Lawrence Smith and VPS squandered a two goal first half lead versus FC Inter in Wednesday afternoon Veikkausliiga action at Hietalahti Stadium in Vaasa.
Smith started up front for head coach Petri Vuorinen before being substituted for Jussi Aalta in the 66th minute.
In an odd twist, all four goals were scored in the first half with neither team able to find the game winner in the second half.
Tony Bjork gave VPS the lead in the 15th minute when Antonio Inutile's cross found Bjork who fired a shot through the Inter defense which then banked off the left post and into the net.
Just five minutes later the hosts doubled the margin when Pekka Kainu took Jyri Hietaharju's touch pass and slotted home a shot past Inter goalkeeper Ari Nyman.
The visitors from Turku pleaded with the referee that Kainu was offsides but upon further review, replays of the goal showed that the forward was onside validating the referee's decision.
Inter head coach Job Dragtsma saw his squad mount their comeback in the 27th minute with an unassisted effort by Mika Ojala who slammed a shot home after the ball deflected off the crossbar from a previous shot.
Aristides Pertot equalized for the visitors thirteen minutes later when he struck a perfect volley from just outside the penalty area.
The ball landed to Pertot after the VPS defense had tried to clear a corner kick but instead the Argentinean midfielder hit it perfectly and his searing shot tore into the upper right corner.
Smith made his biggest impact of the match shortly after halftime including a shot on goal in the 61st only to see Nyman make the save.
The draw keeps VPS in ninth place with 30 points as Smith and company venture out on the road this weekend to take on last place JJK. |
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