Estonia Women defended their Baltic Cup title and lifted the trophy for the record 12th time after beating Latvia 1-0 at LNK Sporta Parks in Riga. JK Saku Sporting striker Katriin Saulus scored the only goal in the 66th minute.
Saulus’ goal, which secured the win for Estonia, was also her first goal for the national team.
Latvia came out in force for the game, pressing Estonia against their own goal for much of the first half. The defending champions, however, resisted the pressure, regrouped, and hit back in the second half with much better ball movement and more dangerous attacking play. One such run by Liisa Merisalu down the left wing produced a sweeping cross, which found Saulus and, a moment later, the back of the net.
The win means Estonia have successfully defended the title they also won in Tartu two years ago. They reached the final this time round with a 2-1 victory on penalties against Lithuania after fighting back to snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw in normal time.
The Faeroe Islands claimed third place in this year’s competition with a 2-1 win over Lithuania earlier on Sunday.