The best away trip of the season – that just about sums it up. The 2-4 (0-1) victory over TP-49 and the late drama in the match were certainly important factors in making the day awesome, but even without those there’s something about traveling by train that fits supporters very well. Yes, the trip to Toijala is just about as short as a trip can be, but that just makes it more intense. Of course the best part of it all was that one of our very own, Markus ”Silkku” Silvennoinen, scored. Twice.

It was a fairty-tale entrance to the team for Silkku. Everybody had been begging him to join the team since midsummer. We were in a dire need for more midfielders, and Silkku seemed to fit our need perfectly. Finally he gave in, and so did his former team TP-T. I was cautious about thinking he could be a game-changer immediately, but that he was. Not only did he score the two goals, but he was also absolutely brilliant defensively. Indeed, his play at the bottom of the midfield made our center back’s game very easy, as Timo Kauppinen commented after the match. Of course the other parts of the midfield trio, Jonne Keränen and Ville Toiva, played a huge part in that too.

Silkku’s goals were real beauties too. On the 13th minute he scored with his head from a lovely cross by Risto Niskanen. Silkku’s run to the supporters and climb up the wall was one of the best moments of the season – if not the best. Then it was repeated in the second half. There are some photos in the official match report that everybody should check out. The second goal was a shot from inside the box across the goalmouth to the top corner. Such a lovely touch. These goals and indeed the whole match can be watched on youtube courtesy of the home team.

At 0-2 there were only few who weren’t certain that we’d get the three points, and when Andrea Milanti scored from a beautiful free kick, the match seemed to be beyond done. However, just one mistake can changes things very quickly. It seemed like a pretty harmless free kick from the right hand side, going straight to our keeper Kalle Heltonen. Somehow Heltonen managed to drop the ball straight to TP-49’s Joonas Saariniemi, who only had to make the simplest tap-in for a goal.

Then a bit of panic ensued. The next time the ball was bouncing in our box, Heltonen came to the rescue with two saves from a close distance, but just a few minutes later the ball was in the net once more. It was again a set play that looked harmless, a throw-in this time around. However, four touches later the ball was in the net, and the panic deepened. Later the ball even hit our crossbar, and was accidentally cleared from near the goal line by the unfortunate Joonas Saariniemi.

The final release came when Severi Hiltunen played a clearance forward past the opponent’s keeper who had come to then center circle to support their efforts to get an equalizer. Of all players, it was the ever hard-working Vesa Suonsyrjä who got to rush to the ball and shoot it to the wide open net. His celebrations were just as wild as Silkku’s had been earlier.

The final whistle blew just moments after the restart. We had had a very good performance in the match and we got the three points, both great steps towards our goal of getting promoted this season. Next we will have a stretch of three home matches against teams that are in and near the relegation zone. Things look positive, but with four matches remaining, our second place on the table is guaranteed just by winning at least three of them. We are in a good position, but it is far from a done deal still.

TP-49 – TamU-K 2-4 (0-1)
13 min Markus Silvennoinen 0-1
58 min Markus Silvennoinen 0-2
79 min Andrea Milanti 0-3
82 min Joonas Saariniemi 1-3
89 min Jesse Järvi 2-3
90+2 min Vesa Suonsyrjä 2-4

Discipline:
27 min Jan Irjala, TamU-K (caution)
42 min Tuomas Savinainen, TamU-K (caution)
57 min Joonas Saariniemi, TP-49 (caution)
79 min Jussi Nyström, TP-49 (caution)