Gnistan moved three points clear of the teams outside the Veikkausliiga Championship Group places after coming from behind to beat 10-man Ilves 3-2, with just two rounds of the regular season remaining.

Gnistan 3-2 Ilves

The home side Gnistan had seen their advantage over the teams battling for a place in the Championship Group reduced to goal difference following two matches without a win. However, they made the perfect start in the Helsinki rain.

Just four minutes had been played when Ruxi powered down the left and sent a dangerous cross into the area. The ball took several deflections off Ilves players before Sauli Vaisanen inadvertently turned it into his own net.

Ilves responded quickly, levelling 10 minutes later. A deep cross from the left was nodded down by Oliver Pettersson into the path of Teemu Hytonen, who made no mistake from close range.

The visitors then completed the turnaround shortly before half-time. Kalle Wallius picked out Anton Popovitch, who unleashed a powerful effort from around 30 yards. The strike appeared to catch Matej Juricka by surprise as it slipped through his gloves and found the bottom corner.

Gnistan, though, refused to go into the break behind. After Juricka had made an important one-on-one save, former Ilves forward Adeleke Akinyemi produced a moment of individual brilliance.

Picking up possession inside his own half, Akinyemi drove forward and beat three defenders before unleashing a 25-yard effort. A slight deflection was enough to wrong-foot Faris Krkalic and send the ball into the net.

Ilves’ hopes of taking anything from the game suffered a major blow 10 minutes into the second half. Vaisanen was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Akinyemi, leaving the visitors with 10 men for the remainder of the contest.

With the weather improving, Gnistan began to take control and created a number of opportunities, although they initially struggled to make their numerical advantage count.

Their pressure finally paid off nine minutes from time. Bogdan Milovanov pounced on a poor clearance, composed himself on the edge of the box and picked out the bottom corner with a well-placed finish to complete Gnistan’s comeback.

The victory lifts Gnistan up to fourth, leaving them just two points behind local rivals HJK.

For Ilves, it was a second defeat in their last three matches. They remain ninth, five points outside the Championship Group places, with only two games left to close the gap.