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.

On Friday we will play home against NePa Talent, the second team of Nekalan Pallo, who have won two and lost two matches this season with a 11-8 overall goal differential. They are expected to be one of the top contenders this season, and indeed their losses were against the two teams at the top of the table, Ikurin Vire and Pelikassit, se they are probably a better team than their record shows right now. This wont be an easy match at all. If our performance is not significantly better than it was in the 2-0 loss away at Pelikassit, we wont get anything from this match.

Sunday’s match against the third team of Nokian Palloseura is supposed to be the easier one. They have lost all of their four matches this season, and were never expected to be a contender for promotion. The match will be played on real grass in Siuro, about 25 kilometers from Tampere. For the supporters this is again a nice away trip, but the mood will surely be dampened if we wont get a result in Friday’s match.

Needless to say these are very nervous times for the supporters and indeed everybody within the club. On a positive note, the injury situation is easing up a bit. Most notably Jose Chemlal has been training with the team the last couple weeks, and everybody is hoping he’ll be able to make a return this weekend. He is the kind of impact player who can turn matches for his team, so if he plays on Friday, that’ll be huge for us. Not only does he have the individual skill that can produce moments of brilliance that can decide matches, but he is also the kind of playmaker for which we really do not have a replacement. On the absence list I’ll single out our first goalie Timo Iivonen, who is out due to work related reasons. The good thing is that our second goalie Mohammed Al-Shemari has had significant playing time this season already. However, I think a lot of supporters are wondering how he’ll manage a full 90 minutes of responsibility.

Friday’s match against NePa Talent kicks off at Kaukajärvi at 8:00 pm. Supporters will have their prematch downtown at Kaijakka.