Viisas 3 - 1 Leijonat (385472996)

Clouds darkened the skies at Viisas Urhea Kettu Arena as 59584 spectators turned up for the match. Nicola Haye was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Heiko Koch-Jägersberg and Feliks Kaalma. Viisas decided to use a 4-4-2 set up. They fielded: Kares - Kiço, Majalahti, Ude, Bodny - Ylä-Rakkola, Loikkanen, Garbin, Frostell - Middendorf, Pihlamaa.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Leijonat. Lineup: Miskolczi - Corujo, Friargiu, Vilk - Recão, Turtonen, Granlund, Nohl, Dalli - Olivier, Pyrhönen.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Viisas. It was an obvious ambition of Leijonat to use their ability at attacking on the flanks. After 5 minutes, Viisas raised their score by one when J. Ylä-Rakkola's dangerous low cross was cleverly tucked in at the near post by T. Pihlamaa. 1 - 0. With 15 minutes played, the visitors could have drawn level after M. Friargiu came through the middle, but his kick went wide. An equalising goal seemed certain after 20 minutes when G. Vilk attacked down the left wing, but E. Kares just managed to make a save to keep the ball out of the net. The visitors' equaliser seemed sure to come after 22 minutes, following a one on one situation around the left hand side of the goal area, but E. Kares got the best of it, blocking the shot from S. Olivier. L. Kiço was first to reach a ball launched long through the center from Viisas's defence 23 minutes into the game. He managed to keep his cool and beat the goalkeeper to make the score 2 - 0. By now, the players in Viisas felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. The teams went for the halftime break at 2 - 0. Leijonat had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

M. Friargiu could've grabbed a goal for Leijonat 54 minutes in when he got a pass from the left putting him free of the home side's defence, but he was unable to take advantage of the situation. 58 minutes into the match, the visitors' central line of defence had to look on as G. Middendorf broke through, making the score 3 - 0 for Viisas. Leijonat had a good opportunity to attack in the middle, but remembered their instructions to focus on wing attacks instead. 59 minutes in, an amazing pass from the left side resulted in a goal for the visitors, as T. Pyrhönen anticipated the through ball and scored, reducing the deficit to 3 - 1. E. Kares made a brilliant save 60 minutes into the match, blocking a rocket of a shot from G. Vilk on the right hand side. Leijonat enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.

T. Pihlamaa performed admirably for Viisas. F. Ude turned in a dismal performance, however. Most important Leijonat player was D. Dalli. However, J. Nohl made a disastrous appearance. The match ends 3 - 1.