Veikkausliiga week 5 - MYPA roll on, HJK in crisis?

During the week, IFK Mariehamn's 1-0 victory over VPS was changed to a 0-3 defeat due to an administrative error - the league tables haven't been verified pending an appeal. Any mentions of the two club's standings are based on the 0-3 result...

HJK 0-1 TPS

A first goal and the first league points of 2014 for TPS... To add to a terrible week for the champions. A defeat at Lahti and a draw with Honka was roundly finished by a nice finish from Wayne Brown. TPS fans celebrated, and their (mostly) young side did the fans proud. HJK fans meanwhile ponder the next low, and despite various injuries, they look devoid of inspiration. TPS move clear of the bottom, and next week's match at home to RoPS.

Wayne Brown celebrates his winner

Highlights of HJK 0-1 TPS

KuPS 0-2 Lahti

The first managerial casualty of the year was in Kuopio, where Esa Pekonen lost his job. Rumours circulate about his replacement, but veteran player Tero Taipale took the reins temporarily. Not that it did much good - goals in each half from Matti Klinga (40') and Rafael (57') earned another three points for Lahti, who are making a stronger start than the last two seasons. KuPS remain pointless and rooted to the bottom. Lots of work for the new coach.

RoPS 0-1 MYPA

Another blank for RoPS, with the optimism of a new start under Malinen fades further. MYPA made the trip north without their own coach Antti Muurinen, who was somewhat under the weather. A 75th minute goal from new signing Dawda Bah was the only goal. MYPA remain unbeaten, and go top of the table. RoPS last year relied on good home form, and will need to improve drastically.

Honka 3-1 Inter

Shefki Kuqi's side continue to take shape, and (perhaps rightly for now) are prioritising results over style. Roni Porokara's deflected fourth goal in five games after four minutes was a great start, while on-loan Fulham youngster Alex Brister scored his second goal for the club on 42 minutes. Henri Lehtonen pulled one back in first half injury time, before second half sub Anyamele scored a fine third in the 89th to secure the points. Honka have a steady seven points from five matches, while Inter's good start seems a long time ago, with a second consecutive defeat.

IFK Mariehamn 1-3 Jaro

After a choppy couple of days, where Mariehamn lost three points (and their perfect record, on paper but not the pitch), the doubt was removed on Sunday against Jaro. Jaro's Ilya Vaganov's 25th minute strike was equalised seven minutes later by a penalty from Petteri Forsell. Two goals in six minutes for the visitors (Emet, 71' and Helmke, 77' penalty) saw them earn a third win in a row, and up into the medal positions. The hosts will need to regroup, with a Suomen Cup quarter-final with JJK to play on Wednesday.

Highlights of Sunday's fixtures

Veikkausliiga week 4 - 100% Mariehamn

I've decided to do these blogs in the order of the highlights in order to make it easier to follow... Enjoy.

Jani Lyyski celebrates

HJK 2-2 Honka

Billed as "the Derby", albeit disputed by many, this match attracted the biggest attendance of the season so far (7363). HJK opened the scoring after six minutes through Mikael Forssell, before a 45th minute goal from Honka's Roni Porokara equalled the scores. Mehmet Hetemaj scored a long range effort on 53 minutes, but HJK levelled three minutes later through Nikolai Alho's header. HJK looked lethargic at times, and their sluggish start to the season doesn't bode well.

Highlights of HJK 2-2 Honka (Tuesday)

Jaro 2-1 Lahti

A second successive win for Jaro, and a first defeat for the visitors. After a goalless first half, the hosts scored twice in six minutes - a lovely curled finish from Helmke (51mins) and a penalty converted by Emet (57mins) before Lahti's "Tuco" Ngueukam got a goal back on 65 minutes. Jaro's matchday squad had seven different nationalities, but coach Eremenko seems to be getting results from them.

SJK 2-0 KuPS

A debut Veikkausliiga victory for SJK, and they won't get many easier games against a lacklustre KuPS side who remain pointless. First half goals from Spaniard Carlos Lopez (19' penalty, 32') proved the difference, and sent the vast majority of the 1747 paying customers away happy. KuPS had Ebrima Sohna sent off in the first half, and started with 41-year-old marketing manager Tero Taipale in defence. Worrying.

TPS 0-1 IFK Mariehamn

A goal on the hour from Jani Lyyski settled it, and makes a big difference at both ends of the table, even at this early stage. The result means that IFK Mariehamn have won all three matches so far, without conceding a goal. The young TPS side meanwhile have lost all three of their games by 0-1, and are weighted to the bottom with KuPS.

MYPA 1-1 VPS

An early goal for MYPA set things going, Denis Abdulahi broke the deadlock after just two minutes. But Jamaican Keithy Simpson equalised nine minutes later, and the game eventually ended 1-1. MYPA are unbeaten with two wins and two draws, with VPS a point behind.

RoPS 1-0 Inter

A first league win for Juha Malinen came at a vital time, and stopped Inter's decent form in it's tracks. An early goal from former TPS midfielder Petteri Pennanen (15mins) was the only strike, and RoPS held on in a feisty game, which saw Inter's Juho Salminen dismissed in injury time.

Highlights of Wednesday's Veikkausliiga matches