On Sunday TamU-K traveled to Pori with a core group of about fifteen supporters. For a lot many players who have not received a lot of playing time in previous matches this season today’s match was an important opportunity to impress the coaching staff. However, for the supporters this was a no-pressure away trip, because everybody expected the victory to be pretty easy, and even if that wasn’t going to be the case, it was just a training match whose result didn’t really matter. As such, the atmosphere on the bus was very chill there and back. In between we saw TamU-K cruise to a relatively easy 1-3 (1-1) away victory over Porin Palloilijat.


The wintery exterior of the match venue Karhuhalli.

From the starting whistle it was clear that this match meant a lot to our opponent PoPa. They came into the match with a huge intensity and urgency, and dominated us for the first ten to fifteen minutes. They even scored a well deserved 1-0 goal. However, as the match went on, it became clear that we were the more skillful as well as the more fit team, and in the end PoPa did not stand a chance in this match. Two of our goals were scored by test player Mika Kytöviita, followed by the final nail in the coffin by the old favorite and promotion final hero Adnan Omerovic. Kytöviita played up top, and seems like a great addition to the team. I really hope that we can sign him for the season.

Inside Karhuhalli. The attendance at the match was about 30, half of that with Sinikaarti.

There were also a few other trialists for us. Anssi Saiha had a convincing 45 minute performance in a play-making midfield role. I’m hearing that he will definitely sign for us this season, but that he is bothered by a nagging knee injury. Luckily he still has plenty of time to deal with it before the competitive season really kicks off. Goalie Kalle Heltonen was another trialist tonight. He played the first half, and did not make any mistakes despite conceding the goal. Otto Kurjanen played as a full back once again. Not a flashy performance by any means, but he did well. The same applies to Timo Kauppinen, who played his first minutes in a TamU-K jersey. Kauppinen of course is already under contract for this season, and provides yet another solid choice for center back.

For me it was a little surprising that there was no organized support for the home team. I suppose the thing is that for PoPa almost all of their supporters are still playing in the team itself. In contrast, it seems like none of the players who will play for TamU-K this season have ever been active in Sinikaarti. This is a huge shift from 2011, when we played our first season in a recreational league. And of course we are better for it, on and off the field alike.