The away trip to Pirkkala on Sunday was quite exceptional. We had more than 40 supporters in our section, most of whom had arrived by our charter bus. The result on the field was equally impressive: 0-2 at the half and 0-4 full time. This was the first easy victory this season. The entire time everybody could feel confident of victory, everybody on the supporter side of the field anyway. PJK’s second team was not a bad team at all, but they simply were no match for us in our current form. At 0-2 it was evident that they had had this realization too.

From my personal point of view this was the most chill competitive match we’ve had since forever. After the earlyish 0-1 goal I concentrated on enjoying the sun, the refreshments, the songs, the good company, and the (at times) beautiful football on the field. It never even occurred to me that less

than three points could be a possibility. I don’t believe I’ve felt quite this way since August last year.

On the field everybody played well. Jacin Dakkaki scored again, and with five goals in all competitions he is now our top scorer. That is pretty good considering that he is the only player that transferred to us from a team in Kutonen, one tier below our current tier. Mika Kytöviita scored with a scorcher, which was great to see, and will hopefully lead to fierce competition for the top-scorer spot. Mohammed El-Harrak had again an exceptional performance off the bench, and scored two goals as well. He is now at four goals in all competitions.

The 4-4-2 formation seemed to work well too. I would not expect to see it in every match, but against certain opponents it seems to be a great way to go. The new signing Jan Irjala did not score yet, but one of the goals scored by El-Harrak was set up by him playing the classic target forward role. I think we will see good things from him this season. I’m especially pleased that he gives us new options that we did not have in our arsenal without him.

Yesterday the chilling continued in Kalkku when our second team played a match against FC Varikkotiimi. The weather was again perfect, and everybody who had come to see the match were in great spirits. On goal we had a surprise as Ilkka Innola had come to help the second team in their need for a goalie. I heard he even volunteered to pay a fee to be able to play. He could still play in any club in the third tier, but here he was playing recreational football on a dusty dirt field. That is such a great display of the spirit of our club on his part. The result put a smile on everybody’s face too: a comfortable 6-2 (2-0) victory that put the second team’s season back on track after the loss last week. Second on the table with four wins and one loss with a 19-7 goal differential is not a bad place to be.

Another great piece of news yesterday was the announcement that our fourth round Finnish Regions’ Cup fixture against LPK will be played in Lamminpää on Tuesday next week. Firstly it is great that we were able to find a day for this match without having to reschedule any of our league matches, but I’m equally happy about playing in Lamminpää. It is the best grass field in Tampere, and a great place for organizing a football match. Success in the Regions’ Cup brings nice little things, and playing on real grass in Tampere is certainly one that the players will enjoy a lot.

Right now things are going so well for our club on and of the field that we need not worry about what anybody else is doing. For us they are truly irrelevant.

PJK/2 – TamU-K 0-4 (0-2)
24 min 0-1 Mika Kytöviita
42 min 0-2 Mohammed El Harrak
61 min 0-3 Jacin Dakkaki
86 min 0-4 Mohammed El Harrak

Discipline:
56 min Eino Aarimo, PJK/2 (caution)