League Play-Off

Paalasmaa
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Paalasmaa FC's Ilkka Niinimäki started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Samuli Kaukomaa sent away a hard shot on goal in the 4th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 7 minutes into the game, Loviisa's Joonas Strömberg nearly tore a hole in the net with a booming shot. Nuutti Erkkilä made a valiant effort, but he could not reach the ball in time, 0-1. Samuli Kaukomaa received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 10th minute. Nuutti Erkkilä tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Nuutti Erkkilä showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Joonas Strömberg in the 12th minute of the match. An unexpectedly hard shot by Joonas Strömberg in the 13th minute of play forced Paalasmaa FC's goalkeeper Nuutti Erkkilä to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. When the match had gone on for 17 minutes, Ilkka Niinimäki took a quick shot and it went in 1-1 without a chance for Pertti Sorsa to make any attempt to save it. After a rather tough play, Loviisa's Kuisma Willman got a free kick in the 20th minute. 22 minutes into the match, Paalasmaa FC's goal looked a bit too open when Samuli Kaukomaa came free, but Nuutti Erkkilä reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. In the 25th minute, Eerikki Seva hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some fancy dribbling in the 26th minute, Samuli Kaukomaa managed to get in a good position for a shot. Loviisa's supporters rose to their feet, but Samuli Kaukomaa was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nuutti Erkkilä breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Joonas Strömberg recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 29th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Joonas Strömberg fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 34th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nuutti Erkkilä having to interfere. Nuutti Erkkilä showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Joonas Strömberg in the 36th minute of the match. The score stood at 1-1 when the half time whistle went. Both sets of players seemed reasonably pleased with how the match was going.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Samuli Kaukomaa made a kick off. Joonas Strömberg's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Nuutti Erkkilä read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 52nd minute of play. Joonas Strömberg fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 58th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nuutti Erkkilä having to interfere. Samuli Kaukomaa sent away a hard shot on goal in the 59th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. When Heino Kousa fell near the penalty area in the 61st minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Paalasmaa FC's protests and gave Heino Kousa a yellow card for diving instead. The supporters of Loviisa booed when Paalasmaa FC was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 61 match minutes in a wonderful position. Heino Kousa didn't get a good kick on the ball. Joonas Strömberg fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 63rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nuutti Erkkilä having to interfere. A collision led to Paalasmaa FC getting a freekick after 67 minutes play. Eerikki Seva hit a great ball. In the 70th minute of the match Loviisa got a corner. Paalasmaa FC's goalie ran out to the linesman to protest the call, but the linesman resolutely pointed his flag at the cornerflag. Valdemar Reinikka ran over to the corner to take the kick. The corner went over the outstretched arms of Paalasmaa FC's goalie and right to Joonas Strömberg. He fired away a shot at goal, but the shot had too much spin, and it went just outside the goal. Paalasmaa FC's manager breathed a sigh of relief on the sidelines as his team had managed to escape an almost certain goal. Samuli Kaukomaa fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 72nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nuutti Erkkilä having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in Loviisa's zone, Heino Kousa stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Pertti Sorsa came out of the goal and Heino Kousa tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Nuutti Erkkilä showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Samuli Kaukomaa in the 79th minute of the match. After some fancy dribbling in the 80th minute, Joonas Strömberg managed to get in a good position for a shot. Loviisa's supporters rose to their feet, but Joonas Strömberg was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Nuutti Erkkilä breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 88th of the match, Samuli Kaukomaa tried to place the ball in the upper right corner, but Nuutti Erkkilä got in the way and made a wonderful save. 89 minutes into the match, Joonas Strömberg notched a goal, 1-2, to the right of Paalasmaa FC's Nuutti Erkkilä. Nuutti Erkkilä was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Loviisa's Joonas Strömberg got a good chance for a goal in the 97th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The Paalasmaa FC fans had already started to leave before the final whistle blew. Loviisa were clearly better and deserved to take the win.