Roy Hodgson made a winning start in his first competitive game as Liverpool manager courtesy of David N'Gog's double in an uncomplicated 2-0 Europa League qualifying-round away-leg victory over Rabotnicki.
N'Gog benefited from some slipshod defending to slot Liverpool ahead on 17 minutes before applying the second with a deft volley from Martin Kelly's delightful cross.
Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Alberto Aquilani, Lucas and striker N'Gog provided the backbone of an experimental Liverpool side while new signing Milan Jovanovic made a decent debut.
The second leg is at Anfield next Thursday, but the match is surely already over.
Liverpool were without around nine of the players who appeared at the World Cup finals, but leading men such as Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole were hardly missed.
Hodgson had been critical of UEFA's decision to force his side into action so soon after the conclusion of the finals in South Africa, but those left behind could have put their feet up in the knowledge that their less celebrated counterparts were getting the job done with minimal fuss.
A crowd of over 20,000 turned out for what was billed as the biggest night in Rabotnicki's 74-year history, but their biggest contribution to the match was booing Liverpool's Greek defender Kyrgiakos.
There were few chances in the match, but the Premier League side's class was to count when N'Gog scored an opportunistic first goal.
Rabotnicki goalkeeper Martin Bagatinov and Egzon Belica inexplicably missed the ball and N'Gog nipped in to clip into the net.
N'Gog scored eight times in 37 outings last term, and he will hope for a few more goals this season.
The French U21 player buried the home side's hopes in the tie when he converted Kelly's cross.
The rest of the match quickly descended into a training ground exercise as Stephen Darby, Lauri Dalla Valle and Nathan Eccleston were given late opportunities to impress coming off the bench.
"Many of our young players are not used to playing in a match like this but I am very satisfied with their performance," Hodgson told a news conference.
"If we are to have a good season in the Premier League, we must use all the players we have.
"We were without 13 players tonight but the mix of young and experienced players we fielded fulfilled my expectations."
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