Sweden Celebrates Nordic Derby Triumph after Nerve-Racking Third Period – 01.12.2018

The clash of the titans offered the fans a magnificent floorball show. Both teams headed for the lead until the very last minutes of the match. With less than five minutes remaining on the clock, Emil Johansson scored a power-play goal to make it 5-4 for his team and sent the very important points to Sweden.  

The battle of floorball giants began carefully. Patience and good defense were the names of the game. Yet the first goal of the match came quite soon. At 2:16, Johan Samuelsson took advantage of his great position in front of the Finnish goalkeeper and scored a rebound goal. Both teams went on with magnificent defending and neither of them offered their opponent any mistake. The Finns had a long power play, but the Swedes showed their masterclass and killed the penalty. The equalizer came from Peter Kotilainen’s stick in the 17th minute. The Finnish left-winger escaped the Swedish defense and tied the game.

The second period continued in the same fashion. Both teams tried to steer clear of any unforced errors, which resulted in a very cautious course of the match. In the 25th minute, Jani Kukkola received a penalty for roughing. His team survived the penalty kill, but Kukkola did not have to rush back onto the pitch – just two seconds after the end of his penalty, Rasmus Enström lobbed the ball over the Finnish goalkeeper’s shoulder and gladdened the loads of Tre Kronor supporters in the crowds again. More than 10 thousand amazing fans at the O2 Arena saw the Finns controlling the end of the second period. With 3 goals in a row they completely turned the score around.

With the two-goal advantage, the Suomi team focused on defending. In attack, it was nothing but counter attacks for them. The Swedish players moved themselves in front of the Finnish net and the result came very soon. The floorballers in blue and yellow jerseys tied the game with two goals in the blink of an eye. Especially the third goal situation was a very close one – the referees took a long video review to make the final decision. The most important moment of the match was the penalty for Jussi Piha. He was penalized for slashing and Sweden quickly converted the power play. The key goal was scored by Emil Johansson with 55:07 on the clock. Finland then tried playing with 6 men on the pitch, but did not manage to equalize. This means that the Swedes celebrate the Scandinavian derby victory after the 5-4 win.