League Play-Off

Red Bull Arena
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Panu Elovaara made the kick off which started today's match. After a rather tough play, Blacksmith Villagers FC's Atso Koskenkorva got a free kick in the 3rd minute. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Eerikki Saarinen in the 6th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Usko Pietikäinen prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Paavo Kaukomaa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Panu Elovaara in the 10th minute of the match. Usko Pietikäinen acted impressively in front of the goal and made a superb save when he, in the 12th minute, took the ball on the long shot from Aku Noronen. Usko Pietikäinen made a fantastic save in the 17th minute, when Visa Junkka sent off a good shot on target. Jesse Lydman kicked well hit freekick during the 17th minute of the match. Visa Junkka could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 18th minute of the match, but Usko Pietikäinen made a huge save. The supporters of New York Red Bulls booed when Blacksmith Villagers FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 22 match minutes in a wonderful position. Jesse Lydman didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 23rd minute of the match Niklas Ojanen shot from a long distance. The ball could have gone into the goal to the right of the goalkeeper, but Usko Pietikäinen showed his good shape when he easily got hold of the ball. When Salomo Gustafsson came up free with the goalie in the 24th minute, the Blacksmith Villagers FC 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 Salomo Gustafsson couldn't finish the play. In the 25th match minute, New York Red Bulls was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Jaakkima Jokela to maneuver through the defense. Paavo Kaukomaa took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Panu Elovaara, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Paavo Kaukomaa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Panu Elovaara in the 28th minute of the match. Blacksmith Villagers FC's Panu Elovaara got a good chance for a goal in the 32nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Panu Elovaara took the ball and in the 44 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Paavo Kaukomaa. Paavo Kaukomaa dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-2. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-2 lead.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Eerikki Saarinen made a kick off. Blacksmith Villagers FC's Usko Pietikäinen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Visa Junkka in the 52nd minute of play. After a defensive mix-up in New York Red Bulls's zone, Panu Elovaara stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Paavo Kaukomaa came out of the goal and Panu Elovaara tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Salomo Gustafsson took the ball and in the 55 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Paavo Kaukomaa. Paavo Kaukomaa dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-3. After having played for 58 minutes, Salomo Gustafsson managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Blacksmith Villagers FC's supporters crossed their fingers, but Salomo Gustafsson was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Salomo Gustafsson fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 66th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Paavo Kaukomaa having to interfere. New York Red Bulls's Paavo Kaukomaa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Panu Elovaara in the 68th minute of play. When Jaakkima Jokela fell near the penalty area in the 69th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored New York Red Bulls's protests and gave Jaakkima Jokela a yellow card for diving instead. Paavo Kaukomaa showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Panu Elovaara, who was totally free with the ball in the 70th minute. In the 72nd minute Panu Elovaara shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Paavo Kaukomaa saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 73rd minute, Panu Elovaara fired away a killer shot towards the goal that, to the delight of Paavo Kaukomaa, passed just outside the right post. 76 minutes in the game, Panu Elovaara fired away an excellent shot, which passed to the side of the right post without Paavo Kaukomaa having to interfere. Salomo Gustafsson fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 76th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Paavo Kaukomaa having to interfere. Paavo Kaukomaa showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Panu Elovaara in the 80th minute of the match. In the 83rd match minute, New York Red Bulls was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Niklas Ojanen to maneuver through the defense. Usko Pietikäinen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Visa Junkka, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 87th minute, Jesse Lydman hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. If Panu Elovaara had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 90th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience thought a goal was coming when Salomo Gustafsson got free with Paavo Kaukomaa in the 94th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Salomo Gustafsson recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 98th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. The New York Red Bulls fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Blacksmith Villagers FC were clearly better and deserved to take the win.