HJK comeback restores pride over reigning champions

A rousing second half performance saw HJK come from behind to defeat SJK and return to the summit of the Veikkausliiga table on Monday evening at Helsinki's Sonera Stadium .

SJK, the reigning Finnish champions, got under their host's skin in the first half to comfortably take a one goal lead into the interval thanks to Ariel "Tuco" Ngueukam's opener.

The second half looked a completely different match as HJK regained their composure to turn possession into domination and force their opponents onto the back foot. The shift in momentum proved telling as the hosts found two goals in five minutes to turn the match on its head.

Alfredo Morelos, on loan from Independiente Medellin, was in fine form going into the clash having netted three goals in his last two matches. The Colombian striker made it four from three to equalise midway through the second half before Atomu "Atom" Tanaka completed the turnaround with a brilliant strike from the edge of the box to seal the comeback victory and also grab his fourth goal of the season in the process.

HJK thank Klubipääty for their unwavering support after the final whistle.

A miserably dark and cloudy day had made way for a sunny evening in Finland's capital prior to kick off. The crisp 4°C temperatures kept the 5,237 fans in attendance rugged up in the stands for what was set to be an intriguing tussle.

HJK, nicknamed Klubi (the club), carries a continual target of championship glory. It's simply in their DNA having achieved this target 27 times in 108 prior seasons - curiously an exact 1 in 4 success rate which is an exceptional record of continuity for a team carrying over a century of history.

Their 2015 campaign buckled under the weight of expectation as SJK defied the odds to top the league in only their second top flight season, creating a legendary modern fairytale of Finnish football in the process.

Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho (the football club of Seinäjoki) was formed as recently as 2007. The newborn side played their first game in Kakkonen (translates to second division, the Finnish third tier) in 2008 and soon climbed to spend 2012 in Ykkonen (first division, second tier). Two seasons later they had earned promotion to compete in the 2014 Veikkausliiga in which they came second in their inaugural top flight season as well as lifting the Finnish League Cup.

2015 was to be even grander as they pipped RoPS to the Veikkausliiga title by a single point after defeating HJK by a 3-0 scoreline during the run in to the season's conclusion which confined the Finnish giants to an underwhelming third placed finish just two points adrift of the summit.

This meteoric rise was a truly remarkable achievement for a club in only its eighth season of existence and one they will certainly look to build upon this season.

The hosts were out to set the record straight and to avenge the humiliation of their last league meeting, yet this was no simple task.

The match began with a quick tempo as SJK immediately pressed the hosts in possession to prevent them from settling into their natural possession based game. The visitors defended and attacked with pace to edge their opponents in the first half despite trailing on possession.

Roope Riski, whose 2015 loan move from FK Haugesund to SJK was made permanent this February, cut inside from the right to carve out the first chance of the match only to scuff his shot which safely bobbled into Thomas Dähne's hands.

Tarmo Kink impressed in the first half.

Moments later at the other end AC Milan loanee Odu slipped Nikolai Alho into a goalscoring position in the box. Alho, widely considered as a bright prospect for an overdue Finnish national team call up, has been regaining his form after a lengthy injury layoff. The young prodigy is yet to find his scoring boots this season though as he rocketed his chance just over the crossbar to let the visitors off the hook.

SJK punished the missed opportunity midway through the first half when Estonian international Tarmo Kink, who was a continual thorn in HJK's side throughout the half, smartly played Matti Klinga into the box.

Klinga ran onto the well-weighted pass before centring the ball with his first touch, putting the opening goal on a plate for Tuco who tucked the ball into the back of the net with ease the greatest of ease.

Johannes Laaksonen then tested Dähne from the edge of the box, yet the young German keeper was determined to be beaten a second time and produced a confident save to hold the ball.

The visitor's high pressing game forced HJK to adjust their approach. They looked to play direct down the wings to catch SJK on the counter, yet Taye Taiwo's horrendous distribution combined with Odu's dive compounded frustration for the home fans who made their feelings heard.

