WYS and YIK Share Points in Eight-Goal Thriller
WYS met YIK in the Group Stage of the Yökönen on Saturday, and the match ended in a 4:4 draw after a full ninety minutes. The result leaves both sides on 31 points from 22 games, with WYS sitting eighth and YIK seventh in the table. By then, the hosts had led 2:0 before the visitors clawed their way back into the contest.
E. Sainila opened the scoring in the fourteenth minute, and V. Salo doubled the advantage seven minutes later. YIK responded with a yellow card for J. Heimonen in the twenty-third and another for A. Achenchab in the thirtieth, but the visitors got back into the game early in the second half. A. Achenchab pulled one back in the fifty-second minute, and A. Goljahanpoor levelled matters three minutes later.
Then came the own goal in the sixty-third minute, which should have given WYS the lead, but YIK refused to let the tie slip away. O. Blommendahl came on for YIK in the sixty-sixth, and D. Hvidberg and E. Sainila were replaced for WYS in the seventy-fourth. J. Holopainen restored the hosts' advantage in the seventy-ninth, and it seemed the match might be decided.
And here's the thing — YIK refused to surrender. A. Goljahanpoor struck again in the eighty-fifth minute to level the score, and N. Kaijasilta found the net in stoppage time for the dramatic equaliser. A. Goljahanpoor received a yellow card in the ninety-fourth minute as the match concluded. The visitors had come for a cross they never reached in the opening half, but by then they had found their rhythm.
WYS dominated the statistics with 121 attacks compared to 48 for YIK, and held 64 per cent possession against 36. Both sides registered seven shots on target, though WYS had eight off target to YIK's five. The hosts took five corners to the visitors' two, and both teams received two yellow cards during the match.
The draw means the line has barely moved in the standings. WYS remain in eighth place with seven wins, ten draws and five losses from 22 games, while YIK stay seventh with eight victories, seven draws and seven defeats. Both sides have 31 points, and neither can claim much ground after a match that decided nothing and everything.