National cup

National stadium
Spectators: 1028 (Terracing: 772, Seating: 236, VIP seats: 20) The sun was shining, the grass was green and the audience cheered when Taisto Pentsinen got the match started through his kick off. In the 4th minute Valdemar Kuoppala shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ray Folwill saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Taavi Hulkkonen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Rodney Cunningham, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Ray Folwill made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rio Ferdinand in the 10th minute of play. Terry Mayfield hit a great freekick 11 minutes into the match. In the 13th minute Rodney Cunningham shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Taavi Hulkkonen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With an all-out effort, Northern Ireland's Taavi Hulkkonen threw himself towards the right post 13 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Rodney Cunningham, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. 17 minutes into the match, Finland's goalkeeper Taavi Hulkkonen had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Rodney Cunningham. Northern Ireland's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Dylan Browne in the 18th minute. The corner led Northern Ireland's Dylan Browne to fire away a dangerous shot which Taavi Hulkkonen despite some difficulties managed to get hold on the ball. Ray Folwill showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Ukko Pihkala in the 20th minute of the match. Taavi Hulkkonen made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Bryan Hodgson in the 21st minute of play. 23 minutes into the match, Northern Ireland's goal looked a bit too open when Rio Ferdinand came free, but Ray Folwill reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ray Folwill made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ukko Pihkala in the 27th minute of play. After 28 minutes of play, Finland's Rio Ferdinand made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Ray Folwill was left in no man's land by his defense there! 32 minutes into the match, Northern Ireland's goal looked a bit too open when Taisto Pentsinen came free, but Ray Folwill reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. A collision led to Northern Ireland getting a freekick after 35 minutes play. Bryan Hodgson hit a great ball. With an all-out effort, Northern Ireland's Taavi Hulkkonen threw himself towards the right post 38 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Rodney Cunningham, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. Northern Ireland were awarded a corner in the 39th minute after Finland's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Dylan Browne took the corner. Taavi Hulkkonen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Rodney Cunningham in the 41st minute of the match. Ray Folwill took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ukko Pihkala, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Bryan Hodgson during the 46th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. The supporters of Finland booed when Northern Ireland was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 47 match minutes in a wonderful position. Bryan Hodgson didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 48th match minute, Northern Ireland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Bryan Hodgson to maneuver through the defense. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Rodney Cunningham made a kick off. 54 minutes into the match, Finland's goal looked a bit too open when Terry Mayfield came free, but Taavi Hulkkonen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Ray Folwill made an important save on a dangerous shot by Ukko Pihkala in the 60th minute. After some careless play in the Finland defense, Rodney Cunningham kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Taavi Hulkkonen. The Finland fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Taavi Hulkkonen should have stopped the shot. A nice corner shot did that Dylan Browne got away a dangerous shot. Despite this Taavi Hulkkonen quite easily got ahold of the ball to make the save. In the 67th match minute, Northern Ireland was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Dylan Browne to maneuver through the defense. Taavi Hulkkonen stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Bryan Hodgson's shot from short distance in the 76th minute. After 78 played minutes Northern Ireland got a freekick which was hit by Bryan Hodgson. A collision led to Northern Ireland getting a freekick after 79 minutes play. Bryan Hodgson hit a great ball. In the 82nd minute Taisto Pentsinen shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Ray Folwill saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 84th minute of the match, Valdemar Kuoppala got a very nice opportunity to score, but Ray Folwill was well-placed and pushed the ball away from the goal at the left post. In the 93rdth minute of the game Bryan Hodgson who was perfectly placed tried to make a shot on goal, but Finland's Taavi Hulkkonen was lucky and managed to grab hold of the ball. Benjamin Vahalahti made in the 95th minute of the game a sloppy throw-in which Valdemar Kuoppala however managed to control. The Finland players were the happier at the end of the match as they had prevented Northern Ireland from taking control. The game ends in a draw.