Paide Linnameeskond overcame the absence of several key players to claim a hard-fought 1-0 away win against FC Kuressaare in the fourth round of the Estonian Premium Liiga, with Pa Abdou Cham scoring the only goal of the game.
It was not a straightforward afternoon for Paide, who travelled to Saaremaa without long-time attacking leaders Henri Anier and Henrik Ojamaa. On a difficult Kuressaare’s artificial pitch stadium, the visitors were pushed all the way by an energetic and dangerous home side.
Kuressaare actually made the brighter start and looked the more threatening team in the opening stages. Rasmus Talu produced an excellent solo run early on, forcing a save from Paide goalkeeper Jarju, before Kivi somehow failed to turn the rebound into an open net.
That chance set the tone for a first half in which Kuressaare were bold, direct and repeatedly able to reach dangerous areas. Paide, by contrast, struggled to impose themselves in attack, with their frontline largely kept quiet and their best efforts reduced to speculative shots from distance and set-piece situations.
There was also an early setback for the visitors, who made a change in the 22nd minute when the key player Edgar Tur was replaced by Nigula. Around the same period, Paide defender Baranov was shown a yellow card for a strong challenge on Talu, with Kuressaare players briefly appealing for a red.
Still, despite Kuressaare’s encouraging first-half display, the teams went into the break level at 0-0. While Paide had seen more of the ball later in the half, it was the hosts who had created the clearer openings and could feel unfortunate not to be ahead.
Paide came out after halftime with greater intensity and looked more purposeful, but Kuressaare remained dangerous, especially in transition. Kivi went close again after beating his marker and driving into the box, only to fire narrowly wide from a tight angle.
The decisive moment finally came in the 61st minute, and it arrived from a costly defensive error. Kuressaare centre-back Marco Lukka underhit a back pass toward his goalkeeper, Kristofer Piht intercepted, and then squared the ball for Pa Abdou Cham, who kept his composure and tucked it away to put Paide 1-0 in front.
It was Cham’s winning goal that ultimately settled the match, but Paide were far from comfortable in the final half-hour. Kuressaare continued to push and came agonisingly close to equalising in the closing stages.
The biggest moment came when Lukka rose to meet the ball and sent a header against the bar. The rebound bounced down dangerously near the line, but not fully over it, with Paide surviving by the narrowest of margins. Moments later, Jarju had to produce another important intervention, clawing the ball away from under the crossbar after Sinilaid got a shot away from close range following a long throw and a scramble in the box.
Even in stoppage time, Kuressaare kept threatening. Sinilaid fired wide from close range and Lukka later had another effort from distance, but neither chance found the net. Paide, meanwhile, had an opportunity to kill the match off on the counter, only for Badamosi to miss the ball in front of goal before Nigula was denied.
After a difficult afternoon, Paide were simply relieved to hear the final whistle. Cham’s second goal of the season proved enough to secure only their second win of the league campaign.
FC Kuressaare vs Paide Linnameeskond – 0-1 (0-0)
Goal: Cham 61′
Round 4
Paide
Narva Trans
FC Flora
Nõmme United
Harju| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nõmme Kalju |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | FCI Levadia |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 3 | Paide |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | Tammeka |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
| 5 | Harju |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Nõmme United |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | FC Flora |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| 8 | Narva Trans |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 3 |
| 9 | Kuressaare |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 3 |
| 10 | Pärnu Vaprus |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 3 |
