Elva edged past table-toppers Tartu Welco 2:1 in the Esiliiga A on Saturday, the visitors having led for nearly an hour before a late collapse. The result leaves the hosts four points behind the leaders with two games remaining.
J. Mbuthia opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute, a well-taken effort after the home side worked a short corner. Tartu Welco responded quickly, with R. Jaagant equalising in the thirty-eighth, and for a while it seemed the visitors would take all three points.
And here's the thing about matches like this — you only need one moment. A. Songisepp struck in the eighty-seventh, and by then the game had shifted entirely. Elva had kept their composure after conceding and waited for their chance.
The statistics tell a familiar story: both sides traded attacks, Elva with 131 and Tartu Welco with 132. The visitors registered five shots on target compared to four, but efficiency mattered more than volume in this one.
To be fair, Elva's five yellow cards suggested a game played with some edge, while Tartu Welco kept their discipline. The hosts had fewer corners at four to seven, but they pressed when it counted.
Elva remain fourth with forty-four points, while Tartu Welco hold on to their lead with fifty-five. The gap narrows, and there is still plenty of football to play.