In the opening round of the Estonian Premium Liiga, Pärnu Vaprus lost 0-3 at home against Nõmme Kalju FC. This was the Vaprus club’s fifth straight league defeat against the Kalju side.
Last season, Pärnu Vaprus finished in 7th place in the league, while Kalju’s previous year marked one of the best seasons in their history, as they had finished second.
The match was significant for two Nõmme Kalju FC players, Uku Korre and Kristjan Kask, who both started their first league game for the club. Both players had been key figures for Vaprus in prior seasons before moving to Nõmme.
Kask had a great opportunity to score against his former team in the second minute. After a set-piece, Ivans Patrikejevs delivered a beautiful lob pass that found Kask all alone. He took a shot at the goal, but the goalkeeper effectively saved it by coming out and making himself big.
This moment in the second minute was just a warning of what would come, as Nõmme Kalju continued to apply pressure and dominated much of the match. Their efforts paid off in the 34th minute when Rommi Siht, an 18-year-old player, scored after a corner-kick. There was a VAR review to confirm whether the ball had fully crossed the line, and it was determined that it did; the goalkeeper was unable to clear it in time.
The Kalju dominance persisted in the second half, and in the 60th minute, Daniil Tarassenkov found the net. He made a great run down the left side, entered the box, and took a shot. The shot was deflected by a Vaprus defender attempting to block it, altering its trajectory and causing it to go over the head of the goalkeeper, who was anticipating a low shot.
Towards the end of the game, Kalju’s Ukrainian defender, Mashchenko, scored the third goal. He received a pass from Guilherme Smith and took a shot from outside the box that found the bottom left corner of the net, bringing the score to 3-0.
With this victory, Nõmme Kalju has now won their fifth consecutive league game against Pärnu Vaprus. Their next league match will be against Paide next Sunday, but before that, the same two teams will face off in the Estonian Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Pärnu Vaprus is also still in the Estonian Cup and will travel to Narva on Tuesday to play against Narva Trans. But their next league match will be challenging as they face an away game against FC Flora Tallinn.
Parnu Vaprus – Nomme Kalju FC 0:3 (0:1)
Goals: Siht 34′, Tarassenkov 60′, Maschenko 86′
Yellow Card: Sild 12′, Paalberg 46′ | Korre 78′
Vaprus: Nomm – Sild (Aer 84′) Mag. Villota, Lipp (Seppik 71′), Aloe – Poder (Rand 84′), Valja, Mat. Villota (Madissoo 71′), Limberg – Kapper, Paalberg (Veensalu 71′)
Kalju: Pavlov – Mashchenko, Podholjuzin, Korre, Marin (Orlov 71′) – Siht – Patrikejevs (Musolitin 61′), Kask – Guilherme Smith, Ivanov (Baptista 83′), Tarassenkov (Nikolajev 83′)
Referee: Jagnar Jakobson