The doom and gloom of HJK's first half was brightened late on as Taiwo and Odu made amends for prior errors by combining with Atom. The trio stuck together a slick passing move to play the Japanese attacking midfielder into space on the left flank. Atom delivered an inch perfect low cross for Morelos who glanced the ball just wide of the far post to end the half on an encouraging note.

SJK created their best chance to double their lead soon after the restart as Laaksonen flicked an exquisite pass over Lum Rexhepi's head to put Riski one-on-one with Dähne. The four-time Finnish international failed to take advantage, clipping his finish over the bar under the combined pressure of the onrushing keeper and Rexhepi breathing down his neck.

Having had little to genuinely cheer about the home fans erupted when Jarkko Hurme was adjudged to have back-passed to Mikhel Aksalu in the SJK goal. The referee duly awarded an indirect freekick on the edge of the six-yard box.

Mikhel Aksalu denies Taye Taiwo's close range freekick.

The Estonian international goalkeeper, who clearly felt hard done by the call, was quickest to react to charge down Taiwo's ferocious shot after Odu had touched the indirect freekick into the big defender's path.

The ball was eventually headed behind by Klinga to keep the hosts at bay in front of Klubipääty who had drastically raised the volume in Sonera Stadium's southern end to spur their team onward.

The ensuing corner was well worked as Atom, Odu, and Alho combined to slide Odu into the box unmarked. The Nigerian centred to captain Ville Jalasto whose toe-poke was denied by Aksalu's block. After a moment of pinball in the box the ball was briefly cleared before Alho fired over once again.

With pressure mounting SJK were holding on by their fingernails and were finally broken in the 69th minute. Atom's floated corner evaded everyone and was recovered by Medo on the opposite byline.

The Sierra Leonean did exceptionally well to retrieve the ball, turn inside Kink, and pick out Morelos at the far post with a marvellous cross. The Colombian took full advantage, heading home the equaliser before celebrating with the home fans behind the goal.

With momentum having slipped out of his side's hands, SJK manager Simo Valakari brought attacking midfielder Alexei Eremenko Jr off the bench in an attempt to salvage the match.

As a youngster the Finnish international had developed into a prodigy for HJK between 2002 and 2004 before his big move to Lecce in the Italian Serie A. After a decade of trotting across the Ukrainian, Russian, and Scottish leagues, Eremenko Jr had returned to Finland in 2015 to play under his father, Alexei Eremenko Sr, at FF Jaro. The side's eventual relegation paved the way for a move the SJK and now a return to his former hunting grounds.

His return was not a joyous occasion as the match continued to slip away from SJK as moments later Morelos found space for himself in the box with a drop off the shoulder before fizzing a shot just past the far post.

The winning goal came soon afterward as Hurme's poor pass in defence evaded El-Hadji Kane, allowing Atom to steal possession. The crafty midfielder weaved his way toward the edge of the box before burying a delightful strike into the top corner to set the home fans into pandemonium.

Atom and co celebrate his winning goal.

SJK dug deep to respond with Eremenko Jr and Jussi Vasara firing high and wide respectively either side of an attempt from range by Morelos which was well blocked by Aksalu.

As the visitors pressed forward in search of an equaliser they left themselves exposed to counter attacks in the closing minutes.

A quick break down the left from 17-year-old substitute Lassi Lappalainen culminated in a great cutback for Vincent Onovo. The Nigerian was an inch away from doubling Klubi's advantage as his finish rattled the underside of the crossbar before bouncing clear.

The visitors went all out in the closing moments as Aksalu joined his entire squad in HJK's box for the final two corners of the match. The hosts held their ground to clear both corners and take all three points from an entertaining clash.

The win sent HJK back to the top of the table with 10 points from 4 matches while SJK languish down in 7th after a slow start to their title defence has seen them claim a single win from their opening 3 matches.

Next up HJK travel to Åland on Sunday in hopes of replicating their opening matchday win over IFK Mariehamn while SJK return home to take on 6th placed Ilves in Seinäjoki.

No pyro, no party

HIFK and their travelling fans literally came blazing into PK-35 Vantaa's stadium on Saturday afternoon for their opening Veikkausliiga fixture.

