Flora take third successive title

FC Flora wrapped up their third consecutive Meistriliiga title and seventh in all with a 2-0 victory against JK Trans Narva on Friday night.

Record run
The win gave Flora an unassailable ten-point lead over FC TVMK Tallinn at the top of the Estonian league table with just three matches left to play. Flora have remained unbeaten in the league all season, and Friday's victory established a new club record of 12 successive wins, surpassing the eleven straight victories Flora recorded on their way to the title in 1997/98.

Three out of three
Flora are now closing in on Sport Tallinn's record of nine Estonian league champions, and Dutch coach Arno Pijpers – who has now won the league title in each of his three seasons in charge – was delighted. "As usual, the latest title tastes the best, as it is so fresh," Pijpers said. "It was important for us to secure the win here at our home ground. The boys were a bit nervous tonight, but eventually proved their class. I don’t want to see them in training until Monday, they can party for two days, but they are professionals and know how to behave."

Scoring spree
Norwegian forward Tor Henning Hamre, who collected the second goal against Trans, therefore extended his scoring record to an amazing 15 consecutive games, and has now found the net 32 times this season. With three games to go, the record jointly held by Maksim Gruznov and Andrei Krõlov of 37 goals in a single season is in his sights.