TamU-K will play the biggest match of its short history Sunday night at Pyynikki Stadium. The promotion semifinal against Parkanon Ponteva (FC PaPo) will be a defining moment for us. It may seem unfair that we have everything to lose in this match and not much to win yet, but on the other hand this is football at its best. We have had our backs against the wall for almost the entire season, and now this situation repeats in a situation where we can almost taste promotion. If we win this match, we are one win away from the goal that we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season. If we lose, all the success this season will mean very little.

FC PaPo earned their place in this promotion match by finishing second in the 5th subdivision of Kutonen in the Tampere Region. Like TamU-K, they have had a very good season, finishing with a 11-2-3 record (wins-losses-ties) and a 66-20 goal differential. Especially the second half of the season was very good for them: their only loss came in a match against the team that ended up winning the subdivision, and they won each of the seven other matches. Indeed, their season bears a lot of similarity to our season. At the beginning of the season they were a new team as Parkanon Ponteva returned to football after a decade of absence. They had a slow start just like we did, but a good fall season gave them a chance to play for promotion. It is clear that we are facing a very good team.

Our results in the 4th subdivision were of course slightly better, a 13-1-2 record (wins-losses-ties) and a 76-22 goal differential. Many have argued that we had a tougher division, but it is hard to really know whether that is true. I also want to point out that travel was not a factor for us, whereas for FC PaPo almost all matches were more than one hour away from home. Having the home field advantage in this match indeed feels like a real advantage. I would be much more nervous traveling to Parkano for this one, more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) away from Tampere.

Another factor in our favor is the fact that the field in Pyynikki is a bit on the smaller side and has a fast-playing artificial turf. As far as I have understood, FC PaPo has mostly played on real grass, and therefore might have trouble adjusting. We of course have played on artificial turfs all season long, and have experience from Pyynikki too, even if we lost both of our matches there.

Indeed, now it is perfect time to turn that record around. The match is set to kick off at Pyynikki Stadium at 7 pm sharp. The supporters have a prematch gathering in the upstairs areas of Oluthuone Esplanadi (Kauppakatu 16) starting at 4 pm. The march to the stadium will start a 6:20 pm. This will be one that you wont want to miss!