League Play-Off

Jaakoppi Stadium
Spectators: 35 (Terracing: 27, Seating: 8, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Ahvo Vappula started the match with the kick off. If Pietari Hati had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 4th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 8 minutes into the game, Jaakob Nutikka was given a yellow card after he appeared to trip an opposing player. Jaakoppi's manager was livid on the sidelines, but the referee was unmoved and gave Karhala the free kick. In a very dangerous position, a player in Jaakoppi fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 8th minute. Penalty! In the 10th minute there was a penalty for Karhala. Oskari Hartikainen stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Kaleva Kolsi. 0-1. In the 13th minute the ball was on its way in behind Jaakoppi's goalkeeper Kaleva Kolsi, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Kaleva Kolsi showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Uljas Ruuttu in the 15th minute of the match. A collision led to Jaakoppi getting a freekick after 20 minutes play. Karri Timoska hit a great ball. Ahvo Vappula could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 35th minute of the match, but Ale Nurminen made a huge save. After 38 played minutes Karhala got a freekick which was hit by Pietari Hati. When Turo Kankaanperä came up free with the goalie in the 39th minute, the Jaakoppi 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 Turo Kankaanperä couldn't finish the play. Kaleva Kolsi showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Anton Naskali, who was totally free with the ball in the 42nd minute. Disappointed in the 0-1 score, the home team went to the dressing room to adjust tactics for the second half.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Anton Naskali made a kick off. Uljas Ruuttu's late challenge caught a Jaakoppi's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Uljas Ruuttu helped the player get up and apologised. Ale Nurminen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Turo Kankaanperä in the 54th minute of the match. Kaleva Kolsi showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Simo Pihlman, who was totally free with the ball in the 57th minute. Karhala's Ale Nurminen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Turo Kankaanperä in the 58th minute of play. Turo Kankaanperä received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 59th minute. Ale Nurminen tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Jaakob Nutikka kicked well hit freekick during the 61st minute of the match. Turo Kankaanperä fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 63rd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ale Nurminen having to interfere. Turo Kankaanperä fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 72nd minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Ale Nurminen having to interfere. In the 74th minute Anton Naskali shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Kaleva Kolsi saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 77th match minute, Karhala was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Päiviö Tervo to maneuver through the defense. The supporters of Jaakoppi booed when Karhala was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 81 match minutes in a wonderful position. Pekka Nyyssönen didn't get a good kick on the ball. After some fancy dribbling in the 88th minute, Turo Kankaanperä managed to get in a good position for a shot. Jaakoppi's supporters rose to their feet, but Turo Kankaanperä was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Ale Nurminen breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. The Karhala supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing Karhala would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.