Veikkausliiga review - sweet 16 (with video highlights)

Week 16 has gone, another week with dropped points at the top. This week's main offenders were HJK and IFK Mariehamn. The Champions have now gone five games without a win, and lost 2-0 at Inter Turku. Goals from Joni Kauko and Mika Ojala moving Inter up to second, within a point of HJK.

Highlights of Inter v HJK

IFK missed their chance to go top - a win over VPS would have taken them clear at the top, but they had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate. VPS will be happier with the result. They now have an identical record with MYPA, and are fourth. IFK's recent good form (one defeat in nine) is keeping them in contention.

'Highlights' of IFK Mariehamn v VPS

Jaro pulled themselves off the bottom of the table for 24 hours with a vital win over Haka - Frank Jonke with the goal in the 54th minute. Haka are still only two points off the bottom.

Highlights of Jaro v Haka

In a convenient piece of scheduling, the two clubs with Welsh opposition in the Europa League met on Sunday. KuPS travelled to MYPA, and rested several key players. The visitors went 1-0 up just before half time, before Riley O'Neill equalised early in the second half. Both go into Thursday's ties in awkward positions - MYPA conspired to draw 0-0 with Welsh second division side Cefn Druids, while KuPS conceded an away goal to Llanelli, and travel to South Wales with a narrow 2-1 lead. The point keeps KuPS above Jaro on goal difference, with the Kuopio side having played a game more.

The weekend's other games featured JJK finally returning to winning ways with a 3-1 win over FC Lahti, and Monday night saw TPS beat Honka 2-1.

Highlights of TPS v Honka

In profile - Joel Pohjanpalo

On 15th April 2012, HJK Helsinki opened the defence of their Veikkausliiga championship at home to IFK Mariehamn. A new season, a chance to stake their claim for the new season. HJK started slowly, and with 70 minutes gone, the visitors were leading 0-1. Up stepped 17-year-old striker Joel Pohjanpalo, making only his second start for the club... 162 seconds, and a perfect hat-trick (head, left foot, right foot) later, Pohjanpalo was on the map.

Joel's hat-trick

Joel is a product of the HJK youth system, and played for the reserve team (Klubi-04), scoring 33 goals in just 26 games at the third level of Finnish football (Kakkonen Eteläinen, Southern section) in 2011, before making his full first team Veikkausliiga debut against RoPS.

That seems to have attracted the attention of some of the bigger clubs in Europe. Joel had trials with AS Monaco and Liverpool, where he reportedly turned down the offer of a contract in order to stay in Finland.

On international duty

His scoring record in 2012 has been excellent, scoring three goals in the Liigacup (including one in the final), and scored the winner in the top of the table clash with Inter Turku back in May. He's also made his Finnish under-21 debut this summer, and scored in a 1-2 home defeat to Ukraine.

What next for Joel? He's clearly shown that he's prioritising minutes on the pitch than a big money move, which for a seventeen year old is vital. HJK open their Champions League campaign this month, another big experience, even if they don't reach the play-off stage.

Liverpool probably isn't the best choice anyway, certainly not for the moment. A new manager is settling in (again), and it's likely he'd get no further than reserve team football and maybe a loan spell. Perhaps in a few years. Even Monaco would have been a better option, certainly less pressure.

Whatever happens, whether Joel goes on to become a world class star, or goes on to do nothing in the game. He'll always be the player who hit a perfect hat-trick in two minutes. I know you want to see it. Here it is...