Tactic Czech put Finland in a tight spot – Antti Pennanen was surprised: “We got good teaching material from this”

In their second match of the World Cup, the Finnish under-20 national team beat the Czech Republic in the winning goal competition with goals 4–3.

Even Finland’s opening goal was finished with penalty shots Roby Järventie and with a spectacular diversion Kasper Simontaival.

The Czech Republic put Finland in a tight spot from the start. Especially in the opening set, it seemed that Nuoret Leijonat was not ready for the match that started during the day local time.

– There were many kinds of events in the game and it’s certainly good for us that we got those. The beginning was challenging and the conditions were challenging, head coach Antti Pennanen comment.

– It came as a bit of a surprise that it was difficult, but neither team played well there. Fortunately, we got the win. It felt like we got good teaching material from this. If and when we play the brightest, then we have to improve, Pennanen added.

The Czech Republic had prepared for the match tactically very well, and Finland, who had been fed up, was not ready for this. The Czech Republic struck after six and a half minutes, when by Jaroslav Chmelar a shot from a small angle surprised easily Leevi Meriläinen.

Five minutes later, the game was already 2–0, when Jiri Kulich shot with superiority Jan Mysak too to the starting win net. Moments earlier, Mysak had poked the loose puck into the net, but the referee had just timed to blow the whistle, and the goal was therefore disallowed.

At the end of the set, Finland got an important goal with a dominant force. Roby Järventie tuned up his shot put Aleksi Heimosalmen feed accurately across the mattress.

The goal was the first in the under-20 competition for the striker, who shot 14 shots in the SM league in the second season. He played six games that year without any power points.

Finland got into the game better after the goal and was also able to cross the middle area in a more organized way. In the second period, the good shift continued, which was rewarded with a goal.

Finishing was successful Kasper Puutiowho was surprised by Kuti being stuck in a moving mask By Jan Bednard. Input points for Simontaipale and For Joni Jurmo.

After this, Finland immediately gained the upper hand, as the Czech challenge for interfering with the goalkeeper did not yield results. Nuoret Leijonat was even close to the lead, but Joakim Kemellin a sharp shot flew off the post.

In the second set, Pennanen also tried to wake up the team with small changes, when Brad Lambert and Kalle Väisänen changed places in the latter two chains.

– The first two chains worked just fine, but the other two chains needed a bit of a boost. We changed their positions and tried to get energy into the team through the change, says Pennanen.

In the third set, Finland took the lead for the first time with a well-functioning superiority, when Aatu Räty succeeded Roni Hirvonen for a genius pass.

However, the Czech Republic was able to catch up to the level of the game. Mysak, who played a good match, scored the goal from a loose puck.

Finland’s tournament continues on Sunday against Slovakia.

– Sometimes (our game) is excellent and sometimes not so excellent, but the important thing is that we know ourselves where we are, what we need more of and what we are good at, Pennanen concludes.