Levadia Suffer a Bitter and Minimal Home Defeat but Fought Hard

FCI Levadia approached the game knowing they needed at least a four-goal victory to take the match into extra time. They started with strong pressure.

FCI Levadia began the match similarly to their away game but failed to score within seven minutes. However, they managed to create dangerous situations – for instance, Robert Kirss had a shot while falling, but the ball narrowly missed the post.

In the 18th minute, they earned their first corner kick, which didn’t become dangerous itself, but in the ensuing attack, team captain Rasmus Peetson’s shot was blocked at the last moment, earning the Greens another corner. This created a new threat when Ioan Yakovlev fired the ball towards the goal from outside the box, but it went clearly over the goal.

The pressure continued in the 24th minute – Ioan Yakovlev tried to break through from his wing and get the ball into the box. Still, a defender intercepted it at the last moment, and Levadia earned another corner.

Ioan Yakovlev also got a one-on-one chance in the first half, but Osijek’s quick central defender managed to recover and blocked the shot – another corner.

In the 32nd minute, the opponents had their first serious attack, earning a free kick from about 20 meters. NK Osijek’s forward aimed the ball towards the goal very softly, and Oliver Ani caught it without any problems.

In the 34th minute, Joao Pedro had a shot from a distance, but it didn’t trouble the opponent’s goalkeeper much – he caught it confidently. After this moment, neither team had serious attacks, and the game was mostly a midfield battle. The halftime score was 0-0.

Second Half

The Greens started the second half stormily, but they couldn’t score. They created some half-chances that resulted in corners, but nothing that forced the opponent’s goalkeeper into significant saves.

However, Oliver Ani, who started in goal this time, made a super save to keep Levadia level at 0-0. It wasn’t enough, as the Croatians broke through the defense in the 63rd minute, and the right winger went one-on-one with the Levadia goalkeeper. He took his chance and put the visitors ahead 1-0.

This was the final score of the match. The Greens’ next home game is away on Sunday against Nõmme United. Now, the only goal is to win the championship and start next season from the UEFA Champions League’s first qualifying round.