The away match against Vesilahden Visa (VesVi) turned out to be just as difficult as I anticipated. The first half was particularly difficult, and indeed for the first time in our Vitonen season we went to the half with a deficit, as VesVi had scored the only goal from a counter-attack.

I was in fact quietly confident going into the second half. We had had most of the possession in the first half and had had several close calls and scrambles in the VesVi goalmouth. In the second half we also had the strong gusty wind behind us, which definitely worked in our favor. And indeed, after just over ten minutes of play we were up 3-1 and the match seemed to be done. Even VesVi’s second goal just over ten minutes from time did not make much of a difference, and TamU-K was happy to travel home with three points.

In addition to the three points and the team showing their mental strength in turning a difficult match into victory in the second half, the main positive in this match was that the new striker Jan Irjala finally scored a goal in his third match for us. He indeed had a very good overall performance, and now that he has opened his account, we can expect even better in the future. Joonas Kupiainen also scored his first ever goal for TamU-K, which was great to see, but a goal from our midfield anchorman was not as highly anticipated as a goal from our tower-like forward.

Next up we have a match tomorrow (Monday) against ViiPV, who are second in the table behind us. This match might turn out to be a critical one in terms of both team’s promotion hopes. I will have more to say about that in a match preview on Monday morning.

VesVi – TamU-K 2-3 (1-0)
20 min 1-0 Niko Björksten
50 min 1-1 Jan Irjala
52 min 1-2 Jaakko Hietikko (og)
56 min 1-3 Joonas Kupiainen, (pk)
78 min 2-3 Osku Airesto (og)

Discipline:
24 min Petri Vadén, TamU-K (caution)
30 min Niko Björksten, VesVi (caution)
50 min Jaakko Hietikko, VesVi (caution)
62 min Mika Suonsyrjä, TamU-K (caution)
82 min Osku Airesto, TamU-K (caution)