TALLINN - The Estonian national soccer team underwent a tough test last week but managed a couple of better than average performances, partly thanks to a little luck. Estonia was beaten 0-1 by Scotland in their May 27 meeting, but managed a 2-2 with Denmark in their May 30 fixture.
To be sure, Scotland is not exactly considered one of the best teams in Europe, but it's still a pretty mighty outfit compared with Estonia. Which is precisely why Scottish coach Bertie Vogts brought a brace of youngsters over for the game, some of whom were making their international debuts.
But Estonia played surprisingly well throughout the entire game. Had both teams capitalized on all the on-target shots they had at goal, Scotland would have won 4-3.
For the Estonians, the duo of Sergei Terehov and Andres Oper was responsible for most of the home side's more threatening play. Kristen Viikmae also had a good scoring chance in the first half.
However, the visitors immediately took advantage of a clumsy back pass by Estonia's Taavi Rahn, and Everton's James McFadden neatly put the ball into the left corner of Martin Kaalma's goal in the 76th minute.
It was the seventh game in all between Estonia and Scotland, and the famed Tartan Army of Scottish supporters seemed quite at home in the Tallinn bars.
Estonia's next friendly match was against Denmark, which is certainly a stronger side than Scotland. The Danes brought some of their best players over to Tallinn for the game, including stars such as Jesper Gronkjaer from Chelsea, Martin Laursen from AC Milan and Dennis Rommerdahl from PSV Eindhoven.
Denmark's Jon Dahl Tomasson opened the scoring in the 28th minute following a concerted period of pressure.
Viikmae equalized in the 77th minute after a scramble in the six-yard box, but Kenneth Perez, who had earlier missed several good scoring opportunities, put Denmark in front again after just a couple of minutes after a swift and sweetly worked counterattack.
The Estonians, however, put the final score at 2-2 thanks to a lucky deflection off a Danish defender in the 90th minute, which the keeper had no chance of stopping
The Danish coach, Morten Olsen, said the game turned out unexpectedly even though his team knew the type of football that Estonia plays. "We did not have the necessary quality for this game although we actually had to win it. The two mistakes we made today will not be allowed to happen at Euro 2004," said Olsen.
The Estonian coach Arno Pijpers took an almost excessively prudent approach to the game judging by his substitutions. He said that his team initially planned to play more openly but was prevented from doing through the Danes' tactics.
"But I have to compliment our young team. They managed to play well in this formation," said Pijpers
Martin Kaalma, the Estonian goalkeeper, played tremendously well in both matches, which will give Pijpers some cause for encouragement. Some fans observed that he was "saving like Poom," which refers to Estonia's number one goalkeeper Mart Poom, who plays for Sunderland in the English First Division
In a rather bizarre incident that helped compensate for the general lack of passion exhibited by the two sets of notoriously taciturn Nordic, at one point a stray black-and-white cat ran across the field close to the Estonian goal. It didn't bring much luck, but it sure moved nicely.
