League

Myllylä Stadion
Spectators: 7389 (Terracing: 5764, Seating: 1575, VIP seats: 50) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Yrjänä Palenius got the match started through his kick off. After 10 minutes of play, the referee blew the whistle. It was a penalty for Manchester Reds! Robert Rantamaa didn't have a chance when a screaming shot from Tauno Reimari went, in the 17th minute, to the upper right corner, 0-2 was the resulting score. With a little luck, Pihlajavaara's Juhana Leino got control of the ball when Arsi Lähteenmäki tried to sneak it across the goal line. Sampo Levokari sent away a hard shot on goal in the 35th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Juhana Leino took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rainer Glad, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. 46 minutes into the match, Manchester Reds's goal looked a bit too open when Tauno Reimari came free, but Robert Rantamaa reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-3 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Rainer Glad was the one to do the kick off. Arsi Lähteenmäki blasted a shot towards the goal in the 57th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Juhana Leino having to make a save. Tauno Reimari could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 62nd minute of the match, but Robert Rantamaa made a huge save. Yrjänä Palenius sent away a hard shot on goal in the 66th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Yrjänä Palenius in the 71st minute of play forced Manchester Reds's goalkeeper Robert Rantamaa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 72nd minute Tauno Reimari suffered a thigh injury and had to be helped off the field. Pekka Mantila's late challenge caught a Pihlajavaara's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Pekka Mantila helped the player get up and apologised. The referee blew the whistle for a penalty in the 72nd minute of the game. One of Manchester Reds:s players had nearly got his shirt torn off by an opponent while getting free in front of Pihlajavaara:s goal. The referee gave Pihlajavaara a penalty, 75 minutes into the game. The penalty shot was made by Petri Siponen, who made a well placed shot into the net to the right of Manchester Reds's Robert Rantamaa. 0-4. In the 79th minute, Erkki Rantanen got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. When Arsi Lähteenmäki came up free with the goalie in the 82nd minute, the Manchester Reds 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 Arsi Lähteenmäki couldn't finish the play. Pekka Mantila hit a great freekick 86 minutes into the match. Manchester Reds's Robert Rantamaa played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Yrjänä Palenius in the 88th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Yrjänä Palenius in the 97th minute of play forced Manchester Reds's goalkeeper Robert Rantamaa to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. After some careless play in the Manchester Reds defense, Erkki Rantanen kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Robert Rantamaa. The Manchester Reds fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Robert Rantamaa should have stopped the shot. The referee blew the final whistle, and the away crowd roared, having watched Pihlajavaara eke out a victory against a very well matched opponent.