League

Nutmeg Stadium
Spectators: 7544 (Terracing: 5750, Seating: 1774, VIP seats: 20) It was fairly windy and cold on the field when Yrjö Wesslin kicked off to start the match. In the 3rd match minute, FC Nutmeg was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Joona Kiuru to maneuver through the defense. After a defensive mix-up in FC Nutmeg's zone, Iikka Kuparinen stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Veijo Lamminen came out of the goal and Iikka Kuparinen tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 6 minutes into the match, Eelis Louke had an open shot that he just couldn't miss and scored to the right of Veijo Lamminen. FC Nutmeg's manager could be seen yelling to the referee that Eelis Louke was offside, but the referee ignored the protest. 0-1. 10 minutes into the match, Sauli Haakana notched a goal, 1-1, to the right of AC Vaalimaa's Eero Lönnblad. Eero Lönnblad was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Sauli Haakana could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 15th minute of the match, but Eero Lönnblad made a huge save. In the 15th match minute, AC Vaalimaa was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Esko Sairanen to maneuver through the defense. FC Nutmeg's Veijo Lamminen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Iikka Kuparinen in the 18th minute of play. In the 19th minute, Keijo Pietikäinen had to be helped off the field due to a pulled leg muscle. Joona Kiuru charged in rather forcefully in the 19th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Joona Kiuru the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. The supporters of AC Vaalimaa booed when FC Nutmeg was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 20 match minutes in a wonderful position. Joona Kiuru didn't get a good kick on the ball. Sauli Haakana recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 23rd minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Yrjö Wesslin received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 25th minute. Eero Lönnblad tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. The audience thought a goal was coming when Sauli Haakana got free with Eero Lönnblad in the 27th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Yrjö Wesslin's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Eero Lönnblad read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 35th minute of play. When Yrjö Wesslin came up free with the goalie in the 38th minute, the FC Nutmeg 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 Yrjö Wesslin couldn't finish the play. Sauli Haakana received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 41st minute. Eero Lönnblad tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Yrjö Wesslin might have been able to make a better finish in the 43rd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Eero Lönnblad. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Yrjö Wesslin ran back to his position shaking his head. After some fancy dribbling in the 46th minute, Iikka Kuparinen managed to get in a good position for a shot. AC Vaalimaa's supporters rose to their feet, but Iikka Kuparinen was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Veijo Lamminen breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Af the end of the first half the score was 2-1. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Iikka Kuparinen was the one to do the kick off. Sauli Haakana sent away a hard shot on goal in the 56th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. If Yrjö Wesslin had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 58th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 60th minute, Yrjö Wesslin 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. If Iikka Kuparinen had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 61st minute. The ball went over the crossbar instead. Iikka Kuparinen received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 64th minute. Veijo Lamminen tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Ale Karalahti fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 66th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Veijo Lamminen having to interfere. After 68 minutes of play, AC Vaalimaa's Iikka Kuparinen made it 2-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Veijo Lamminen was left in no man's land by his defense there! Eero Lönnblad made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Yrjö Wesslin in the 72nd minute of play. Eero Lönnblad came out of the goal in the 74th minute to try and stop a shot by FC Nutmeg's Sauli Haakana. But to his dismay, Sauli Haakana quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 3-2. In the 81st minute, Iikka Kuparinen 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. FC Nutmeg's Joona Kiuru got a good chance for a goal in the 87th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Sauli Haakana fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 90th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Eero Lönnblad having to interfere. Sauli Haakana struck a weak shot in the 92nd minute. Eero Lönnblad didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for FC Nutmeg. If Sauli Haakana had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 96th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. FC Nutmeg's supporters were delighted with their team's performance and swarmed onto the pitch at the end of the match to celebrate the victory with the players.