National Stadium
Spectators: 10305 (Terracing: 7729,
Seating: 2370, VIP seats: 206) Salomon Raita made the kick off and thus started the match. After 3 played minutes U21 Sweden got a freekick which was hit by Rob Toppinen. Salomon Raita received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 4th minute. Henric Gadd tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. If Fred Nilsson had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 7th minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. An unexpectedly hard shot by Fred Nilsson in the 7th minute of play forced U21 Finland's goalkeeper Henri Holmström to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 8th match minute, U21 Finland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Ale Palolahti to maneuver through the defense. An unexpectedly hard shot by Karl-Michael Söder in the 9th minute of play forced U21 Finland's goalkeeper Henri Holmström to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Salomon Raita sent away a hard shot on goal in the 12th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. The audience thought a goal was coming when Salomon Raita got free with Henric Gadd in the 12th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Karl-Michael Söder fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 15th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Henri Holmström having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Fred Nilsson in the 18th minute of play forced U21 Finland's goalkeeper Henri Holmström to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 21st minute, U21 Finland's Salomon Raita ran free of his marker and smoothly shot the ball into the goal behind Henric Gadd. Henric Gadd yelled at his defense, as they had left him out to dry. 1-0. Fred Nilsson took the ball and in the 24 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Henri Holmström. Henri Holmström dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-1. In the 27th minute Fred Nilsson shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Henri Holmström saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When Fred Nilsson came up free with the goalie in the 28th minute, the U21 Sweden fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Fred Nilsson couldn't finish the play. With a little luck, U21 Sweden's Henric Gadd got control of the ball when Salomon Raita tried to sneak it across the goal line. Salomon Raita could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 31st minute of the match, but Henric Gadd made a huge save. Henri Holmström made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Fred Nilsson in the 34th minute of play. 39 minutes into the match, Karl-Michael Söder notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of U21 Finland's Henri Holmström. Henri Holmström was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 41st minute of the game. One of U21 Finland:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of U21 Sweden:s goal. In the 43rd minute, Don Speed made a precise shot to the right of Henri Holmström. U21 Finland's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-3. The U21 Finland players were disheartened as they walked off the pitch after the first half. U21 Sweden were winning 1-3.
Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Fred Nilsson to make the kick off. When Fred Nilsson came up free with the goalie in the 51st minute, the U21 Sweden fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Fred Nilsson couldn't finish the play. Fred Nilsson sent away a hard shot on goal in the 53rd minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. 53 minutes into the match, U21 Finland's goal looked a bit too open when Fred Nilsson came free, but Henri Holmström reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Sweden's Henric Gadd played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Salomon Raita in the 55th minute of play. U21 Sweden made a substitution. Pong Beerman replaced Don Speed. After 58 played minutes U21 Sweden got a freekick which was hit by Rob Toppinen. In the 63rd minute Emil Björck shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Henri Holmström saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Sweden's zone, Salomon Raita stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Henric Gadd came out of the goal and Salomon Raita tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. U21 Finland made a substitution. Turo Hana replaced Teijo Pitkämäki. Emil Björck scored 1-4 in the 68th match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Henri Holmström, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. Henri Holmström took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Emil Björck, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 72 minutes into the match, Ronaldinho Gascoigne had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Henri Holmström. U21 Finland's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Ronaldinho Gascoigne was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 1-5. After 76 played minutes U21 Sweden got a freekick which was hit by Tobias Skräddare. In the 78th minute Emmanuel Ayodele Armada shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Henric Gadd saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When U21 Sweden's Ronaldinho Gascoigne in the 83rd minute got a chance for a shot 83rd didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Finland's goalie prevented a goal. A collision led to U21 Sweden getting a freekick after 86 minutes play. Tobias Skräddare hit a great ball. Henric Gadd showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Emmanuel Ayodele Armada in the 88th minute of the match. In the 90th minute Emil Björck shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Henri Holmström saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. U21 Sweden's players went to the stands to thank the travelling support. The fan's backing had helped spurr the team on to a fine performance that won them the match.
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