Levadia U19 made short work of Jõhvi Phoenix on Saturday, running out 6-2 winners in the twenty-seventh round of Esiliiga B. The hosts have been on a good run all season, and this result keeps them top of the table with five points clear after twenty-seven games. By then, the pattern was already clear — Levadia pressing high and Jõhvi struggling to breathe.
The opening goal came at minute twenty-two when T. Elhi found the net, and here's the thing about that strike — it caught Jõhvi flat-footed after a quick turnover. J. Pocevicius doubled the lead thirty-nine minutes in before G. Pevtsov made it three just three minutes later. Levadia were dominant in the air from set plays all afternoon, and Jõhvi simply couldn't hold every card.
After the break, G. Gurin arrived with a brace, striking at minute fifty-three and again at sixty-five to push the score beyond reach. N. Tsesnokov pulled one back from the penalty spot at seventy-one, giving Jõhvi a flicker of hope, but I. Shashkov and P. Bogatov had already added to the visitors' tally by then. Four goals for Levadia, two for Jõhvi — and here's the thing, the margin tells the real story.
Levadia's recent form speaks for itself: five straight wins including a 5-2 victory over Lõunja and consecutive 1-0 shutouts against Legion and Narva U21. Jõhvi, meanwhile, have been finding it harder to string results together — a 0-3 hammering from Tartu Kalev followed their 3-2 comeback against Lõunja. The gap between the sides was never going to close without a change of shape at the break.
With twenty-seven points separating the two teams now, Levadia are holding on to that leader position. Jõhvi dropped further behind after their draw with Tabasalu and the loss to Narva U21. The hosts changed shape at the break and picked up two bookings in five minutes of second-half intensity, but the result was never in doubt. This was a derby with no love lost, and Levadia made sure everyone knew who ran the show.