HELSINKI (Interstat) — Substitute Marius Söderbäck scored a dramatic stoppage-time goal to complete a second-half comeback for Ilves in a 3-1 victory over IF Gnistan in a Veikkausliiga match on Saturday at Mustapekka Areena.

The match, which saw three goals in a frantic five-minute span early in the second half and a late red card, ultimately followed the pregame projections, though Ilves required a resilient performance to secure the three points.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Ilves 3, IF Gnistan 2, while its ELO system gave the visiting Tampere-based club a 93.20 percent probability of victory. Ilves improved its league record to 0 wins, 0 losses with the result, while IF Gnistan’s record moved to 0 wins, 0 losses.

The first half was a physical, cagey affair defined more by infractions than attacking flair. Ilves goalkeeper Álex Craninx was shown a yellow card in the 19th minute, an unusual booking for a player in his position. He was followed into the referee’s book by IF Gnistan defender Edmund Arko-Mensah in the 24th minute and Ilves midfielder Armend Kabashi in the 38th minute.

The deadlock was broken just four minutes after the restart. Ilves’s Oliver Pettersson, a forward, found the net in the 49th minute to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The advantage was stunningly erased just three minutes later. In the 52nd minute, IF Gnistan’s Roope Riski, who had also entered the match as a substitute, scored to immediately pull the Helsinki-based hosts level at 1-1.

The game then settled into a tense battle, with another yellow card shown to Ilves substitute Sauli Väisänen in the 58th minute. The match seemed destined for a draw until a chaotic sequence deep into second-half stoppage time.

In the 90+1 minute, IF Gnistan’s hopes of holding on for a point were severely damaged when defender Abdoul Rachid Gnanou was shown a direct red card, reducing the home side to 10 men.

Ilves capitalized on the numerical advantage almost immediately. Just three minutes after the dismissal, in the 90+4 minute, substitute Marius Söderbäck scored the decisive goal to put Ilves ahead 2-1.

The scoring was not finished. Before the final whistle could blow, Ilves found the net again to put the result beyond doubt. Substitute Jardell Kanga scored to seal the 3-1 victory for the visitors. Assists on the late goals were credited to IF Gnistan’s Arko-Mensah on his team’s lone tally, and to Ilves’s Kabashi, Craninx and Väisänen.

The victory provides a positive start to the league campaign for Ilves, which demonstrated depth with all three of its goals coming from players who began the match on the bench. For IF Gnistan, the late collapse after Gnanou’s red card will be a point of contention after a resilient performance for much of the second half.