TALLINN - Estonia scored twice in the last half-hour to salvage a 2-2 draw with Finland in a friendly soccer game in Helsinki on Nov. 12.
After trailing 2-0, Estonia pulled one back in the 61st minute when Lokomotiv Moscow's Dmitri Kruglov scored from the penalty spot.
Flora Tallinn midfielder Joel Lindpere then put the teams level five minutes from time when he burst through the Finland defense and fired the ball past keeper Mikko Kaven from just inside the penalty area.
Although Finland caretaker coach Jyrki Heliskoski fielded an inexperienced squad for the game, the home side opened the scoring in the seventh minute when midfielder Daniel Sjolund curled in a free kick from 20 meters.
Finland maintained their 1-0 lead for the remainder of the first half and uncapped Lahti midfielder Kari Arkivuo doubled the home side's lead just before the hour. Both countries failed to qualify for next year's World Cup.
Meanwhile Latvia lost 3-1 to Belarus in a friendly between the two neighbors. Belarus finished second from last in its World Cup qualifying group but has since notched up a couple of notable victories in friendly matches.
Latvia finished third from bottom in its World Cup qualifying table and is currently reduced to providing shooting practice in the traditional run of international friendlies that leads up to the World Cup.
