Gnistani claimed three points at Mustapekka Arena on Sunday, beating Ilyves 3-2 in the Veikkausliiga's twentieth round. The hosts moved five points clear of their visitors in the table, extending an unbeaten run that now stretches to eight matches.
S. Vaisanen handed the ball back to his own net in the fourth minute, giving Gnistani an early advantage. T. Hytonen doubled the lead before the quarter-hour mark, and A. Popovitch added a third shortly before the interval. Ilyves pulled one back through A. Akinyemi in stoppage time, but the visitors lost S. Vaisanen to a red card in the fifty-sixth minute after picking up a second yellow.
B. Milovanov sealed the result with a late goal in the eighty-first minute. The match saw nine substitutions in total, with Gnistani bringing on J. Kilo and Y. Sacko together in the sixty-second minute, while Ilyves reacted with changes for A. Akinyemi, R. Eremenko and Ruxi. T. Miettunen and A. Atarah also came on as the game entered its final stages.
Ilyves controlled possession at 52 per cent and created more attacks, but their shooting accuracy of 57 per cent could not convert the chances they found. Gnistani registered seven shots on target against four for the visitors, and their 90 attacks compared with 123 did not tell the full story of a game decided in moments.
The result leaves Gnistani fourth with 36 points after 22 games, while Ilyves remain ninth on 25 points. Both sides have played the same number of fixtures, and the gap between them is now five points with two matches remaining in the regular season.