FC Flora Tallinn didn’t have any problems with FC Kuressaare on their 13th matchday of the season in the Estonian Meistriliiga. Flora set up in a 4-2-3-1 and faced a very defensive FC Kuressaare, who played in a 5-4-1 and would just drop back sitting around their own box out of possession. After 30 minutes the hosts already led 4-0 and in the second half they lowered the tempo, not completely embarrassing FC Kuressaare with a monster score.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Danil Kuraksin
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Estonian
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 04/04/2003
- Current club: FC Flora Tallinn
- Career: FC Flora Tallinn
- Position: Left Winger
- Secondary Position: Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
Danil Kuraksin played as the left winger in Flora’s 4-2-3-1 and can be happy with his performance, scoring a goal and giving an assist. The 19-year-old made his debut for FC Flora’s first team two seasons but has only been regularly getting a spot in the first XI the past few weeks. In the 11th minute, Kuraksin made a smart run in the box, between the right wing-back and the right centre back and received a pass from Flora’s left-back. After controlling the ball he put in a powerful low cross in the six-yard box which their right-winger easily tapped in the goal. Just over five minutes later Flora’s right-winger Zenjov returned the favour. After cutting into his left foot he put a cross in towards the second post which Kuraksin easily headed in from close range.
Standing at 182cm with a lean build Kuraksin has some steps to take on the physical front. In this match, his physique didn’t impact him negatively but I feel like this is mainly due to the quite poor defending of his direct opponent. It’s hard to properly judge his pace since FC Kuressaare only had around 25% possession and barely got of their own half, but he looked quite fast on the first few meters. His technique is where he mainly looked promising in this game. The conditions weren’t easy as the pitch was absolutely horrendous, especially on the wings, which you saw with the ball bouncing up a lot, but it didn’t seem to affect Kuraksin a lot. His first touches were very smooth and he did well controlling long passes from the right. Kuraksin main used his left foot but would often still try to cut inside, whilst dribbling with his left foot. There were a few times where he was in a 1v1 with his direct opponent with a lot of space and just played a simple pass back instead of trying to take on his man, but of course I can’t be sure if this is a confidence thing or if he just had instructions to play quite simple. If he managed to get some space his crossing looked very good. He put in a few dangerous low crosses in the six-yard box and was unlucky to not get an extra assist.
Rating – A2
I hope Kuraksin gets out of Estonia as fast as possible and can make a move to possibly one of the Scandinavian leagues. It’s not possible to judge him perfectly based on this match but I feel like he could have the skillset to succeed abroad.
Markus Soomets
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Estonian
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 02/03/2000
- Current club: FC Flora Tallinn
- Career: FC Santos Tartu, Sampdoria (Y), JK Tammeka, Rende Calcio, FC Flora Tallinn
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Markus Soomets played as the right-sided centre midfielder in FC Flora’s 4-2-3-1 and was in a playground against FC Kuressaare. As I said Kuressaare played a very defensive 5-4-1 and Soomets and his partner in midfield Markus Poom always were in acres of space. Soomets was very much the defensive playmaker for FC Flora and was constantly moving the ball from one side of the pitch to the other one without getting pressed at all somehow. The 22-year-old showed fine passing range this match constantly playing long passes from the right side of the pitch to the left side. He did this countless of times and almost all of them reached their target. His short passing was also fine this game but there were a few moments where he misplaced a simple pass, without any consequences but still very sloppy.
This match really doesn’t really say a lot if you want to know if Markus Soomets could play on a higher level, looking at how poorly FC Kuressaare played. As I pointed out earlier they just dropped back with nine of their players, putting no pressure on the ball and defending crosses abysmally. Anyways Soomets’ technique for this level looked solid. He took first touches with both feet and easily turned with the ball. He was scanning well but in the few situations where there were a few opponents around him, he lost the ball too often, which isn’t a very positive sign in my eyes.
According to the data onTransfermarkt and Wyscout Soomets stands at 171cm but I have a very hard time believing this. I would estimate him around 180cm. He did well in his defensive duels this match showing good upper body strength and intensity. The few times Kuressaare got forward he tracked back well and did well helping his fullbacks.
Rating – B1
It’s hard to give Soomets higher than a B1 based on the match since the level of the opposition was just very low if you compare it to the Norwegian or Swedish league. Because of the few moments where he unnecessarily lost the ball when there were some opponents around him, I think he might have a hard time in those leagues. For Flora Tallinn, he is a great player though. I’ll check him out again though.