achieved an instant promotion in 1988–89, followed by a 3rd-place finish in the Macedonian Republic League in 1989–90, their best season and highest league placing in a decade.
+All-Time Table, Yugoslav 2nd League 1947–1992 (Macedonian teams only)ClubPWDLGFGAGDPTS1FK Pobeda Prilep662245160257893930 −376502FK Teteks Tetovo560209140211629680 −515583FK Rabotnichki Skopje41414683185577687 −1103754FK Vardar Skopje2861565773485281 +2043695FK Pelister Bitola35014369138456408 +483556FK Bregalnica Shtip35810096162351554 −2032967FK Belasica Strumica174544674186246 −601548FK 11 Oktomvri Kumanovo156473673144259 −1151309FK Tikvesh Kavadarci124233566119221 −1028110FK MIK Skopje642183578114 −365011FK Metalurg Skopje34912133445 −113012FK Balkan Skopje3698192357 −3426
1990s and the new century