We are on a roll. Despite missing several key players, the match against Hervanta Sporting Team (HST) was similar to what we have seen throughout the season. The first half was once again less than stellar, but apart from a couple of dicey moments very early on, our goal was not seriously threatened, and the 41st minute goal by Jan Irjala put us to the half 1-0 up. Then in the second half our fitness and routine proved to be too much for the opponent, and two early goals sealed the deal for us. The last 30 minutes were very smart from our team, saving energy for our match tomorrow on Sunday.

The only negative for us was that center back Timo Kauppinen took a straight red card, and will therefore miss our next two matches, including Sunday’s Regions’ Cup fixture. This is something we can ill afford, as even without this blow we were going to go to Vaasa tomorrow with a squad that is severely weakened by absences. The referee was otherwise less than stellar, but based on comments from Kauppinen himself and others in the team, there was no question about this call. You always get ejected when you retaliate when provoked. I do not even need to say the obvious here, as Timo as well as everybody else already knows all that could be said.

Another negative, and in its own way a game-changer, was the injury that HST’s goalie Petteri Tyni suffered in the first half. Based on his tweet soon after the match it seems that he hurt his knee bad enough that he thinks his playing career might be over. This is very sad to hear indeed. Petteri of course is a well-known character in the football scene in Tampere due to all his activity in filming matches on Styntty Channel, including a couple TamU-K matches.

On the positive side, it was great to see how well the team adapted to the 4-4-2 formation in the absence of Joonas Kupiainen. Without him we cannot really play our more usual 4-3-3. Vesa Suonsyrjä had a stellar match alongside Jesse Kupiainen in the center of the midfield (and later as a center back). Even better, our strikers scored our goals, which is always good news for the future too. Jan Irjala headed the 1-0 and 3-0 goals, and Mika Kytöviita scored the 2-0 goal with his trademark all-or-nothing shot that hit the underside of the crossbar with such force that it is probably still shaking.

Irjala indeed seems to be gelling with the team better and better each day. Just before his second goal I was talking about this with a friend, and just as we had talked about how he will score a lot of goals this year, a great cross from Kytöviita found him wide open for an easy goal. In addition, he had at least two other great chances with his head, one of which ended up bouncing back from the crossbar. Looks like we will see more and more good things from him.

This was a routine win for us, and it is great to see that the team continues to pick up these routine wins without much difficulty, regardless of the available lineup. This is often what separates the promoted teams from those finishing just behind them on the table.

As many as 158 spectators were on hand to witness the victory, our record attendance in Kaukajärvi, so it was disappointint that the spectator stands were no longer there. According to what I heard from a local, the stands had been there the day before, so looks like they are needed somewhere this weekend. Somebody mentioned an international beach volley tournament going on this weekend in Tampere, but I have not even checked if this could be it. Regardless, I’m certain that the club will inquire about the situation before our next match in Kaukajärvi. Which by the way is exactly one month away.

TamU-K – HST 3-0 (1-0)
41 min 1-0 Jan Irjala
53 min 2-0 Mika Kytöviita
55 min 3-0 Jan Irjala

Discipline:
22 min Vesa Suonsyrjä, TamU-K (caution)
29 min Mika Kytöviita, TamU-K (caution)
47 min Jouni Sappinen, HST (caution)
59 min, Timo Kauppinen, TamU-K (ejection)
60 min Mika Suonsyrjä, TamU-K (caution)
67 min Jouni Sappinen, HST (caution)
67 min Jouni Sappinen, HST (ejection)
74 min Petri Vaden, TamU-K (caution)