We played our best match of the season on Saturday, and that was good for the first ever competitive victory over a team from a higher division in TamU-K’s short history. The result in sunny Kaukajärvi was a 1-0 (0-0) victory over LeKi with a 70th minute goal scored by Timo Kauppinen.

The circumstances for a great matchday event did not seem ideal ahead of the match. Not only was this our first match away from our preferred Pyynikki Stadium, but the day before the match we had found out that the two small spectator stands at Kaukajärvi were temporarily out because of a first division Finnish baseball match played in Kauppi as a one-off event. This meant that everybody had to stand on the sidelines on field level. Far from ideal, and I feared attendance might be affected as a result.

Those fears were soon washed away by the stream of people that arrived to the field. At half time the official attendance was counted as 130, which does not really shy away from what we have seen in previous matches at Pyynikki. This is impressive to me: not only is Pyynikki a proper stadium, but it also has a perfect location right next to downtown with great bus connections. That we can

draw similar attendance numbers on a field deep in the suburbs is great news.

The match itself was a real nail-biter. We did not allow LeKi to have many chances to score goals, but we did not get too many clear chances ourselves either. Towards the end of the second half I was already imagining extra time, but then a long throw-in by Mika Kytöviita came out of nowhere and found center back Timo Kauppinen on the far side of the box. A classy goal, as you can see from this series of photos.

Just about ten minutes after the goal the match took its last twist when the goalscorer Kauppinen was sent off on a second yellow card. The referee made a lot of dubious calls in the match, but there was not a lot to be argued about this one. However, despite playing a man down for about ten minutes, the victory was never seriously threatened.

A special mention goes to goalie Kalle Heltonen, who played his first competitive match for TamU-K. It was a solid performance all around, and it was great to see him make the most of post-match celebrations. We have such a luxury in having a back up keeper of his quality, and we never have to fear when Ilkka Innola is not available. And by the way, I hear that the next occasion is as soon as next weekend in our away match in Pirkkala against PJK 2.

The draw for the next round happens on Tuesday. In all there are 32 teams left, and it looks like we are in the basket that has the longest potential travel distances. These are our potential opponents with approximate travel distances and divisions (Kolmonen is fourth tier, Nelonen is fifth tier, Vitonen is sixth tier and Kutonen is seventh tier):

YlöR – Ylöjärvi (12 km / 7 mi) – Kolmonen Tampere
Pato – Tervakoski (100 km / 60 mi) – Kolmonen Tampere
LPK – Jyväskylä (150 km / 90 mi) – Nelonen Keski-Suomi
FC Vaajakoski – Jyväskylä (150 km / 90 mi) – Nelonen Keski-Suomi
Kauhajoen Karhu – Kauhajoki (160 km / 100 mi) – Kolmonen Vaasa
Sisu–Pallo – Seinäjoki (180 km / 110 mi) – Nelonen Keski-Suomi
KonnU – Konnevesi (220 km / 140 mi) – Kutonen Keski-Suomi
FC Korsholm – Mustasaari (240 km / 150 mi) – Kolmonen Vaasa
FC Kiisto – Vaasa (240 km / 150 mi) – Kolmonen Vaasa
SC KuFu – Kuopio (300 km / 190 mi) – Kolmonen Itä-Suomi
JoPS – Joensuu (400 km / 250 mi) – Kolmonen Itä-Suomi
KajHa – Kajaani (460 km / 290 mi) – Kolmonen Pohjois-Suomi

As a supporter, the idea of a long away trip excites me. At the same time, competitively speaking a home match against somebody from far away that is not a very good team might be the best option. Regardless, we want to avoid the teams playing in Kolmonen, as some of those will be extremely tough to beat. Unfortunately they are the majority here, and a quick look at their

tables indicate that most have had a very good start for their season. Of particular note is that there is only one team that plays in the tier below us (Kutonen) and nobody else from our tier (Vitonen).

Regardless, cup excitement is in the air. For the first time we have made it far enough in a cup competition to make it really get exciting. The prospect of making it to the next round and be in the last 16 is tantalizing. Bring it on!

TamU-K – LeKi-futis 1-0 (0-0)
70 min 1-0 Timo Kauppinen

Discipline:
15 min Timo Kauppinen, TamU-K (caution)
55 min Osku Airesto, TamU-K (caution)
80 min Adnan Omerovic, TamU-K (caution)
81 min Timo Kauppinen, TamU-K (caution)
81 min Timo Kauppinen, TamU-K (ejection)
83 min Petri Vadén, TamU-K (caution)