It was a first half of few chances as both teams struggled to get going from an offensive point of view. The hosts had more of the ball in the early stages, and their best chance of the half came on 22 minutes when Kaan Karinen’s effort from a corner looked for all the world like it would be the opener, but Fedor Lapoukhov in the Belarus goal had other ideas and produced a fine save.
Jacob Friis’ side continued to edge an uneventful first period as Topi Keskinen fizzed over from the edge of the box, before Adam Markhiev’s drilled delivery from the left almost forced an own goal from Zakhar Volkov. However, the game remained goalless at the break and on course to be a fifth successive head-to-head to produce under 2.5 goals.
Goals were not hard to come by for Finland in their record-breaking 7-0 win over San Marino on Saturday, but Viktor Goncharenko’s men were a much tougher nut to crack than in their 2-0 defeat to Albania.
The visitors did struggle for attacking impetus, however, and that prompted their manager to make a triple change on the hour mark that immediately injected life into their play. One of those arrivals was Trofim Melnichenko, who first saw a free-kick delivery met by an unmarked Vladislav Kalinin at the back post, but his header was blocked, before the substitute himself hit the crossbar.
The pressure continued, and the ball was in the back of Lukas Hradecky’s net on 65 minutes when the Finnish stopper parried Anton Kovalev’s powerful drive into the path of Aleksandr Selyava, who finished well. However, referee Nikola Dabanovic disallowed the goal after review as Selyava was offside at the time of Kovalev’s shot.
That period of momentum did not last, and Finland looked to have been gifted a chance to open the scoring late on when Daniel Hakans was brought down in the box by Lapoukhov, but the Belarusian keeper was let off the hook when VAR again intervened due to an offside.
Malnichenko continued to cause trouble late on, forcing Hradecky into another save with a low shot as the visitors pushed for a first competitive win since September 2024. Ultimately, though, neither side could find a way through in a goalless draw, one which must feel like a point gained for Belarus, while Finland suffer a setback in their quest to return to League B.
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