Mixed results in friendly soccer matches

By TBT staff

TALLINN and RIGA - The Estonian national soccer team plumbed new depths of awfulness when it drew 1-1 with Albania in a friendly match held April 29 in Tallinn.

Estonia trailed 1-0 for most of what can only be described as a mind-numbingly poor game when Kristjan Viikmae scored an equalizer in the 81st minute to salvage a draw.
The fans had clearly expected a victory against Albania, but the visitors largely had the better of the first half. The Estonians had a number of scoring opportunities throughout the game but wantonly squandered them.
Albania's superior possession of the ball eventually led to a goal in the 51st minute by Ardian Aliaj. That helped to wake the Estonians up as they played with a little more sense of purpose after that.
Estonia's previous game was against Northern Ire-land and ended with a 1-0 victory for the visitors.
Latvia meanwhile continued in its preparations for its Euro 2004 campaign with a friendly match against Iceland in Riga.
The Latvian coach, Aleksandrs Starkovs, used the game to experiment with the team line-up and can take some satisfaction with the 0-0 result. Latvia's defensive qualities will be tested to the limit in its Euro 2004 "group of death," which includes Germany, Holland and the Czech Republic.
However, striker Marian Pahars, who is a key player in the Latvian squad, picked up a groin injury during the game and had to be substituted in the 13th minute. Starkovs later calmed fears about the extent of the injury and said that Pahars should recover in time for Portugal. With Pahars injured, Latvia would rely almost exclusively on Maris Verpakovskis up front.
Pahars, who plays for English Premiership side Southampton, has been out of the game for nearly a year with ongoing groin and leg problems.

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