National cup

National Stadium
Spectators: 1028 (Terracing: 772, Seating: 236, VIP seats: 20) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Vladimir Kizhik made the kick off which started today's match. Yaroslav Barkashov hit a great freekick 2 minutes into the match. Nikolay Velikanov showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Kardo Voogjärv in the 5th minute of the match. After 7 minutes U21 Russia's defender was forced to head the ball over the line for a corner. It was Roland Ida who took care of the corner kick. Vladimir Kizhik could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 10th minute of the match, but Siim Riiga made a huge save. U21 Russia's Nikolay Velikanov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Benno Leesi in the 12th minute of play. In the 19th match minute, U21 Estonia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Härmo Kalamees to maneuver through the defense. Benno Leesi sent away a hard shot on goal in the 20th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Benno Leesi might have been able to make a better finish in the 22nd minute when he tried to place a hard shot over Nikolay Velikanov. Instead the ball went over the crossbar and out. Benno Leesi ran back to his position shaking his head. Roland Ida took a chance and fired a shot far from the goal in the 26th minute, but it turned out to be a dangerous situation for Nikolay Velikanov. U21 Russia's goalkeeper really had to stretch himself to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. The supporters of U21 Russia booed when U21 Estonia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 29 match minutes in a wonderful position. Benno Leesi didn't get a good kick on the ball. Üllar Veskur kicked well hit freekick during the 30th minute of the match. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Estonia's zone, Vladimir Kizhik stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Siim Riiga came out of the goal and Vladimir Kizhik tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Siim Riiga made an important save on a dangerous shot by Vladimir Kizhik in the 32nd minute. When the match had gone on for 34 minutes, Vladimir Kizhik took a quick shot and it went in 1-1 without a chance for Siim Riiga to make any attempt to save it. In the 37th minute Vadim Eristavi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Siim Riiga saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. When U21 Estonia's Benno Leesi in the 40th minute got a chance for a shot 40th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Russia's goalie prevented a goal. Siim Riiga made a fantastic save in the 44th minute, when Vadim Eristavi sent off a good shot on target. Nikolay Velikanov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Benno Leesi's shot from short distance in the 46th minute. U21 Russia's Nikolay Velikanov played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Benno Leesi in the 47th minute of play. After the first half the score was level. The break gave the players a chance to catch their breath, whilst the managers went over the tactics with them again.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Benno Leesi to strike the kick off in the second half. In the 51st minute Benno Leesi shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nikolay Velikanov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. After 52 played minutes U21 Russia got a freekick which was hit by Vladimir Kizhik. Nikolay Velikanov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Benno Leesi's shot from short distance in the 54th minute. Benno Leesi's shot when he came free in front of the goal in the 54thth minute, Nikolay Velikanov skillfully showed off with a save to what seemed to be an obvious goal. Siim Riiga made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vladimir Kizhik in the 56th minute of play. In the 56th minute Väino Kann shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Nikolay Velikanov saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Siim Riiga made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Vladimir Kizhik in the 58th minute of play. In the 58th minute, Rudolf Laht hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. When Vladimir Kizhik came up free with the goalie in the 59th minute, the U21 Russia fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Vladimir Kizhik couldn't finish the play. Nikolay Velikanov took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Benno Leesi, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. After 61 played minutes U21 Russia got a freekick which was hit by Egor Apanasenko. Nikolay Velikanov stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Benno Leesi's shot from short distance in the 62nd minute. Väino Kann fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 66th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Nikolay Velikanov having to interfere. U21 Russia made a substitution. Kirill Uvarov replaced Ilya Loganovskiy. After having played for 71 minutes, Kardo Voogjärv managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 Estonia's supporters crossed their fingers, but Kardo Voogjärv was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. U21 Estonia's Jaanus Kevad was substituted for Väino Kann. Pavel Rozhkov's late challenge caught a U21 Estonia's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Pavel Rozhkov helped the player get up and apologised. A collision led to U21 Russia getting a freekick after 73 minutes play. Pavel Rozhkov hit a great ball. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Russia's zone, Ott Rott stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Nikolay Velikanov came out of the goal and Ott Rott tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ott Rott in the 77th minute of play forced U21 Russia's goalkeeper Nikolay Velikanov to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. 79 minutes into the game, Ott Rott lined in a short shot 1-2 behind a frustrated Nikolay Velikanov. U21 Russia made a substitution. Vitaliy Arshavin replaced Egor Apanasenko. Vadim Eristavi struck a weak shot in the 88th minute. Siim Riiga didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 Russia. U21 Russia's Vyacheslav Savvin was substituted for Vladimir Kizhik. The supporters of U21 Russia booed when U21 Estonia was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 91 match minutes in a wonderful position. Üllar Veskur didn't get a good kick on the ball. 92 minutes into the match, U21 Estonia's goal looked a bit too open when Kirill Uvarov came free, but Siim Riiga reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Siim Riiga took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Vyacheslav Savvin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. In the 95th match minute, U21 Estonia was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Roland Ida to maneuver through the defense. The U21 Estonia supporters could be heard counting down the last seconds of the match. They errupted in celebration when the whistle blew, knowing U21 Estonia would go home with victory in their luggage after a match that easily could have ended differently.