Tomorrow we have our first away match of the season, played home at Pyynikki. The host FC Rellu may be one of the worst teams in Vitonen this year, as evidenced by the fact that they are seeking their third straight relegation from Vitonen to Kutonen (sic), but we should not overlook them one bit. Less than a 100 per cent concentration and work rate is unlikely to result in three points, and as head coach Mika Suonsyrjä pointed out to me when I was talking with him after the victorious LaVe match last weekend, these matches against the bottom table teams are often where you ruin your chances for promotion.

Tomorrow’s match marks the return of Mika Kytöviita, who scored seven goals in six preseason matches, but was suspended in the first two matches of the season due to a red card in the Finnish Cup match agains VaKP in February. I expect him to start as the striker, but otherwise there won’t be big changes to the starting lineup as compared to last week. Jesse Kupiainen is out with the ankle injury that he suffered a week ago, and will hopefully be replaced by Anssi Saiha, who put in a top shelf performance from the bench last weekend. Ahmed Lakra is out with a hamstring injury, and the likely replacements for him are Antti Eijamo and Alaa Adeeb.

As for FC Rellu, they indeed have gotten relegated from Vitonen two times already, but as it often happens, other teams from Vitonen and above folded, and they still were offered to continue in Vitonen both times. In 2010 they played in Kutonen, and earned promotion by winning their group, but in Vitonen they have earned just 35 points in 42 matches in 2011-12. There have been some changes in the team, but not ones that I would expect to make them significantly stronger. However, as said at the top of this post, we cannot look past them. As an example, last season they managed a draw against TKT KooTee, who would have played for promotion without that draw. We ought to not make a similar mistake here.

FC Rellu are named after a secondary school (Finnish: lukio) that is visible from the Pyynikki Stadium. Apparently they entered into competitive football in 1999, but even a few years earlier when I went to that very school, there was a football team by the name of FC Rellu. I believe they participated in tournaments between schools then. I’m not sure how exactly the transition to competitive football happened, but I hear that even today most of their players are alumni of that school. And regardless, closing on a 15 year run in the lower leagues is quite respectable.

But getting back to the match itself, the aim has to be to score early and score often, and not make this more difficult than it needs to be. And that requires a 100 per cent effort from everybody. I’m confident that everybody on the team realizes this – now let’s make it count on the scoreboard tomorrow. The match starts at 4:15 pm at the picturesque Pyynikki Stadium. Be there!