The visitors came away with a 2-0 victory courtesy of Juho Mäkelä's early opener followed by Jani Bäckman's second half volley which sealed the three points for HIFK.

For their away day in Vantaa, just north of neighbouring Helsinki, the HIFK supporters brought the atmosphere up with them, lighting up Myyrmäen jalkapallostadion with around a dozen flares in the lead up to kick off.

Image by Kalevi Hämäläinen (gallery link)

HIFK's 12th man is supporter group Stadin Kingit, which translates to "the kings of Stadi". Stadi is slang borrowed from the Swedish word stad, meaning city.

Their vocal and visual support gave their side an early lift as they began the match on the front foot.

Mäkelä took all of three minutes to mark his HIFK debut with a goal. The pacey striker found himself in the right place at the right time to poach the opener from a goalmouth scramble.

During the weekend prior former Finnish international Njazi Kuqi looked to be having a dream debut of his own as he bagged two goals. The striker's brace helped PK-35 race to a three goal lead only for RoPS to miraculously turn the match on its head to prevail 4-3. 

Despite Kuqi's impressive start for the club Jekyll quickly turned into Hyde in his second appearance when he was shown a straight red card midway through the second half for what can only be described as a despicable display of aggression.

A heated confrontation resulted in Kuqi grabbing the throat of defender Tomi Vesala and throwing his head into Bäckman to earn an inevitable dismissal. He then capped off his appalling outburst by smashing a window as he stormed toward the dressing room. Ramifications aplenty are expected to come his way in the coming days.

With the dust having barely settled HIFK had their second moments later. A well rehearsed set piece found Bäckman unmarked at the back post and the defender took full advantage to volley home and wrap up the win for his side.

It was a bright start to their 2016 campaign for Jani Honkavaara's men as they look to build upon last year's respectable seventh-placed finish.

Shefki Kuqi on the other hand has undergone a baptism of fire in his first two top flight games. He is most fondly remembered for his lengthy career in the English game and for his ever-present role in the national side.

The high-profile manager and part-owner of PK-35 made a bright start in his first season at the helm to secure 2nd to earn his side's promotion from Ykkönen (Finnish first division) to Veikkausliiga.

Fortunately time is on the young manager's side as he faces the early task of turning fortunes around on the pitch and keeping his fiery younger brother's temper in check when he eventually returns from suspension.

Next up HIFK face Inter Turku at Sonera Stadium while PK-35 travel to Kuopio in middle Finland in search of their first points of the season against KuPS.

Finland defrosts for football's return

Spring was in the air. The icy remnants of winter had melted away in Finland’s southern capital as the inbound warmth stirred football from its slumber for its long awaited return from hibernation.

Veikkausliiga was back.

The first Saturday of April brought with it a gloriously sunny spring afternoon, drawing local and travelling supporters in numbers to Sonera Stadium to witness the opening game of the 2016 season: HJK v IFK Mariehamn.

For those not familiar with Finnish football this was by no means predicted to be an even contest.

Taye Taiwo builds an attack from the back.

HJK – Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (the Football Club of Helsinki) – are the giants of Finnish football with 27 league titles amassed since their founding in 1907. To put their dominance into perspective their nearest record challengers are FC Haka and HPS who each hold 9 titles, yet neither play top flight football these days.

Recent years have proved rather fruitful for HJK, producing 6 back-to-back championships between 2009 and 2014, along with a rare qualification for the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League. 2015’s campaign, however, did not follow the script as they finished third behind RoPS and winners SJK – a stunning achievement for what was only the second top flight season for the Seinäjoki based club.

IFK Mariehamn on the other hand has never won the league. They are currently enjoying the brightest spell of their 97 year history having consistently finished each season in the top half of the table for the last half decade.

IFK M and their small contingent of boisterous fans had made the trek to Helsinki from Åland; the archipelago of 6,700 islands scattered across the Baltic Sea between Turku and Stockholm. Despite being an autonomous region of Finland, Åland is predominantly Swedish speaking – much like portions of western Finland – hence the prefix of IFK, or Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna (Sporting Society Comrades). This is common to a wide number of sporting clubs in Sweden along with a handful of Finnish clubs.

