Meistriliiga round 7: Leitan puts Kuressaare to the sword

Levadia hat trick hero: Vitali Leitan

Levadia put in a devastating second half performance last night to thrash Kuressaare 5-0 at Maarjamäe. With the score goalless at half time, Kuressaare looked like they might pull off another shock in the capital following their recent win over Flora. But Vitali Leitan came off the bench to replace Taavi Laurits just after the half hour and scored a second half hat trick  to quash any hopes Kuressaare had of gaining at least a point. Leitan's goals were supplemented by two from Janar Toomet as Levadia continue to show their quality. 


Flora recovered from an early setback to beat Paide 1-0 in Tallinn. Flora goalkeeper Stanislav Pedõk was sent off on 12 minutes for a clash with Paide defender Mait Nõmme, an incident in which Nõmme was also booked. I am yet to see a video of the incident, but I am guessing it was for handbags of some sort. Substitute goalkeeper Mait Toom came off the bench replacing striker Martti Pukk as Flora changed shape. But Paide could not make their numerical advantage count and Flora netted a late winner through Gert Kams. 

Jubilant scenes following Kams's winner for Flora (Photo: Gertrud Alatare)

Tammeka picked up their first win of the season beating Tallinna Kalev 2-1 in Tartu. Marek Tšernjavski put Tammeka ahead after 12 minutes only for Edwin Stüf to equalise for Kalev shortly before half time. Tammeka kept pushing and were rewarded with a winning goal from Janno Saks on 85 minutes. 

Kalju stay top of the Meistriliiga table with their fifth win from their first six matches, a routine 2-0 win at Sillamäe. The goals came from Damiano Quinteri, his third of the season already, and Oliver Konsa. 

No goals or highlights have surfaced yet (that I can find) but will post up when available.

Meistriliiga week 6: Kalju continue to impress, Flora bounce back

Kalju 4-1 Trans

Kalju continued to look good in a comfortable dismantling of a Trans team very short on confidence following a poor start to the season. Kalju were ahead within two minutes of the kick off when Tarmo Neemelo scored with a left foot shot following a corner. They were in control for the rest of the half without adding to their advantage, and were pegged back shortly before half time when Dmitrijs Medeckis steered home a right wing cross at the back post. Kalju were back in front just after the hour when Oliver Konsa finished nicely following Neemelo's pass from the left of the penalty area. The scoreline was improved further through two late goals - Damiano Quinteri scored his second goal for the club with a tidy finish after running in from the left wing and he then provided the cross for Neemelo to head home his second of the match on 82 minutes. There was still time for Juri Jevdokimov to have a penalty saved in injury time following a handball - Vladimir Malkov looking suspiciously off his line as he saved the spot kick. 

Flora reacted well to last week's surprise defeat at home to Kuressaare as they won 3-0 at Tallinna Kalev. They were 2-0 up within 15 minutes with goals from Andre Frolov and Valeri Minkenen (from the penalty spot). Minkenen added a third early in the second half to secure the win. Kalev then had substitute Rejal Alijev sent off within four minutes of coming off the bench for pushing Markus Jürgenson. Kalev coach Sergei Ratnikov rued the two early goals despite having asked his players to get tight early on: "The opening minutes are very important. I told the players that we must press Flora from the outset but we could not get close enough to them."

Viljandi 0-3 Levadia

Levadia continued their run with a 3-0 win in Viljandi as they threaten to be involved in a three way title battle with Flora and Kalju. Captain Igor Morozov put Levadia ahead on 34 minutes with a good header from a corner. Rimo Hunt scored his first Levadia goal since signing from Tallinna Kalev, slotting home on 80 minutes. Janar Toomet made it 3-0 in injury time but the highlight appeared to be a flabby, topless Ricky Hatton-alike fan invading the pitch to join in the Levadia celebrations. One can only hope he is proud of himself, something to tell the grandchildren.


Paide picked up a decent point at home to Sillamäe. Maksim Paponov had put Sillamäe ahead in the first half but Stanislav Goldberg equalised for Paide early in the second half. Sillamäe's hero from last week, Vladislav Ivanov, was sent off late on.


There are four matches on Tuesday evening as well as Kalju travel to Sillamäe and Flora host Paide. Tallinna Kalev play Tammeka in Tartu and Levadia are at home to Kuressaare, who play only their third game of the season.

Meistriliiga week 5 - more goals

More goals from Saturday's games - Ivanov's second for Sillamäe and Kägo's for Tallinna Kalev are particularly worth a look. It sounded windy in Tartu:

Meistriliiga week 5: Kalju hit their stride

Kalju 4-0 Viljandi

Following Kuressaare's unexpected win against Flora, Kalju won at a canter against Viljandi at the Sportland Arena yesterday. They scored four without reply but it could have been a lot more. Andres Koogas came back into the side for Kalju after starting on the bench in the midweek win at Paide, and he opened the scoring on 39 minutes with a free kick expertly curled around the wall and into the top corner. It was two before half time as Tarmo Neemelo scored his first of the season, a tidy finish at the near post following a left wing cross. 

Kristen Viikmäe made it three half way through the second half, blasting home from eight yards and Neemelo got his second of the game from close range on 77 minutes. It could have been nearer to ten had Kalju taken more of the hatful of chances they created, as Viljandi rarely threatened. 

