Veikkausliiga week 24 - Three adrift at the bottom

Next season's guaranteed new team have been confirmed (RoPS have won the Ykkonen at a canter, they're currently seventeen points clear with four games to go), and one would imagine there would be an almighty battle to avoid being replaced by them. Well, at the moment the battle is more like three moody lazy teenagers, hoping that their two mates are lazier than them… The teams who are getting further and further adrift at the bottom of the top division are KuPS, Haka and Jaro. They have nine games (Haka have eight) left to get enough points to avoid relegation or the play-off match against the second-placed team, who are currently SJK.

This weekend's fixtures involving the three clubs all took place on Sunday, with Jaro hosting MYPA, and Haka travelling to JJK, with KuPS visiting IFK Mariehamn. Bottom side Jaro were already two points behind Haka with a game in hand, and things started badly with Pekka Sihvola opening the scoring in the 29th minute. Sihvola has now scored eight goals in his last five league games, and the scoreline quickly became 2-0 and 3-0 towards the end. Jaro remain bottom, and luckily Haka's attempts at apparently playing rush goalie are keeping them ahead on goal difference. Jaro have lost their last five matches, and they won't be expecting much change from their visit to Helsinki in their next match on September 14th.

Highlights of Jaro 0-3 MYPA

Haka visited Jyväskylä and carried on where they've left off in recent games - they shipped five goals, seventeen in their last three, and have got one point from the last twenty-four available. Already missing Obi Metzger after his red card against Lahti, they went into the interval 1-0 down. But after the break, they conceded three goals in fourteen minutes, including a brace from Mikko Innanen. An injury time goal sealed a 5-0 victory, and has now pretty much confirmed JJK's participation in next season's competition. Haka meanwhile have a goal difference of -25, two goals worse off than Jaro. They may come to regret their recent thrashings come October.

 Benno Haslian celebrates JJK's fifth goal

The other struggling side in action were KuPS, visiting Mariehamn. They had picked up a bit of form after their European exit, and had won their Suomen Cup semi-final in midweek, but were facing a team who still had distant title ambitions. That they lasted until the 78th minute without conceding a goal is a credit, but in the end substitute Bosnian Ermin Gadžo scored twice, and KuPS went back to Kuopio with nothing other than relief that their nearest rivals all lost by greater margins.

Highlights of IFK Mariehamn 2-0 KuPS

The remaining matches between the three teams are as follows: Jaro v KuPS on Fri 14th Sept, Haka v Jaro on Sun 23rd Sept, KuPS v Haka on Sun 7th Oct (subject to change). These matches will have huge bearings on the final positions, and we can hope that they don't end up as damp squibs.

 The bottom three as it stands

The mid-table Friday night match between Lahti and Honka was actually the most entertaining game of the weekend. The visitors finally learned their Cup final opponents the previous night, and went ahead through another Tim Väyrynen goal after six minutes. It was the 19-year-old's tenth goal of the season, nine of which have opened the scoring, a fantastic record. Unfortunately for him and his Espoo-based teammates, Lahti responded with three goals in the second half. Recent signing Ariel Ngueukam scored twice in three minutes, and Drilon Shala scored a third goal, which proved crucial. A late consolation goal in injury time from Honka's Antti Mäkijärvi meant little, and Lahti won 3-2. It was Lahti's third win in four, and leaves them on the outskirts of the race for the Europa League. Honka are ninth, and while it's highly unlikely that they'd be drawn into the relegation battle, they have little else other than the cup final against KuPS in four weeks time.

Highlights of Lahti 3-2 Honka

I suppose the title race itself is what the people want. Sunday's early match was between the teams in second and third place, with TPS hosting champions HJK. HJK had played an entertaining 3-3 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, finally confirming their elimination from Europe 9-3 on aggregate. This match was virtually over by half-time, first half goals from Mika Väyrynen (again, a tidy chip over the keeper) and Juho Mäkelä saw HJK take a 2-0 lead, although TPS did have chances. A 90th minute goal from Santeri Mäkinen merely served to maintain a decent goal difference lead for TPS. HJK are now three points ahead on 43 points, TPS are third on 40, level with Mariehamn but with the superior GD.

 Highlights of TPS 1-2 HJK

The final match kicked off on Monday evening with leaders Inter knowing that they would need a win to reclaim their four point lead, and win they did. A routine 2-0 victory over VPS took them to 47 points, with Irakli Sirbiladze celebrating his Georgian call-up with goals in each half. The striker is now top scorer with 13 goals, and will be sure to add more in the remaining nine league games.

