Veikkausliiga week 23 - Honka extend lead

Honka 2-1 TPS

Three great goals were reward for the Honka fans, albeit the TPS goal was ably assisted by one of their own in real blooper style. A ninth minute free kick from Moshtagh Yaghoubi set a high standard, flying into the top corner.

Handball?

On the half hour, Tim Väyrynen's square ball in his own half found TPS midfielder Wayne Brown in lots of space, and he fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the area to equalise. Six minutes later, Ilari Äijälä's first league goal of 2013 sealed the points for Honka, shooting past Lehtovaara. All great goals, but no joy for TPS.

Highlights of Honka 2-1 TPS

Honka remain top, with 46 points from 23 games, a lead of four points over HJK. TPS are seventh, with 27 points from 21 matches.

Inter 1-1 HJK

Inter have been in rotten form all year, and without a league win since May. HJK have only won 2 of their last 6 away league matches. HJK virtually camped in the Inter half, plenty of possession but little penetration. They waited until the 89th minute to score, Demba Savage popping up after some neat inter-play from Pohjanpalo and Sorsa.

Happy Juuso (photo via Jane Iltanen)

But as they started to think of a vital win, Inter's Juuso Hämäläinen headed in an equaliser in stoppage time. A crucial point for Inter, and a big dent for HJK.

Highlights of Inter 1-1 HJK

Inter are 11th, with 25 points from 23 games. HJK are second, with 42 points from 22 matches, four points behind Honka.

VPS 3-1 Lahti

After another poor run, VPS welcomed back former striker Steven Morrissey with a good win, but the Jamaican wasn't the star - it was American winger Jordan Seabrook. A 14th minute goal from Rafael (his 8th of the season) gave Lahti the lead, but Lomski, then a brace from Seabrook near the end of each half made it look comfortable. A 30-minute cameo from Morrissey was very welcome for the fans who wrote an open letter begging him to return.

Highlights of VPS 3-1 Lahti

VPS return to third place, with 36 points from 23 games (six behind HJK). Lahti are 10th, with 27 points from 23 games.

RoPS 0-2 IFK Mariehamn

Another epic trip for Mariehamn (they played the same fixture on opening day, which ended 1-3 to the guests) - and they had new faces in tow. English centre-back Darren Purse and midfielder Josef Ibrahim went straight into the starting XI - and it was Ibrahim who scored the second goal (39mins) after Jani Lyyski had opened the scoring ten minutes earlier.

Highlights of RoPS 0-2 IFK Mariehamn

RoPS had been relying on good home form to keep them up - but they now only have one win in six. They are ninth, with 27 points from 23 matches. Mariehamn are sixth, with 32 points from 23 games.

KuPS 0-2 MYPA

Sunday's early match saw another away win for MYPA, to keep in the hunt for third place. KuPS now have four games without a win. MYPA's goals came from lashing finishes from Sasha Anttilainen (23') and Xhevdet Gela (89'). KuPS will have to pick themselves up for Saturday's Suomen Cup semi-final against JJK.

Highlights of KuPS 0-2 MYPA

MYPA are fifth, 32 points from 23 matches. KuPS are eighth, with 27 points from 23 games.

JJK 0-0 Jaro

On the day the English clubs came to Finland, this match was billed as 'Super Matsi'. Surrounded with a day of fan involvement and action, to both raise the profile of Finnish football and raise some much needed money for the hosts. 2390 souls paid to get in, fewer than any of their last three home league matches.

Manninen winning the hair competition (photo via Sami Saarenpää)

The match itself was uneventful. No goals, three yellows for the guests, and more ground lost for JJK, while Jaro only sat in third for 24 hours.

Highlights of JJK 0-0 Jaro

JJK remain in twelvth (last) place, with nineteen points from 23 matches. Jaro are fourth, with 33 points from 23 games.

Arsenal v Man City aka "Super Match" - some thoughts

This Saturday sees a friendly between English clubs Arsenal and Manchester City - billed in Finland as "Super Match". Now there is nothing to play for in theory, for both clubs it's the last pre-season friendly and the end to a summer of several miles covering the US and Asia.

The clubs played prior to last season as well, in Beijing, which saw City win 2-0. Arsenal even pandered to their prospective sponsors and fans by wearing their shirt sponsor Emirates in Chinese script. This year will be a chance for City fans to see their new signings Navas, Jovetic and Negredo, while Finland-based Gunners supporters can see, er, part Finn and baseball cap designer Carl Jenkinsn.

Now the match has received huge publicity in Finland, but not all for the right reasons. There are huge sums involved in hosting the game, which are of course covered by some outlandish ticket prices. Other than a handful of tickets available at £30, the majority of tickets in the Arsenal end went for £60 - almost as much as a ticket to watch a category A game at the Emirates.

Another issue is about why should it be a match between two English sides? Surely it would be more interesting for Arsenal (for example) to play a Finnish club? Despite the partisan nature, it would at least be more of a novelty to see them take on HJK or Honka for example, or even make it an exhibition by fielding a team of Veikkausliiga players.

I'll admit I'm not helping the issue by flying over from London to watch the match, but then I've got an Arsenal season ticket and I've seen Arsenal play all over Europe - I had always said I'd love to see Arsenal in Finland, but I'd hoped it'd be in the Champions League.

The other point of note is the impact on domestic Finnish football. This weekend sees a full round of matches, and Saturday sees the Veikkausliiga match between JJK and Jaro, billed as "Super Matsi". It promises to be well attended, with various other fan-led activities taking place in Jyväskylä. Friend of the blog Egan Richardson wrote about it for Supporters Direct, read here.

Thursday also saw JJK release a video they made, highlighting the impact of Super Match on Finnish football - would the 36,000 odd attendees go and see any of the league matches at the weekend? Do the English clubs need the money?

I appreciate the fact that if it wasn't Arsenal playing, I'd probably be slating the Super Match, and cursing the teams involved. Having only just been to Finland (in June), to fly back so quick is both expensive and pretty inconvenient - maybe I should save my money and go to the Champions League play-off instead?

I'll be in Helsinki on Saturday (drinking in Kallio before the game), cheering on my team. Hopefully it won't do too much damage to the league and culture I've come to call my own...

Plus I hate Carlsberg.