On Saturday evening TamU-K starts this year’s Piiri Cup campaign in a match against FC Tribe. This is a very interesting opponent, because a lot of the people who started the team were Tampere United supporters. From what I have heard, many of them have conflicting feelings before the match, because the prospect of playing against TamU-K is at the same time exciting as well as difficult. I suppose it is a lot of the same feelings that players sometimes have when they have to play against their old club where they had a good time. On the one hand you want to show them what you can do, but on the other hand you don’t wish them ill. FC Tribe is also having their 10th anniversary season, and as their Kutonen season has not started as well as they expected (2 wins, 3 losses), they are probably going to put a lot of effort into the cup fixture.

I’m having my best time as a Tampere United supporter in years. Since some time in 2008 or 2009 I had been worrying about my club. The economical times were challenging, and even before the controversy that ended it all for us in the top flight, there were times that a supporter never wants to live through.

TamU-K scarfs have arrived and I have to say they look really good. I like the simple classic bar design. The text on the flip side translates to ”the most beautiful in Tampere”, a slogan that the club has been using. The first chance to buy a scarf is at TamU-K’s next match at Pyynikki stadium next Saturday. One scarf costs 20 euros.

The match against NoPS 3 was just as difficult as was expected. The ”fatboys” parked the bus and were just as dangerous from set plays as I thought. Indeed, it took TamU-K almost half an hour to break the deadlock. Jose Chemlal’s 1-0 goal on the 26th minute and his followup goal just five minutes later were blows which the home team would never recover from. In the end the score was 2-8 in our favor.

A victory has rarely felt as good or as important as it did on Friday. The comfortable 7-2 over NePa Talent keeps us on track with regard to chasing the top teams in the table, but perhaps even more importantly, builds confidence within the club both on and off the field. This was definitely the best performance in a competitive match in TamU-K’s short history.

It is still very early in the season, but I feel like I’m not exaggerating when I say that the two matches next weekend might make or break our season. With six points we will be within a striking distance from the top teams in our subdivision, but anything less will make it seem like they are already running away from us.

Last weekend rumors started to float around that the Piiricup fixture against FC Tribe might end up being a home match even though the draw gave us an away match. Supporters had been hoping for a proper away trip to Sastamala, about an hour away from Tampere, so the news was received with disappointment. However, today the club announced something exiting: the match will indeed be played as a home match and the venue is Pyynikki. There could hardly be a better a better substitute for missing the away trip. Pyynikki is a proper stadium with a wooden main stand that is perfect for creating a great atmosphere. It is right in the center of the city too. I imagine our prematch plans can be summarized by this. Kick of is set on June 9 at 6:15 pm. At Pyynikki! This will be very proper.

The match against Pelikassit turned out to be just as difficult as I expected, and we ended up suffering a disappointing 2-0 (1-0) loss. Pelikassit are a physical team that seems to never get tired chasing the ball. They came into the match very strongly in a way that seemed to intimidate many of our players. That is not to dismiss the talent in the Pelikassit team, a good example of which was Tommi Merto’s 1-0 goal on the 16th minute.

I may be starting to sound like a broken record, but Saturday’s match against Pelikassit is a very important one. This is a match against another team that has their goal set on promotion. Moreover, the likes of Ikurin Vire and NePa Talent have been winning their matches, so we cannot afford to drop points if we want to be in the driver’s seat in the promotion run. As a supporter it is of course a great feeling that every match is an important one, and I hope that the team continues to draw positive energy from that fact, like they seemed to do in last weekend’s blowout against PiPo. That kind of an easy ride to victory is not likely to be repeated though, as Pelikassit has a solid core group of experienced players. Indeed, TamU-K needs to enter the match humbly and ready to work hard.

I’ll first set the record straight: the 12-0 victory over PiPo-79 on Saturday was not the largest victory in Tampere United’s history. That one happened on the sixth round of the 2008 Finnish Cup against FC Espoo’s second team, 14-0 being the final score then.