Next week sees a break for international football, with Finland opening their qualification for the 2014 World Cup with a home match against France, followed by a game between some Finnish legends and some former international stars, billed as a Respect match. Finland's team features Jari Litmanen, Sami Hyypiä and Joonas Kolkka, and will be a chance for the fans to see their heroes one more time.

Veikkausliiga week 23 - Five-star HJK

It took just 72 hours for HJK to show some fight after their nightmare trip to Bilbao. Taught a footballing lesson by the Basque team in a 6-0 Europa League humiliation, the Finnish champions took their frustrations out on visiting IFK Mariehamn, who still had realistic title ambitions. Back to home comforts, a sparsely attended Sonera Stadium (attendance 2252) would not have expected Aleksei Kangaskolkka to score within two minutes, the result of a long kick upfield, some slack defending and a neat finish. Another good finish, this time by Demba Savage, brought HJK level after finding a gap in the IFKM defence, and it remained 1-1 until half-time.

The game was transformed in the second half, HJK flew out of the blocks with goals after 47' and 54' by Zeneli and Sadik. Juho Mäkelä added a fourth after 65 minutes after HJK showed a dogged spirit sorely missing in Bilbao, winning the ball back, keeping the ball with simple passes (to the sound of OLE! From the crowd), and a tap in on the goal line. The IFK goalscorer Kangaskolkka was dismissed for a second bookable offence, before Savage scored his second of the game (and eighth of the season) at the end of the game. HJK's second league win in a row keeps them in touch with the leaders Inter.

 Berat Sadik celebrates the third HJK goal

  

 Highlights of HJK v IFK

The gap at the top of the table is still four points, as Inter Turku won their home match at home to bottom club Jaro. They were heavy favourites to win, but needed a huge slice of fortune. They conceded after twelve minutes through a goal from Senegalese Papa Niang, and had to rely on a penalty from Mika Ojala to equalise. The half-time score was 1-1, and the leaders secured the three points with goals from Sirbiladze and an injury time goal from Argentine substitute Asis. Inter's next match is another home game, this time against VPS; while Jaro have now lost four league games in a row, and face MYPA at home next. They are rooted at the bottom of the table, two points behind Haka, and five behind KuPS.

Highlights of Inter Turku v Jaro

Haka lost 9-2 at TPS in the previous midweek, a result which led to the sacking of manager Sami Ristilä (assistant Asko Jussila has taken over)… After six defeats and a draw in their last seven, they needed to pick up points at home to Lahti on Saturday, but the visitors were clinical and won 0-3, Haka not helping themselves with an own goal from Pauli Kuusijärvi in the second half, and substitute Obi Metzger receiving a straight red card towards the end. Haka will need a full squad as they seek to save themselves, and a home match against Jaro in late September will be crucial. Lahti are sitting comfortably in eighth position.

 Kris Bright of Haka perfects his thousand yard stare

Fellow strugglers KuPS were hoping to continue their good domestic form (three wins in four) at home to rivals JJK. Both teams exited the Europa League earlier in the summer, and were looking to recover from poor league starts. JJK struck first however, Tamas Gruborovics scoring from a corner kick. Antti Hynynen soon levelled, but two further first half goals from JJK, by Innanen and a second for Gruborovics, took them 1-3 ahead. A red card for KuPS midfield Sohna reduced the home team to ten men, and a late goal from American Tabe wasn't enough. JJK won 2-3, and the gap between the two teams is five points. KuPS will now have to focus on their Cup semi final against MYPA on Thursday, while JJK have a home match against Haka next weekend.

Form team TPS were looking to build on their 9-2 midweek victory over Haka, with an away match at MYPA. The home team are on the edges of the European places, but both teams had to settle for a draw. A second half penalty from Sihvola put MYPA ahead, but TPS scored immediately through Okaru, and the game petered out. TPS remain second on goal difference, four points behind their Turku rivals. MYPA are fifth, but only four points behind TPS and HJK.

 MYPA's Pekka Sihvola is scared of the ball...

The final match of the weekend occurred on Monday, a mid-table clash between Honka and VPS. Honka took the lead just before half-time, a lovely goal from Jussi Vasara from a cutback. An equaliser wasn't far, Ville Koskimaa scored eight minutes into the second half. But the visitors were to take the victory, a late goal from Robin Lod ensured that VPS stay in touch with the leaders, and are on 36 points from 23 games.

Of note, congratulations to RoPS, who secured promotion from the Ykkonen on Saturday afternoon with six games remaining. Their 0-1 victory at PK-35 was enough to ensure that they return to the top division at the first attempt. The fight to avoid taking their place continues...