Nordic Football News

We apologise for being unable to write a preview of last night’s games, but here’s an extended round-up to ease the pain.

MYPA – VPS 0-2

I can’t help gloryhunting. VPS took a third consecutive win and I just have to support them. If I didn’t, I would be scared by them. New head coach Petri Vuorinen is definitely very good at motivating his players. Before their 1-0 win over Inter last thursday, he used Inter’s overly complacent mathday programme as the primary motivator. That kind of stuff is corny as hell, but it seems to work. Yesterday they got a 2-0 win at MYPA, owing to goals from Jens Nygård and Jussi Aalto. The quality of their players as such is worth a mid-table finish, and given their recent form they could be up there soon enough.

FC Lahti – TPS 2-4

TPS could have made the game easy for themselves, but they didn’t. Goals from Christian Andreasen, Babatunde Wusu and Riku Riski gave the visitors a three-goal lead in just 22 minutes, and the match should have been over. Yet TPS almost fumbled it. Drilon Shala gave Lahti a way back into the game on the 38th minute, and TPS started panicking – despite having a two-goal lead! Rafael missed a penalty soon afterwards, but Lahti did not lose their confidence and were in complete control for most of the second half. Drilon Shala scored another 20 minutes from the final whistle, but Riski saved TPS as he scored when TPS produced their only attack of the second half 10 minutes before proceedings came to a halt. Still, it is absolutely astonishing how TPS did their best to give the game away. They were amazing for the first half hour, but once Lahti got one back TPS lost any and all confidence. It is perhaps understandable, as this is basic football psychology (need I mention the 2005 UCL final?), but a good team is not supposed to have so much trouble defending such a strong lead. Good teams simply do a professional job.

Jari Litmanen came on at half-time, and the anticipated meeting between The King and his successor (Riski) ended in a draw in my books. Riski scored two and gave the assist to Wusu’s goal, but he was just as useless as anyone else in enduring Lahti’s possession in the second half. Litmanen, for  his part, was all over the park and almost always available when Lahti had the ball. He produced no miracles, but needed no more than a few minutes to prove yet again that his touch on the ball is world class. The only problem was that every time Lahti tried to take on an offensive, Litmanen was given the ball. That is not his fault (vice versa, as it actually shows that he always finds exploitable space), but it is ridiculous that his team-mates lose confidence in their own ability once he comes on.

RoPS – HJK 1-0

And on to one of the most whimsical fixtures of the season! RoPS have been absolutely dreadful, and they just sacked their head coach to make sure this could have been an exceptionally difficult game. HJK were topping the table going into the game, but had to leave Rovaniemi empty-handed. Jeferson Pires scored the winner a quarter of an hour into the game, and the home side could hold the lead for the rest of the game. An epic fail for a team who should win games like this comfortably with the routine that they should have.

FF Jaro – JJK 5-1

JJK’s honeymoon is over, it seems. They have managed to upset the likes of TPS, HJK and Haka with resolute defending and have generally had an encouraging start. Last night, Jaro reminded the Jyväskylä side of the harsh reality with their 5-1 win. Mikko Hyyrynen, Papa Niang, Jonas Emet, Sebastian Mannström and Jani Koivisto scored the goals that made sure JJK are now sharing the bottom spot with KuPS. A clear indication that draws might not be enough to keep a team up in the top flight.

IFK Mariehamn – Tampere United 1-0

TamU should forget about European spots for now and be more concerned with keeping away from the relegation spots. Their defeat saw them acquire the 11th spot in the table. They have complained enough about losing the games despite having most of the possession. Scoring is based on skill, not luck or possession, and their opponents have simply been better at it. Arsim Gashi’s winner in the first half might have come against the run of play, but IFK Mariehamn took the possession in the latter half and deserved their win. This view is not shared by Ari Hjelm, who said it was a “lucky win” for IFK. Hjelm seems to represent the school of thought that assumes goals come out of the blue if you just keep the ball and create chances.

Haka – KuPS 3-0

Haka succeeded in the job HJK failed and TPS stumbled at. A routine victory is exactly what you need when playing a weaker team, and with the 3-0 trashing Haka deservedly regained the top spot. They could have added to the tally last night, and KuPS head coach Kai Nyyssönen will have one or two people setting their eyes on him. KuPS are really struggling (now last in the league), and it does not quite seem like Nyyssönen is capable of turning this round. He has a positive approach on things and judging by his press conferences he seems like a very polite person, but perhaps it is this nice guy image that causes the problem when things start to go wrong?

Click here for the league table.

Haka – KuPS 3-0
RoPS – HJK 1-0
FF Jaro – JJK 5-1
MYPA – VPS 0-2
FC Lahti – TPS 2-4
IFK Mariehamn – Tampere United 1-0