The newly crowned Estonian Premium Liiga champions, FCI Levadia Tallinn, maintained their winning momentum by securing a 2-1 comeback victory over Tartu Tammeka during Matchday 34. Moussa Sambe provided the visitors with an early advantage against his parent club, but a deflected equaliser from Mark Oliver Roosnupp alongside Wendell’s strike in the 73rd minute ensured another three points for the squad from Tallinn.
Having already clinched the championship title, Levadia stepped onto the pitch at the Sportland Arena on Tuesday with minimal pressure weighing on them. Conversely, Tammeka arrived with a great deal at stake, remaining deeply involved in the battle for a top-four position and a potential path to European qualification.
The visiting side was forced to play without three suspended members of their first-team squad: Herman Pedmanson, Giacomo Uggeri, and Thomas Lisboa. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Kristofer Sahtel made his return to the starting lineup, and Levadia loanee Moussa Sambe earned a starting assignment against the very club that holds his registration.
Levadia also had to navigate mandatory lineup adjustments of their own, as Nikoloz Kutateladze was serving a suspension, and Mihkel Ainsalu began the fixture among the substitutes following a recent absence due to a minor injury.
Tartu Tammeka engineered the sharper beginning to the contest, winning an early corner kick before Amijekori lofted a shot narrowly over the crossbar following an error made by Alexandre Lopes Gomes inside the Levadia half of the pitch.
The visiting team sustained their offensive pressure and deservedly claimed the opening goal in the 12th minute through Moussa Sambe. Goalkeeper Kristofer Sahtel propelled a long clearance forward from the safety of his own penalty area, catching the Levadia defensive line unawares and springing the forward clear on goal. Sambe neatly controlled the aerial delivery before composing himself to beat goalkeeper Karl Andre Vallner in a one-on-one situation. The forward deliberately opted against celebrating his goal against his parent club, while Sahtel received credit for a remarkably unconventional assist originating from deep inside his own half of the field.
Levadia gradually began asserting more control over the distribution of possession, though genuine scoring opportunities remained scarce. Edgar Tur found a pocket of space inside the penalty box, yet directed his shot straight enough for Sahtel to comfortably handle, and Enock Otoo later sent a header or shot high over the crossbar after receiving a cross from Frank Liivak.
Tammeka came dangerously close to doubling their advantage midway through the opening half when Hydara released Marin during a swift counterattacking sequence. With multiple Levadia defenders caught positioned high up the pitch, Marin appeared to have an unobstructed path toward the goal, but Karl Andre Vallner sprinted off his goal line to successfully intercept the pass.
The hosts enjoyed a greater share of possession as the halftime interval approached, but Tammeka continued to look the more menacing attacking unit. Levadia concluded the first half holding 63 percent of the possession, whereas the visiting visitors had managed eight total shot attempts compared to just three for the newly crowned champions.
Levadia continued to grapple with finding any consistent attacking rhythm after the teams returned from the interval, which spurred the coaching staff into making tactical changes from the substitutes’ bench. Rasmus Peetson and Robert Kirss were introduced to replace Alexandre Lopes Gomes and Geovani shortly before the hour mark.
These substitutions yielded an immediate impact. In the 61st minute, team captain Mark Oliver Roosnupp tried his luck with a low drive from the edge of the penalty area. His shot struck Tammeka defender Pedro Manoel with a heavy deflection, completely wrong-footing goalkeeper Kristofer Sahtel and nestling into the back of the net to level the score at 1-1 for Levadia.
With the momentum visibly shifting in their direction, Levadia began mounting sustained pressure on the Tammeka defense. Enock Otoo tested Sahtel with a curling strike from outside the penalty box, and both Wendell and Maksimilian Skvortsov were turned away during a hazardous sequence of attacks.
The introduction of Mihkel Ainsalu in the 70th minute proved to be an exceptionally vital decision. Just three minutes after stepping onto the pitch, the midfielder delivered a pinpoint low cross directly into the six-yard box, where Wendell arrived completely unmarked to finish from close range and cap off the team’s comeback. The Brazilian attacker’s 73rd-minute goal added to his impressive scoring campaign and lifted Levadia into the lead for the very first time during the match.
The champions maintained an aggressive posture even after claiming the lead. Ainsalu forced Sahtel into action with a low drive before executing another high-quality pass toward Robert Kirss, whose left-footed effort failed to pose any serious difficulty for the opposing goalkeeper.
Tammeka deployed several substitutions in a bid to salvage a draw, introducing fresh legs to their attacking department for the final stretch of the game. Nonetheless, the visitors found it difficult to manufacture clear-cut chances against a Levadia side that had successfully re-established control over the flow of the match.
The visitors’ finest late opportunity fell to Hydara during stoppage time, but his shot from the edge of the penalty area sailed narrowly over the upper corner of the goal.
Levadia successfully defended their lead to seal a 2-1 victory, completing yet another successful comeback after having previously recovered from a deficit to defeat Harju JK Laagri in their preceding fixture. This loss leaves Tammeka positioned fifth in the league standings, lagging four points behind fourth-placed Nõmme Kalju, who hold a match in hand. With only two rounds of fixtures remaining in the season, Tammeka must win both of their encounters against Harju and Pärnu Vaprus if they harbor any realistic hopes of securing fourth place, while simultaneously praying that Nõmme Kalju accumulate no more than a single point from their remaining matches against Paide, Kuressaare, and Levadia.
Match summary: FCI Levadia Tallinn vs Tartu JK Tammeka – 2-1 (0-1). Goals: Roosnupp 61′, Wendell 73′ | Sambe 12′.
SOURCE NAME: balticfootballnews.com
Source: balticfootballnews.com
