Pärnu JK Vaprus strengthened their grip on sixth place in the Premium Liiga after an early penalty proved enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over FC Kuressaare in front of a season-record crowd of 1,786 spectators at Pärnu Rannastaadion.
The hosts made the perfect start, winning a penalty inside the opening three minutes. Karl-Romet Nõmm brought down Matthias Limberg after a perfectly weighted through ball from Tristan Pajo, leaving referee with little choice but to point to the spot while also cautioning the Kuressaare goalkeeper. Pajo calmly stepped up and sent Nõmm the wrong way to score what proved to be the only goal of the evening.
Despite falling behind almost immediately, Kuressaare responded positively and created a number of promising opportunities. Evgeni Demidov was heavily involved during the opening stages, first failing to properly connect with a good chance before forcing Ott Nõmm into an excellent save minutes later. Andero Kivi also came close with a powerful long-range effort that crashed onto the crossbar before bouncing over.
Vaprus continued to threaten themselves. Limberg and Pajo combined well throughout the first half, while Villota tested Karl-Romet Nõmm from distance following a cleverly worked corner. The best opportunity to double the lead arrived after half an hour when Limberg raced through before squaring for Põder, whose effort was brilliantly stopped by the Kuressaare goalkeeper before rebounding off the post.
Although the visitors arguably created the greater number of chances before the interval, Vaprus entered half-time holding onto their slender 1-0 advantage.
The home side controlled much more of the second half, limiting Kuressaare to set-piece opportunities while continuing to look dangerous on the counter-attack. Viidas nearly doubled the advantage shortly after the restart before another promising attack was halted following a VAR review, which upheld an earlier foul in the build-up.
Kuressaare struggled to create clear-cut openings as the half progressed, although they remained dangerous from corners. Deivid Andreas repeatedly delivered balls into the penalty area, but Vaprus defended them comfortably.
The visitors mounted one final push in the closing stages. Andero Kivi came closest to finding an equaliser in the 89th minute, turning sharply inside the box before sending his shot inches wide of the far post. Deep into stoppage time Kuressaare thought they had created one final opportunity during a frantic scramble inside the six-yard box, but the assistant referee’s offside flag denied them.
After surviving the late pressure, Vaprus held on for all three points, recording their first victory over Kuressaare this season.
The win sees the Pärnu side strengthen their position in sixth place and move level on points with fifth-placed Tartu JK Tammeka, while Kuressaare remain ninth with 17 points.
Pärnu JK Vaprus vs FC Kuressaare 1-0 (1-0)
Goal: Pajo 4′ (Penalty kick)
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  FCI Levadia |
17 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 13 | 32 | 43 |
| 2 |  FC Flora |
16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 30 |
| 3 |  Nõmme Kalju |
17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 14 | 15 | 30 |
| 4 |  Paide |
17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 28 |
| 5 |  Tammeka |
16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 20 | -2 | 23 |
| 6 |  Pärnu Vaprus |
17 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 21 | 31 | -10 | 23 |
| 7 |  Nõmme United |
17 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 33 | 40 | -7 | 19 |
| 8 |  Harju |
17 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 19 |
| 9 |  Kuressaare |
17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 17 | 27 | -10 | 17 |
| 10 |  Narva Trans |
17 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 40 | -29 | 10 |