The afternoon sun pushed the mercury up to a pleasant 8 degrees Celsius before kick-off, prompting 5,251 fans to flock to Sonera Stadium in eager anticipation of the season opening spectacle.

The bulk of fans packed into Itäkatsomo (East Stand), shedding jackets and scarves to reacquaint themselves with a warm sun almost forgotten during the preceding substantially darker and colder winter months.

Klubipääty (the club end) was pumping ahead of kick off with the home fans in full voice while the traveling supporters, perhaps fuelled by pre-drinks from the lengthy ferry journey, also produced impressively vocal support despite their vastly inferior numbers.

Klubipääty was in fine form throughout the 90.

The hosts appeared hungry to immediately put last season’s disappointment behind them as they controlled the tempo from the outset. IFK M sat deep and dug in to keep them at bay in a cagey opening period.

The visitor’s backline was well marshalled throughout the first half, limiting HJK to half chances and intermittent long range efforts while the enigmatic outlet of Nikolai Alho was kept on a leash by Tommy Wirtanen.

As the half wore on the early patience of HJK’s build up play was soon abandoned for a more direct style as central midfield pairing Medo and Vincent Onovo sent continual balls in behind the IFK M defence. The visitor’s organisation combined with overeager runs saw each attack repeatedly killed off by a confidently raised offside flag.

At the other end of the park Aleksei Kangaskolkka cut a lonely figure up front for IFK M. His side’s conservative approach rarely provided the sole striker with adequate support to muster up opportunities as the visitors failed to register a single shot before the sounding of the half time whistle.

The match quickly opened up in the second half as both sides began to carve out chances soon after the restart.

With Alho still regaining his sharpness after long term injury on the right wing, HJK’s left-sided Nigerian international pairing of Taye Taiwo and Nnamdi “Odu” Oduamadi stepped up a gear, combining frequently to torment the opposing backline.

Odu, on debut since joining on loan from AC Milan, repeatedly found space for himself and already proved increasingly threatening with his direct running and dangerous crossing.

The opening goal inevitably came from the left flank midway through the second half when Odu held up the ball to draw in three defenders before laying off for his compatriot Taiwo on the edge of the box.

Atom celebrates his opener. (HJK TV)

The experienced fullback delivered a delightful cross onto the head of Atomu “Atom” Tanaka who took full advantage of his opportunity to break the deadlock via the underside of the crossbar.

The opener set the home fans into frenzy as Atom sprinted into a superman slide before being mobbed by his teammates. The attacker then wrapped up his celebration with a respectful bow – an additional touch of class from the Japanese import in what was a bright start to his second season in the capital.

The fans were on their feet once again minutes later to applaud the return of Mikael Forssell who came off the bench for the final quarter hour to begin his third spell at the capital club.

A 17-year-old Forssell was plucked from HJK’s ranks by Chelsea back in 1998. Fourteen years and five clubs later he marked his first return to the club in style, grabbing fourteen goals to finish as HJK’s top scorer en route to lifting their fifth consecutive title in 2013.

After a single mediocre season in 2. Bundesliga with Vfl Bochum, the seasoned 35-year old returned once again hoping to replicate the form and success of his second coming.

The veteran striker’s introduction proved cunning as he provided the assist for Atom and HJK’s second soon after when IFK M’s captain Jani Lyyski failed to clear his lines.

Mikael Forssell on return.

The scuffed clearance fell kindly for Alho; he slid the ball onto Forssell who timed his run well to beat the offside trap before teeing up Atom who calmly doubled his tally and HJK’s advantage with a side-footed finish inside the far post.

The hosts came within inches of a third goal minutes later when Alho’s long ball put Odu through on goal.

The winger’s lob beat the keeper but not the crossbar before it was eventually cleared. Despite his poor fortune Odu had clearly won the affection of the supporters on an impressive home debut.

HJK comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to secure all three points and a clean sheet from their first of 33 matches. They'll look to carry their second half form into their next match against VPS.

The opening weekend’s other fixture saw title rivals RoPS miraculously come back from three goals down to defeat newly promoted PK-35 Vantaa by a 4-3 scoreline.