Nordic Football News

A match between two skillful, attacking-minded teams was always going to be entertaining and Inter and Honka lived up to their expectations. It was a very good game from both teams, and neither side really deserved to lose. Honka did lose in the end, and will not look back at their early season very positively.

But if it was a good night for Finnish football, it might have come with a cost. Finland’s U21 head coach Markku Kanerva will have taken a deep breath in front of the television 20 minutes before the end of the game, as he saw Inter’s winger Mika Ojala lying on the pitch. Ojala got back on his feet and looked as if he could play the rest of the game, at which point Kanerva probably breathed a sigh of relief, but the joy was premature. Ojala was walking beyond the touchlines when he suddenly signalled to the bench, indicating that his game is over, before collapsing again. After the game, Inter coach Job Dragtsma and team manager Jani Meriläinen did not know the extent of the injury. If worse comes to worst, Kanerva may have to erase Ojala’s name from his U21 team that is preparing for the upcoming European Championships in Sweden.

Honka started the game on a high note, and produced the first goal six minutes into the game. Jaakko Lepola had the goal at his mercy following Nicholas Otaru’s corner, and he did not hesitate to put it in the corner of the net. The importance of the first goal had been emphasised before the game, and it seemed like Honka would have had the upper hand. But it was just another premature joy, because Severi Paajanen’s through ball let in Ojala, who scored the equalizer just three minutes later.

“We got an early goal, but Inter was still better”, Honka coach Mika Lehkosuo outlined after the game. “We had some trouble trying to hinder Aristides Pertot from building the play, but once we got over the problem after the first 15 minutes, the game became more even.”

Both sides had their moments. The first half was very even, while the second half was more cyclical: Inter were dominant through the first 15 minutes and Honka really struggled to pick up the pace or reach their own players with their passing. Inter could have put the game beyond doubt, but it did not happen. Instead, Honka re-established themselves and created some chances, mainly through corner kicks. No wonder, then, that both head coaches praised the other team.

“We are two teams who have similar ideas about how football should be played. Both teams want to see more of the ball than the opponent, and usually such games are quite even”, Lehkosuo said.

“Both teams wanted to win, and it was a really tight game. Some other teams come here to defend, but Honka really wanted to play football and they made it a tight game”, Dragtsma touted.

It was Inter who did just enough to secure the win. Timo Furuholm’s cross reached Ats Purje, who buried the ball into Honka’s goal 10 minutes from final whistle.

“I am satisfied, it was my first game in the starting 11 after a long time and I was able to cap it with a goal. I’m also very happy that we won one of the best teams in Finland”, Purje rejoiced.

Both teams will return to Veikkausliiga football in late June, and this is the time both teams will look back and see if they’re happy with the spring.

“I am satisfied with our season so far. I am disappointed with the results from the games against Haka and VPS, but we have played well. I wouldn’t have expected that we have this many points at this stage of the season”, Dragtsma revealed.

“We have too few points”, Lehkosuo admitted. “We must start picking more points if we want to join the title race. “I can’t name any one factor in particular that we have to improve. It is a bunch of details, but we must improve our overall performance”.

Both sides will see their training disrupted due to the break, owing to the U21 European Championships. Honka’s Tuomo Turunen, Nicholas Otaru, Jussi Vasara and Aleksander Kokko are all selected. Inter will lose Joni Aho and Mika Ojala, if he is fit to play.