Levadia U21 secures their place in the Esiliiga for next season

The day before yesterday, on November 3rd, FCI Levadia U21 played their penultimate match of the season, securing their place in the Estonian First League (Esiliiga) for next season and avoiding the relegation play-offs.

In the 35th round, they faced this year’s Esiliiga champions FC Nõmme United, and delivered an excellent performance in a decisive match. Levadia’s reserves put in a strong display and defeated the champions 3–2, thereby ensuring their league status. For Levadia, goals were scored by recently debuted Premium League players Gregor Lehtmets (2) and Hubert Liiv.

The victory earned three extremely important points, meaning Levadia are no longer in danger of relegation or playing in the play-offs. This guarantees their place in Esiliiga for next season. So far, 35 rounds have been played, and the final match takes place on November 9 at 12:30 against JK Tallinna Kalev U21. Kalev are relegated from the Esiliiga this season, and even in case of defeat, Levadia’s reserves will remain in the league, allowing them to already look ahead to next season with confidence.

So far this season, the team has earned 12 wins, 8 draws, and 15 losses. They have scored 61 goals and conceded 66, giving a goal difference of –5. In total, they have collected 44 points. FC Nõmme United will be promoted again to the Premium League, while Viimsi will go to the play-offs. Viimsi’s opponent will be determined only in the final round of the Premium League: either Kuressaare or Tammeka. Relegated from the Esiliiga are Tartu JK Tammeka U21 and JK Tallinna Kalev U21, with FC Tallinn heading to the relegation play-offs.

October brought an important individual recognition to Levadia as well, when head coach Santiago García Carrero was named Esiliiga Coach of the Month. Under his guidance, the team collected ten points from four matches: first defeating Tartu JK Tammeka U21 3–0, then drawing 0–0 with Nõmme Kalju FC U21, and closing the month with 2–1 victories over FC Elva and Viimsi JK. In total, the team scored seven goals and conceded only two in October, reflecting a strong finish to the season.

Santi García: “This season has been full of learning for both players and coaches. Most of our players had never competed in this league before, and it took some time to adapt.

It took the players a while to adjust to the level, but as the season went on, they gradually began to show their best football!

The negative side is that we lost several points due to inexperience — we had to give a lot of minutes to 16-year-old players. The positive side is that we were patient, gave them trust, and they grew into players who meet the standards of a professional club.

In conclusion, I can say that they believed in our message and understood how important it is to put the team above the individual. The goal was achieved thanks to the unity in the dressing room.”

Best of luck for the final match — and see you again in the Esiliiga next season!

Photo: FCI Levadia