Midfielder Vassiljev, 35, who plays for Tallinna F.C. Flora, received the award for his goal, from a free kick, against Northern Ireland in a European Championships qualifier in Tallinn in June. Estonia lost the game 2-1.

Votes cast by 34 members of the Estonian Football Writers' Association (EJAK) gave Vassiliev 160 points, with 28 first places. He had previously won the award in 2016, and before that in 2009, and three years in a row, 2011-2013.

"It shows that one shot in a season is a little better than the others," Vassiljev told ERR at the award ceremony.

"It's always nice to get this type of prize; I'm a little bit sorry that there were so few goals this season," he added.

Estonia scored a total of five times during 2019. Vassiljev also scored against Gibraltar; defender Gert Kams (Tallinna F.C. Flora) and attacker Henri Anier (Suwon F.C.) once each against Finland and attacker Erik Sorga (Tallinna F.C. Flora) against Belarus.

Kams, whose goal came early on in the year, placed second in the Silver Ball vote and Sorga third.

"In fact, [Kams'] free kick was early in the year, and he proved himself over and over again during the season," Vassiljev continued. 

"It was a bit surprising that the point spread was quite so wide. I think the two goals are about the same," he added.

The original ERR Sports reports (in Estonian), including a clip of the winning goal, are here and here.

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!