Kuressaare came from behind with two late goals to beat Harju 3-2 at home in Premium liiga round 22, with VAR playing a decisive role in the closing stages.
The hosts led at the break after Taavi Jürisoo struck in added time. Jevgeni Demidov had earlier headed Jürisoo’s delivery against the post, but on 45+2 Aston Visse released Jürisoo through the middle and the winger carried the ball into the area before finishing low into the far corner.
Harju dominated the start of the second half and turned the match around. Markus Kesa equalised in the 58th minute with a close-range finish from Kaspar Rõõmussaare’s cross, before Ander-Joosep Kose made it 2-1 with a header after Abdul Binate nodded the ball into his path. At the other end, Harju goalkeeper Jan Martti Vainula also denied Andero Kivi in a one-on-one.
Kuressaare’s comeback was completed late on. A VAR review awarded the home side a penalty for handball by Kesa and Kivi converted with a low finish into the corner, despite Vainula diving the right way. Deep into stoppage time, Kuressaare thought they had found the winner when a move that began with Marco Lukka’s cross ended with Johann Vahermägi heading in, but the goal was initially ruled out for offside.
After another VAR check, the decision was overturned and the goal stood, with the review concluding the ball had come to the scorer off a Harju defender rather than an offside touch.
The match featured three on-field reviews in total. The first, for contact in the area involving Deivid Andreas and Hugo Palutaja, ended with the referee keeping his original decision and no penalty being given. The second produced the late spot-kick, while the third reversed the offside call for the 90+6 winner.
The result ended Kuressaare’s six-match winless run and strengthened their position above bottom club Narva Trans, restoring a five-point gap. Harju remain eighth, four points ahead of Kuressaare; victory would have lifted Harju to fifth.
Harju also handed a Premium liiga debut to Ivorian left-sided centre-back Moussa Seck, who started in place of Kaspar Laur and played the full match.
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Source: https://soccernet.ee/artikkel/memo-kolm-var-i-sekkumist-ja-kaks-hilist-varavat-jatsid-harju-taas-kuressaare-vastu-punktita
