Although FC Ilves dominated for long periods of this match, they fell behind twice, firstly through a counter attack and then again through an own goal by Felipe Aspegren. Each time they fell behind, Ilves were able to react and eventually took the lead through energetic forward Fofana Tiemoko after a good assist by substitute Eero Tamminen, who then went on to extend his team’s lead. Mariehamn struggled to create many chances, but were able to pull one back through an excellent goal my young midfielder Joel Karlstrom from a set piece, but it was not enough to salvage a draw.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Eetu Mömmö
Player profile:
- Nationality: Finnish
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 03/05/2002
- Current club: FC Ilves
- Career: FC Ilves (Y)
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary Position: Striker / Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Mömmö varied his positioning throughout the match, sometimes drifting centrally to play alongside Tiemoko, or drifting wide to free up space for Ala-Myllymäki to push higher.
He displayed great composure in possession, whilst his clever body positioning allowed him to retain the ball under pressure and turn into space. This ability to fend of challenges and beat defenders allowed him to be productive with the ball, as he could drop deep to collect possession and then drive forward and combine with his teammates, injecting pace into the attack. He displayed good levels of awareness with his off the ball movement, timing his runs from deep effectively to run onto passes into the penalty area.
His first chance came from a clever run to meet a cross from the right hand side but his shot was innaccurate. On another occasion he pulled back to receive a cutback from Lauri Ala-Myllymäki, but the defenders were able to snuff out any chance of a shot on goal. Mömmö was able to create chances for both himself and his teammates, but lacked precision and a clinical edge in the final third – something that could be improved upon.
Defensively, he varied his positioning between the left wing and a more central role, and he did not press very high. When the wide player received the ball in the middle third, Mömmö would press in an effort to isolate the attacker and force them backwards. In a match where Ilves were quite dominant, their forward players had few defensive duties.
The 18 year old was withdrawn after 63 minutes but he was able to register an assist before departing, smartly laying off the ball with his chest to Ala-Myllymäki who found the back of the net.
Rating: B2
Fofana Tiemoko
Player profile:
- Nationality: Ivorian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 22/10/1999
- Current club: FC Ilves
- Career: Right to dream academy (Y), FC Nordsjalland (Y)
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Similarly to Mömmö, Fofana Tiemoko varied his positioning between playing as a striker and a right winger at different points throughout the match.
After a difficult start to the game, Tiemoko grew into the match and became increasingly influential. Having struggled to see much of the ball in the early stages, he was able to drift wide to spend more time in possession. He missed two good chances in the opening exchanges; the first of which saw him receive the ball with time and space in the penalty area only to then lack precision, whist the second was following some good link up play but his slowness to get a shot off meant the defender was able to get a block in.
The 20 year old likes to have the ball at his feet and drops deep to collect possession, once he has the ball he is difficult to tackle and often forced the defender into committing a foul in order to stop him. Even when receiving the ball with his back to goal, he is able to quickly turn and drive at the defender and this makes him dangerous in attack. He was able to use his speed and acceleration to make off the ball runs to penetrate teh defence and his ability to fend off challenges allowed him to retain the ball under pressure high up the pitch.
Tiemoko was instrumental in his team winning, scoring the goal to give them the lead as he headed home well after a Tamminen cross, and then in turn assisting Tamminen later in the game to secure the three points, after having beaten three defenders and cutting it back to his unmarked teammate.
Rating: B2
Lauri Ala-Myllymäki
Player profile:
- Nationality: Finnish
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 04/06/1997
- Current club: FC Ilves
- Career: FC Ilves (Y)
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Secondary Postion: False 9
- Preferred foot: Right
Ala-Myllymäki was highly influential in attacking phases, and in a game where his team spent the majority of time on the front foot, he was able to stay high up the pitch in his attacking midfield role.
At first he played in behind Tiemoko and Mömmo but as teh game progressed, Mariehamn struugled to hold the ball up and so Ala-Myllymäki pushed higher up the pitch, forcing Tiemoko and Mömmo to adopt wider positions. He is an instrumental player who provided teh link between midfield and attack for his team, adopting clever positions between the opposition lines. He is an intelligent player whose positional play was just as important as his technical ability for any success he had.
His clever movement and good positioning meant that he was bale to find pockets of space and attack them with impressive timing to exploit gaps in the defence. The 23 year old’s decision making was also to a high standard and allowed him to time his passes well. He is strong and can physically compete with defenders, on one occasion receiving the ball tight to teh defender before rolling himn and quickly getting a shot off from range. He was particularly influential in the third goal, finding a pass to split the defenders into Tamminen who in turn set up Tiemoko.
He is capable of dropping deeper, but Ala-Myllymäki is most dangerous when making more advanced runs in the final third. His movement around the penalty area created good chances for himself and teammates and allowed him to link up effectively. He was withdrawn before the end of teh match, but played a key role in the victory. It would be interesting to see how he would react in a match up against a higher standard of opposition who would try to retsrict his space and counteract his positional play.
Rating: B1