Finland will meet Sweden in the floorball women’s WC final on Sunday, December 10. Live broadcast of the final match on TV2 and Areena starting at 12:45.
The Finnish women’s floorball team defeated the Czech Republic 8–2 in the World Cup semi-final and secured a place in the final match. Finland’s most effective players in the semifinals were the sisters Veera Kauppi (4+1) and Oona Kauppi (1+4).
The Czech Republic especially dominated the first set, but Finland went into the break with a 2–1 lead. Captain Veera Kauppi said that Finland was lucky when the Czech Republic did not succeed in their goal posts.
– The Czech Republic was rolling and would have deserved a couple of extra goals in that set. Then when you get into the flow, let the wave take you and surf along, Kauppi described the course of the match after the victory.
The second set was also tight, but in the third Finland was clearly the stronger team. Kauppi said that after the final place was decided, he felt neutral. The concentration is already completely on Sunday’s deciding game, he stated.
– I told the gang after the final buzzer that the semifinal match was another storm warning from us. It feels like this was just another step (to the final).
Finland’s head coach Lasse Kurronen said after the match that the “elf Kurronen” should watch the game. According to him, the coaching management had not prepared the team well enough for the start of the match.
– We have had good preparation packages and other things. We talked a lot about that Czech press, but somehow this situation maybe made me nervous. We didn’t really get up with the ball easily. Then, when we played with smart passes from the platform to the shoulder, we got into really tough places. I wouldn’t put this down to coaching. We showed that we are a strong team, Veera Kauppi estimated.
“Cheat Code Shops”
Urheilu’s floor bandy specialist Toni Lötjönen estimates that Finland played the first two sets poorly.
– Finland was not terribly good in terms of play, especially with the ball. Fortunately, we had the cheat code Kaupit in use. They were able to conjure those goals from very few goal posts, Lötjönen describes.
However, Lötjönen praises that, at the same time, Finland blocked the so-called first sector well and kept the Czech Republic away from the most dangerous goal positions. In the third set, Finland played with quality in the lead position. The team used the entire field for ball control, Lötjönen sums up.
– The shop field offered a world-class performance. Of course, we are talking about a field with the best players in the world. When they play in their upper register, the track looks like this.
According to Lötjönen Meri-Helmi Höynälän the field has played excellently in this tournament. Although there were no hits in the semi-final match, the pitch succeeded in its role. Jenna Saarion however, the field led by him has been a question mark until now, Lötjönen estimates.
The expert says he had an inkling that head coach Kurronen was criticizing himself for the weak start of the match against the Czech Republic.
– In these matches, the focus is mostly on the coaching and how to mentally prepare the team for the game. The coaching didn’t get a clean sheet from the semi-final game, but Kaupit saved that game.
Sweden has a tendency to suffer
In the final match, Finland will face Sweden, who beat Switzerland in their own semi-final with 4–2 goals. Expert Lötjönen says that the final match will definitely be different from the semi-final.
– Sweden comes in a completely different way and the press is of better quality than the Czechs. Sweden is brave at its best on the ball – that bravery is dangerous and creates a threat, Lötjönen states.
However, he says that Sweden has a tendency to suffer. In addition, the team takes quite big risks with the ball. In those moments, Finland must be awake.
– Sweden has a somewhat pressing need to get a goal slot every time and that requires patience from Finland. In the final, you have to be able to crouch a little (cover shots) and defend. In the semi-final, however, they were good at it, while in their own end they were moderate. In that sense, the semi-final was a good exercise. Finland was good in those moments when they got possession of the ball, Lötjönen predicts.
In the semi-final match, the defender of “Kauppien kettju”. My Kippilä was quite a lot on the side of the bench, when he got a small injury during the match. Kippilä was on the sidelines for a long time this season, when he was injured in February in the training of his club team Thorengruppen.
Lötjönen believes that Kippilä was rested because Finland led clearly enough in the final set of the semifinal.
– Some kind of tälli came, but he was playing with superior strength. Now there is only one 60-minute match left, so let’s hope he can play in it. Basically, he will start on Sunday under the Shops.
Semi-finals
Finland–Czech Republic 8–2
01.12 Oona Kauppi (Veera Kauppi) 1–0
13.13 Veera Kauppi (O. Kauppi) 2–0
14.58 Vanessa Keprtova (Vendula Berankova) 2–1
22.15 V. Kauppi (Daniela Westerlund) 3–1
27.15 Miisa Turunen (O. Kauppi) 4–1
29.45 Denisa Ratajova (Nela Jirakova) 4–2 yv.
31.15 Jenna Saario (Sara Biispa) 5–2
37.53 V. Kauppi (O. Kauppi) 6–2
48.38 My Kippilä (O. Kauppi) 7–2
55.58 V. Kauppi (Noora Vuorela) 8–2
Sweden–Switzerland 4–2
03.14 Wilma Johansson (Moa Tschop) 1–0 yv.
10.25 Ellen Rasmussen 2–0
16.07 Laila Ediz 2–1
36.45 Ellen Blackstedt (Tschop) 3–1
47.43 SUI Celine Stettler (Isabelle Gerig) 3–2 yv.
50.53 SWE Johansson (Blackstedt) 4–2
Finland will meet Sweden in the floorball women’s WC final on Sunday, December 10. Live broadcast of the final match on TV2 and Areena starting at 12:45.