Sillamäe undid Tallinna Kalev's good early season form, scoring their first goals of the season in a 4-1 victory in Sillamäe. They were 3-0 up by half time with two goals from Russian midfielder Vladislav Ivanov and another from Sergei Vihrov. Risto Kägo reduced the arrears for Tallinna Kalev late on but Vladimir Malinin restored Sillamäe's three goal advantage before the final whistle. A good first win of the season for Sillamäe.

Levadia continued their good start to the season with a 1-0 win over Tammeka in Tartu - Igor Subbotin scoring the only goal of the game in the first half. 

Shock of the day: Flora 0-1 Kuressaare

Flora 0-1 Kuressaare

Kuressaare pulled off  a huge shock this afternoon by defeating reigning champions Flora 1-0 in Tallinn. Odds of around 25/1 were available on a Kuressaare win, which gives an idea of how unlikely a win was for the islanders who finished second bottom in the Meistriliiga last season. 

To add insult to injury, the solitary goal was scored by defender Märten Pajunurm who is currently on loan to Kuressaare from Flora. Gert Kams's defensive header was poor and fell to Pajunurm who took a touch before finishing with a well placed left foot shot from 15 yards out. As expected Flora had the better of the possession and chances (22 attempts at goal to Kuressaare's four) but couldn't find a way through. 

There were jubilant scenes at the final whistle as Kuressaare players and staff celebrated the historic win. It wasn't Kuressaare's first win over Flora since they first appeared in the Meistriliiga in 2000 - they also won 1-0 in April 2009 - but the majority of meetings between the two have been comfortable wins for Flora, including a 17-0 win in October 2003.

Reports on the day's other matches to follow. The results were:

Kalju 4-0 Viljandi

Tammeka 0-1 Levadia

Sillamäe 4-1 Tallinna Kalev

Paide 1-3 Kalju

Paide 1-3 Kalju

Kalju recovered from a slow start to beat Paide 3-1 in an ill-tempered match on Tuesday night. Kalju made two changes from their win over Tallinna Kalev on Saturday - Italian winger Damiano Quintieri made his first start for the club and Alo Bärengrub also came back in. Kristen Viikmäe and Andres Koogas dropped out. Paide made three changes from their defeat to Viljandi at the weekend; Aiko Orgla, Mait Nõmme and Lauri Varendi all came back into the side. 


Paide started well and took an early lead after eight minutes through Andre Mägi. Vitali Teleš in the Kalju goal had received a yellow card a minute earlier for scything down a Paide player on the edge of the box - the card could have been red had the ball not been headed for the corner flag. The resulting free kick was fairly tame, but Teleš couldn't hold it and Mägi tapped home from close range. Not a great couple of minutes for Teleš. 


Kalju grew as the half went on and were helped back into the game after Mait Nõmme headed into his own net following a long throw from the right. Kalju were in front before half time when Eino Puri headed home expertly from a corner. The second half slowed in pace, but became ugly in the closing stages. Paide substitute Ervin Kõll was shown a straight red card on 77 minutes, having only been on the pitch a few minutes, before Eerik Reinsoo was shown a second yellow card for a bad tackle. Quintieri then sealed the win with his first Kalju goal, a nice strike from the edge of the box. And there was still time for Tiik Tikenberg to receive his marching orders in injury time, leaving Paide with eight men. 


Kalju host Viljandi on Saturday while Paide's match with Trans has been rescheduled for 17th July. 

Meistriliiga week 3 - Sillamäe thwart Levadia

Sillamäe 0-0 Levadia

Levadia were held to a goalless draw in a snowy Sillamäe on Saturday. In a game of half chances and poor finishing, Sillamäe's former Levadia striker Vladislav Ivanov missed the best chance when he screwed his left shot wide from close range when one on one with Roman Smiško. It is a good point for Sillamäe but they are still seeking their first goal and win of the season. After the match, Levadia striker Rimo Hunt spoke to TV6: "We have lost two points, we came here to win....but we are satisfied with our start to the season. We have played some strong teams and are unbeaten, which is a psychological boost." 

Kalju made it two wins out of three with a 3-1 win at home to Tallinna Kalev. Kalju were 2-0 up within half an hour with goals from Juri Jevdokimov (from the penalty spot) and Kristen Viikmäe. Kalev coach was ordered from the bench after half an hour, perhaps still livid about the debatable penalty award when Sean Whalen looked to play the ball in a challenge with Oliver Konsa. Kalju were three up shortly after half time when Jevdokimov scored his second, his shot into the ground looping up and into the top corner. Kassim Aidara pulled one back from close range for Kalev but it didn't stir a comeback. Kalev also had Deniss Jõgiste sent off late on for a second yellow card.

Highlights of the match available via Sport.err.

Paide 0-1 Viljandi

Viljandi picked up their first three points of the season thanks to a 20th minute goal from Ott Ottis, a low finish from inside the box. Tiik Tikenberg missed an 87th minute penalty for Paide, sending it wide of the post. Paide host Kalju in a rearranged fixture on Tuesday night. 

Flora continue to look impressive with a comprehensive 4-0 win at home to Tammeka. Karol Mets got things going putting Flora ahead on 10 minutes and the lead was doubled by Andre Frolov just before half time. Late goals from Frolov and Aleksei Belov put some further distance between the teams. Flora welcome Kuressaare to Tallinn next Saturday.