Estonian clubs featured in pre-season fixtures yesterday, as Levadia beat Tartu JK Tammeka 3-1 and Paide Linnameeskond are still looking for their first win, after a 1-2 defeat to Narva Trans.
For Levadia and Tammeka, the match was their first of the pre-season campaign. The first half was relatively quiet in terms of chances, as the best opportunities to score were by Tammeka forwards Tristan Koskor and Kevin Burov, but neither could get the ball past Levadia’s goalkeeper Oliver Ani.
For the second half, both teams substituted most of their lineups. The score was opened on the 51st minute by Tammeka midfielder Mattis Karis, who headed in a Karl Kiidron free-kick. Tammeka’s lead lasted about 10 minutes, as Dutch midfielder Richie Musaba squared the game. 10 minutes after that, Musaba recorded his second of the match, and the final score was settled by new signing Bubacarr Tambedou, who scored his first goal in a Levadia shirt from the penalty spot. Levadia’s staff members for the game included Karel Voolaid, who had left Riga FC alongside former head coach Simo Valakari in 2024.
For Narva Trans, it was the first game of their pre-season, as Paide has already played against SJK. The border town team took the lead in the 34th minute, as Nikita Baljabkin made the most after a mix up in Paide’s defensive line. In the second half Narva doubled their lead – Arnas Besirgikis went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but before he could get a shot off, Paide’s Mohammed Gueye reached the ball. His attempt at a clearance went very poorly, as the ball landed at Mattias Sapp’s net. In the final minutes, Sten Reinkort minimized Paide’s deficit, but Trans held on to the lead untill the end.
Trans’ squad featured six trialists – defenders 26-year old Ukrainian player Bondar, most recently playing for Lithuanian second tier team Klaipeda Neptunas and Filatov from Levadia, who mainly played for their U21s team. Midfielders Artur Sakarias, who similarly featured for the Levadia youth team, playing in 5 Premium Liiga matches thus far, and 23-year old Portuguese player Afonso Correia, who is an academy graduate of Maritimo. According to Transfermarkt, the midfielder most recently played for Pombal in Portuguese lower leagues. Also new attackers, 18-year old Ukrainian player Kožuško, who has been a part of Kharkiv’s and Dnipro’s youth systems in Ukraine, and Seinäjoki’s youth system in Finland. He most recently played for German sixth tier side Lok Stendal. Another new name in attack was 25-year old Bogdan Stoyanov. The Bulgarian most recently played for Jõhvi Phoenix in Esiliiga B and scored 21 goals in 22 games for the club.
FCI Levadia – Tartu JK Tammeka 3-1 (0-0)
Goals: 62′, 72′ Musaba, 80′ Tambedou (PEN) – 51′ Karis
Paide Linnameeskond – Narva Trans 1-2 (0-1)
Goals: 86′ Reinkort – 34′ Baljabkin, 78′ Gueye (OG)
Sources: https://soccernet.ee/artikkel/vaata-jarele-trans-kasutas-paide-vead-ara-ja-vottis-voidu
https://soccernet.ee/artikkel/tana-otsepilt-levadia-ja-tammeka-kohtuvad-taliturniiri-avamangus
https://soccernet.ee/artikkel/trans-testib-taliturniiril-kaht-levadia-noort-ning-nelja-valsimaalast
https://soccernet.ee/artikkel/karel-voolaid-liitus-levadia-treeneritiimiga