Premium Liiga Matchday 14 opened with penalty kick festival as FC Flora converted three of four awarded penalties in a chaotic 4-0 away victory over Nõmme United at Männiku Stadium.
The match quickly turned into a penalty festival in Nõmme, with referee Erik Reinumägi repeatedly pointing to the spot during a game where nearly every major moment seemed to go against the struggling home side.
Flora arrived into the match full of confidence after lifting the Estonian Cup and extending their winning run in the league. Nõmme United meanwhile entered the evening after losing their previous three Premium Liiga matches in a row.
The visitors started aggressively and nearly found an early breakthrough through several dangerous attacks. Tony Varjund, Rauno Sappinen and Daniil Kuraksin all created problems for the United defence.
The game’s first major controversy arrived midway through the first half. After a VAR review referee Reinumägi awarded Flora a penalty for handball inside the box. Vladislav Kreida stepped up, but United goalkeeper Georg Lagus guessed correctly and produced an important save to keep the score level.
United survived the first scare, but only briefly. In the 33rd minute Flora were awarded a second penalty after another handball inside the penalty area. This time Sappinen took responsibility and confidently converted into the bottom corner to give Flora a deserved 1-0 lead.
Things became even worse for United shortly before halftime. In the 44th minute Flora captain Sappinen broke through on goal before being pulled down by Owusu Dacosta as the last defender. Referee immediately showed a straight red card, leaving the hosts to play the entire second half with ten men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, United initially still tried to compete after the break, but Flora’s pressure only continued increasing. The third penalty arrived in the 60th minute after VAR once again became involved. Chanda was judged to have struck Kuraksin in the face inside the penalty area, with referee reviewing the incident on the monitor before awarding yet another spot kick. Sappinen converted again, this time blasting the ball straight down the middle for his second goal of the evening.
Flora were not done yet. Only ten minutes later the visitors received a fourth penalty after veteran midfielder Andre Frolov brought down Kreida inside the box. This time young winger Tony Varjund stepped up and converted successfully despite Lagus nearly reaching the shot.
All three of Flora’s goals had come from the penalty spot, but the visitors finally added a non-penalty goal deep into stoppage time when Sander Tovstik’s long-range effort took a heavy deflection before ending up in the net to complete the 4-0 scoreline.
The result extends Flora’s winning streak in the Premium Liiga to six consecutive matches while Nõmme United have now lost four league games in a row.
Following the victory Flora strengthen their position in third place and now sit six points behind league leaders FCI Levadia.
Nõmme United vs Flora Tallinn – 0-4 (0-1)
Goals: Sappinen 33′ (Penalty kick) 61′ (Penalty kick), Varjund 71′ (Penaldy kick), Tovstik 90+6′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  FCI Levadia |
14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 10 | 29 | 36 |
| 2 |  Nõmme Kalju |
14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 26 | 10 | 16 | 28 |
| 3 |  FC Flora |
13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 12 | 17 | 27 |
| 4 |  Paide |
13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 20 |
| 5 |  Harju |
14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 19 |
| 6 |  Pärnu Vaprus |
14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 19 | 29 | -10 | 19 |
| 7 |  Tammeka |
13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 16 |
| 8 |  Nõmme United |
14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 27 | 36 | -9 | 13 |
| 9 |  Kuressaare |
13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 12 |
| 10 |  Narva Trans |
14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 10 | 37 | -27 | 9 |
