The friendly against the second team of HIFK turned out to be just as great a test for TamU-K as was expected. It was clear that HIFK/2 had been training well over the winter, and that it is a very competitive team. The final result in the match played in the Tali Football Hall was 1-1, and reflects the events on the field very well. There were not many chances to score goals for either team, but TamU-K held its own in the midfield battle against a team that should have been clearly superior.

HIFK/2 got the lead from a penalty very early on in the first half, but never really threatened to score after that. The equalizer came early in the second half, a goal scored by Lauri Heittola from about 20 yards out. Joonas Kupiainen showed great awareness by passing to Heittola from inside the box from a situation where his own shot would have surely been blocked by defenders had he tried one. Apparently Heittola was begging for the ball very loudly, something the team as a whole struggled with at the beginning of last season.

The supporters would not have heard any of what the players might have shouted. Both Sinikaarti and Stadin Kingit were out in numbers, and both groups were extremely loud in their near constant singing and chanting for their respective teams. In all, the attendance must have been more than one hundred, as in addition to the supporter groups there was a fairly large number of other spectators. Not bad for a January training match between clubs that play in the fifth and sixth tiers in the pyramid.

All in all it was a great night for TamU-K. It was the first time the team played a match on a full size field, and the play was surprisingly good considering that the starting lineup had six players who did not play for TamU-K last season. In contrast, HIFK/2 has already played training matches as well as one competitive match in the Finnish Cup this winter. They also train three times per

week in Tali, so they had all the advantages that you could think of. Getting a draw from this match was therefore an excellent result, and what we saw on the field holds a promise of good things to come this season.