It is interesting how unpredictable the makings of an exceptional night of football can be. Evicted in Kauppi on a Thursday night and playing against a bottom-of-the-table TaPa did not seem like it would produce anything special. However, for me at least it was. The 5-1 victory was our largest the whole season (including preseason training matches) and as such felt great. It was particularly nice to see the team having fun playing football again, after a series of very difficult matches earlier in July. And even though I do not like Kauppi, admittedly standing right on the sideline at a small field added a very intimate feel to the match, and I quite enjoyed it.

The next home match against Tampereen Palloilijat (TaPa) is going to be a different one. Not so much because of the teams or players involved, but because of the venue. The match will be played in Kauppi, a football park where fields are lined up right next to each other, and there are no facilities for spectators. On the field right next to us another club’s youth team will be having a practice session while we play for important three points. It is what it is. Luckily we usually get to play in Kaukajärvi or Pyynikki.

Yesterday’s match at Lammi was another addition to a series of difficult away matches. Just like in the previous match at Janakkala as well as at Vesilahti earlier in the season, the home team scored the first goal early on in the first half. From there on the match looked quite difficult. However, just like many times before this season, at about the hour mark the opponent started to show signs of getting tired, and the match started to get much easier for us. In the end the two goals scored within less than ten minutes of each other were enough for the 1-2 (1-0) win.

The short summer break has seemed like a long one, and the whole club seems to be eager to return to football. The team had their first training session since the last match today, and on Thursday we play away at Lammi. The break from football was well-deserved and much needed, but now it is time to keep pushing so as not to give any other team the idea that they still have a chance to catch us in the table. Arrogant, yes, but that is the reality of the situation.

Yesterday’s away match against JanPa was our worst one in the competitive season. We hardly deserved to win, but with a bit of luck and lots of key saves by Ilkka Innola, the score was 1-2 in our favor. With that we are going to a two-week break without having dropped any points, and our nearest rival ViiPV is seven points behind us despite having played one more match than we have.

Today our away matches continue, this time with three points on the line against Janakkalan Pallo (JanPa). The match will be played in Turenki,

the largest population center in the municipality of Janakkala and essentially a suburb of the city of Hämeenlinna. Confused? I think you are not alone.

That was just like the old days. I had certainly missed away travel to cities more than just a couple hours away, and yesterday it was indeed evident that bus life was something that this group of supporters sorely needed. The result on the field of course was not what we all wanted, but everybody was so proud of the effort that the team gave that it was difficult to not smile after the match. Of course ”what if” type of thoughts inevitably crept into everybody’s mind, but most people did not want to even talk about that. Still, the fact remains that if we had had our best 18 available, or indeed any 18, we would have had a very decent chance of winning the match, and who knows even the whole cup.

The reality ahead of today’s fifth round Regions’ Cup match against FC Kiisto in Vaasa is that realistically we have no chance at all. Even if we had our best lineup available, Kiisto would be the clear favorite, seeing as they are a top team in Kolmonen (two tiers above us) and in fact played in Kakkonen last season. To make things even worse, many of our key players are unavailable, and our backup goalie Kalle Heltonen might be the only player on the bench tonight. However, this is football, so anything is possible. The advantage given by 50 loudly singing supporters should not be disregarded either.

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.

At long last the Midsummer break is over, and supporters and players alike are eager to get back into action. Tonight’s match against Hervanta Sporting Team (HST) is another chance to make the teams chasing us feel desperate. However, despite what a look into the table might make you think, this match wont be an easy one.