The new season of the Estonian Esiliiga kicked off on Saturday with three matches. Today, the matchday concluded with a game featuring the Tallinna Kalve U21 team against the Nomme Kalju U21 side. We are excited to present the first edition of our weekly report on the games in Estonia’s second division!
Matchday 1 was filled with drama, and Saturday’s triple header to start the season showcased an exciting opening to the season. The highlight came from Viimsi JK, who made a remarkable comeback against FC Elva. Despite trailing by three goals in the first half, Viimsi managed to equalize and salvage a point thanks to a goal from Rasmus Laidvee and two goals from Raivo Saar.
In the other matches, Tartu Welco won a closely contested game against Tartu JK Tammeka U21 with a score of 3-2. Meanwhile, last season’s relegated Premium Liiga team, Nomme United, secured an away victory against FC Tallinn, winning 2-1.
On Sunday, the only match in the Esiliiga featured the “little” Tallinn derby, where the FC Flora Tallinn U21 team hosted FCI Tallinn Levadia U21. In this match, two 18-year-olds from Flora, Johann Vahermagi and Maksim Kalimullin, each scored a goal, leading their team to victory in the mini derby.
In the final match of the Esiliiga’s opening round, reserve teams from two Premium Liiga sides faced off, with Nomme Kalju FC U21 scoring twice in quick succession to claim a win against JK Tallinna Kalev U21.
Esiliiga Matchday 1 results
01.03 Viimsi JK vs FC Elva 3:3 – (Laidvee 49′, Saar 79′ 90′ | Lehter 15′, Jaagant 24′, Alev 41′)
01.03 Tartu Welco vs Tammeka U21 – (Mottus 37′, Songisepp 52′, Petmanson 67′ | Magimets 34′, Boukhelkhal 65′)
01.03 FC Tallinn vs Nomme United 1:2 – (Aksjonov 54′ | Ossep 19′, Ceesay 65′)
02.03 Flora U21 vs Levadia U21 2:0 – (Vahermagi 22′, Kalimullin 67′)
03.03 Tallinna Kalev U21 vs Kalju U21 1:2 – (Kukk 83′ | Baptista 49′, Volossatov 50′)
The next round of the Esiliiga will take place from March 6 to March 9. Here are the upcoming fixtures:
- 06.03: Tartu Welco vs. Tallinna Kalev U21
- 08.03: Nomme Kalju FC U21 vs. FC Elva
- 09.03: FC Flora Tallinn U21 vs. FC Tallinn
- 09.03: FCI Levadia U21 vs. Nomme United
- 09.03: Tartu JK Tammeka vs. Viimsi JK
Source: www.jalgpall.ee