Saturday’s match against Ikurin Vire turned out to be a great event despite the fact that it was competitively meaningless. The result was 2-5 (1-3) to TamU-K after a convincing performance. This was the sixth match I’ve seen from Vire this season, and this was the first time their play maker Samuli Salminen did not dominate the match. Well done by the boys in blue.

The supporters had clearly been craving for a weekend match. We hadn’t had one since the end of August, so this Saturday brought the party mode out of everybody. The support was loud, and we filled both wooden stands at Ikuri, albeit kind of sparsely. There was also a good number of other spectators, making this the biggest match off the field since our home match against Pelikassit.

As for the match itself, it got to kind of a bad start as Vire went up 1-0 on the 9th minute from a questionably given penalty. The answer was given quickly as just two minutes later Retu Harju scored his first goal of the season from a corner. It was great indeed to see him finally put one in, as he has been one of our key players in the midfield, and has had a few chances to score even before this. He is now the 20th player to score a goal for TamU-K this season. That’s an impressive stat if there ever was one.

The match got almost to the half hour mark before Nawar Karikuss scored the 1-2 goal. After that our victory was never really in doubt, even if goalie Ilkka Innola wasted his chance to become the 21st goal scorer when he missed a penalty (also a dubious call by the way). The score at the half was 1-3 after Youcef Chemlal had scored comfortably from a breakaway. Admittedly everybody in the stands seemed to be so certain about our eventual victory that the singing in the second half was at times not as loud as it should be.

The first minute of the second half saw a quick 2-3 goal by Vire, but that did not really cause too much concern. Sami Kriikkula even wasted a second penalty before the match was finally put to a certain rest by Martti Pelttari’s goal off a corner kick on the 61st minute. A a true supporters’ player, he ran across the field to celebrate with the supporters on the sidelines. Once again a great moment that embodied the spirit and ideals of our club.

The final nail in Vire’s coffin came on the 85th minute when the supporters were already celebrating the victory with our own rendition of the famous Horto Magiko chant by Gate 13. Kemal Dedic was the goal scorer according to the report on the club’s website, but I have to admit I don’t have much of a recollection about it other than that there was a goal and we just kept on singing.

Now that all is said and done, a look at the table shows that we missed direct promotion by just three points. That’s better left at that. We also won every team in our subdivision at least once, and hold the head-to-head against everybody except Pelikassit, with whom the head-to-head is even. I think it is safe to say that the top two teams in our subdivision are the ones who most deserved it. As for TamU-K, we won all eight matches in the fall season, and conceded only four goals. Cannot ask more than that.

Finally I would like to thank Vire for making the last match a good one. That’s the kind of competitive spirit that everybody should have even in the bottom division. There are different kinds of recreational football leagues for those who don’t have that. Despite being competitively meaningless, it was clear that winning the match was important for players on both teams. And what resulted was one of the best matches in Kutonen this season. A fun match for everybody present in Ikuri.

Now we get to set our focus on the promotion playoffs. The opponent in the first match will be Parkanon Ponteva (FC PaPo), who in the end did not even have to play their last match as the opponent ÄJK had forfeited the season before the match. It will be a home match, and the date and time as well as location should get confirmed early next week. It does seem certain that it will be either Saturday or Sunday next weekend. A Saturday evening at Pyynikki would be well received by the supporters, but we’ll see what the club can get for us.

Scoring:
1-0 Antti Räikkönen, 9 min, pk
1-1 Retu Harju, 11 min
pkm Ilkka Innola, 18 min, TamU-K
1-2 Karikuss Nawar, 28 min
1-3 Youcef Chemlal, 41 min
2-3 Antti Räikkönen, 46 min
pkm Sami Kriikkula, 60 min, TamU-K,
2-4 Martti Pelttari, 61 min
2-5 Kemal Dedic, 85 min

Discipline:
5 min, Matti Nygren, Ikurin Vire (caution)
18 min, Mika Suonsyrjä, TamU-K (caution)
21 min, Nawar Karikuss, TamU-K (caution)
23 min, Youcef Chemlal, TamU-K (caution)
80 min, Mikko Pitkänen, Ikurin Vire (caution)
84 min, Teemu Virta, Ikurin Vire (caution)