Three matches were played in the Veikkausliiga on Sunday.
21.7. 20:33•Updated 21.7. 21:04
Ilves played two entertaining matches in the football league within a week, as on Monday they lost away to Haka 3-4 and on Sunday the team narrowly won 3-2 at home against Vaasa Palloseura.
Santeri Haarala scored the opening goal for Ilves, but soon Ilves’ goalkeeper Take Virtanen got a red card after knocking down Yevgeny Bashkirov.
– We also came up short against Mariehamn, but we got up. With a brave own game but forward, we knew what had to be done, Haarala said.
Ilves bred by VPS Teemu Hytönen scored two goals in the opening period and the team’s five-game league winless streak seemed to end.
Ilves almost took control of the game. The team received a penalty kick when the goalkeeper, who played his second league match Lauri-Eemil Vetri overthrew Haaralan and Joona Veteli equalized from scratch.
At the end of the actual game time Anton Popovich shot into the front top corner and the home team’s celebration began in front of over 7,000 spectators. A few hundred of them were disappointed away supporters.
Ilves’ important games continue on Thursday, when Austria Wien arrives in Tammela in the second round of the Conference League.
– I was able to play two Euro matches with KuPS, I’m looking forward to the game, Haarala emphasized.
SJK and KuPS rose to share the top spot with HJK
In Åland, IFK Mariehamn fell badly behind SJK, and in the end, the Seinjoki team won an easy 4–0.
They were responsible for SJK’s goals Try Hannola, Jaime Moreno, Lewis Strapp and Otto Kemppainen. The match was controlled by SJK from start to finish, but all the goals of the match were not seen until the second half.
The final decision of the match was seen in the 64th minute of the game, when IFK Mariehamn Michael Fonsell got a red card. During the period of man superiority, SJK scored three additional hits. With the victory, SJK rose to the shared top spot in the football league.
In Kuopio, the home team KuPS defeated FC Lahti with a score of 1–0.
The visitor managed to defend with quality almost the entire match, but in the 73rd minute of the game, KuPS Jaakko Oksanen scored the only goal of the match with his second hit of the season. With the win, KuPS rose to the top of the football league together with HJK and SJK.
Updated on 21/07/2024 at 21:03: Added information on two other matches.