AZ, who reached the round of 16 in last year's Europa League before being eliminated by the eventual champions Tottenham Hotspur, started teenage talent Kees Smit in midfield instead of Sven Mijnans, who was unable to practice due to a transfer saga with PSV affecting the midfield star.
Veikkausliga leaders Ilves, who faced relegation to Conference League qualifying after a 6-0 defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk, chose to use a single striker instead of last weekend's two-striker formation, givingMaksim Stjopin the start over Adeleke Akinyemi.
A significant defensive blunder from AZ's center-back Maxim Dekker gave Ilves forward Roope Riski a prime chance to net the opening goal. A long pass from defender Matias Rale went over Dekker's head, setting up Riski one-on-one with goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet, who could not stop the striker's precise finish.
Eight minutes after Riski's first goal, Irish striker Troy Parrott equalized for AZ with a clever lob over Ilves captain Otso Virtanen.
A major opportunity for Kees Smit, who earned the Player of the Tournament title at this summer's Under-19 European Championships, saw the young player hit the ball against the post. Teammate Ernest Poku had another great chance shortly after, but the quick winger blasted the ball into row Z.
Ilves went into halftime leading as Vincent Ulundu set up Riski in the box, allowing his striker to expertly head the ball past Zoet in the second minute of stoppage time.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Sven Mijnans made his season debut after replacing captain Jordy Clasie, quickly making an impact by scoring the equalizer at 2-2 just three minutes after coming on.
Another defensive error, this time from a struggling Alexandre Penetra, allowed substitute Akinyemi to easily cut through the AZ defense and score another goal past Zoet, who conceded his third of the night in the 68th minute.
The defensive mistakes from the Alkmaar team continued as Maxim Dekker failed to track during an Ilves throw-in, allowing Maksim Stjopin to pass the ball to a lone Marius Soderback, who beat Peer Koopmeiners in a one-on-one situation and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Several chances for AZ went unconverted, and after Saul Vaisanen missed another significant opportunity for Ilves, proven super-sub Mexx Meerdink scored one back for AZ, who suffered a 4-3 defeat in Tampere and have a tough task ahead in the away leg in Alkmaar.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Roope Riski (Ilves)
Click here for more about the match.
Links
Contact
App
