League Play-Off

Thors pit-stop
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Alfred Hurme started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Zdravko Topchiev might have been able to make a better finish in the 5th minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Ilmari Virta. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Zdravko Topchiev ran back to his position shaking his head. Pauli Saarela could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 9th minute of the match, but Ilmari Virta made a huge save. Pauli Saarela received a nice pass, split the defenders, and ran untouched towards the goal. Ilmari Virta came out and tried to block the shot, but Pauli Saarela slotted it home off the left post making it 2-0 in the 9th minute. Santtu Pihlman made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Voitto Uusikartano in the 13th minute of play. With a little luck, Kainuunmäki IFK's Ilmari Virta got control of the ball when Pauli Saarela tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 15th minute, Saul Joensuu left the goalkeeper for dead before tapping the ball into the right side of the net. The Kainuunmäki IFK fans were clearly happy with the effort and the scoreboard reflected the new score: 2-1. Richard Runnel hit a great freekick 17 minutes into the match. Ilmari Virta made an important save on a dangerous shot by Zdravko Topchiev in the 21st minute. In the 23rd match minute, Thors Hammers was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Richard Runnel to maneuver through the defense. Markus Vahalahti took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 23rd minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Santtu Pihlman. Thors Hammers's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Thors Hammers's Santtu Pihlman played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alfred Hurme in the 25th minute of play. After a rather tough play, Thors Hammers's Richard Runnel got a free kick in the 29th minute. Pauli Saarela could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 33rd minute of the match, but Ilmari Virta made a huge save. Lasse Kirjonen sent away a hard shot on goal in the 34th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ilmari Virta made an important save on a dangerous shot by Zdravko Topchiev in the 37th minute. With his leg Ilmari Virta managed to avoid a goal in the 39thth minute, when Thors Hammers's Zdravko Topchiev fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. An unexpected shot in the 41st minute by Pauli Saarela got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. Thors Hammers's Zdravko Topchiev got a good chance for a goal in the 44th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Pauli Saarela recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 46th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Zdravko Topchiev to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 54th minute of the match, Alfred Hurme tried to roll the ball into the goal by the right post, but Santtu Pihlman saw his intentions and got control of the ball before it passed the line. Ilmari Virta took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Lasse Kirjonen, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The audience thought a goal was coming when Saku Pihlanen got free with Santtu Pihlman in the 63rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Saku Pihlanen could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 63rd minute of the match, but Santtu Pihlman made a huge save. 65 minutes into the match, Kainuunmäki IFK's goal looked a bit too open when Pauli Saarela came free, but Ilmari Virta reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Thors Hammers's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Zdravko Topchiev in the 66th minute. After taking down the ball on Thors Hammers's corner Zdravko Topchiev fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Ilmari Virta quite easily take care of the ball. An unexpectedly hard shot by Alfred Hurme in the 71st minute of play forced Thors Hammers's goalkeeper Santtu Pihlman to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When Pauli Saarela came up free with the goalie in the 83rd minute, the Thors Hammers 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 Pauli Saarela couldn't finish the play. Ilmari Virta made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Lasse Kirjonen in the 85th minute of play. Zdravko Topchiev fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 88th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ilmari Virta having to interfere. 91 minutes into the match, Kainuunmäki IFK's goal looked a bit too open when Zdravko Topchiev came free, but Ilmari Virta reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Pauli Saarela sent away a hard shot on goal in the 94th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. After having played for 97 minutes, Zdravko Topchiev managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Thors Hammers's supporters crossed their fingers, but Zdravko Topchiev was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. For all the effort they put into the match, the Kainuunmäki IFK players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Thors Hammers.