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.
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| Image by Kalevi Hämäläinen (gallery link) |
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.
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