SJK wanted to be funny and now they are at the top of the league. The early season of Åland United, the perennially successful national league, follows a familiar pattern. Vote for the goal of the week and win a prize!
There are four rounds through the Veikkausliiga, and at least at the moment, the scepter is firmly in Ostrobothnia. Vaasa Palloseura’s unbeaten streak still continues, now 21 matches long, but the top spot in the league is held by SJK, which has already played five matches.
During the season, the Seinäjoki players did not have high expectations. The captain feels the same way Ville Tikkanen.
– We have a young and hungry team. Everyone wants to stand out. It’s not terribly expected of us and we like it when we get to prove others wrong, Tikkanen said after Sunday’s victory in Gnistan.
In the Veikkausliiga this season, we will see exceptional coaching solutions in several locations, including in Seinäjoki. They share the coaching responsibility Toni Lehtinen and Scottish Stevie Grieve. Grieve was named head coach in December, but Lehtinen became the head coach because Grieve does not have the required Uefa Pro license for the position.
Lehtinen said at the opening ceremony of the season that SJK’s idea is to be a surprising and fun team. In the early season, the audience at least enjoyed the “Kerho” games – and certainly the fans also at the league table.
But what does it mean for a football team to want to be fun on and off the field?
– The atmosphere is absolutely great, but that’s definitely because we’ve laughed together in training matches, about what we do on the defensive end, even if they’re good things. We change roles and playing positions very quickly on the field. We are an organized, but at the same time mobile team on the field. Nobody has their own place where they are frozen, but playing is free, Tikkanen described the season under 11 friends in the podcast.
SJK’s fun and undefeated start to the season will be tested next by KuPS on Saturday in Seinäjoki. Before that, VPS can reclaim the top spot in the series if they beat FC Lahti at home on Friday.
National league: Åland United got relief from their familiar curse
Åland United is one of the long-term winners of the National League and it is also reflected in the player budget, which this season is the second largest after the reigning champion KuPS.
Still, the beginning of the season has been challenging: the first two matches ended in losses to KuPS and Ilves.
Relief finally came at the weekend, when Åland claimed a 3-0 away win over HPS in Helsinki. It could have been the other way around, as HPS dominated the opening period and missed scoring opportunities.
The head coach Riku Remes aired the extra time 3-0 goal on his knees and admitted that the relief was great.
– That was the last straw. We have a long winter behind us and this released our feelings, Remes told .
– Our first game was a disaster. I don’t know if I went to the peak of excitement and overload. Against Ilves, we would have deserved more game-wise. This win makes it a lot easier. It wasn’t pretty, but the main thing was to get points.
The current season is already the third in a row, when Åland United’s spring starts challenging. Like this season, in the previous two years, the league started with two losses to KuPS and Ilves.
Remes reminds that Åland United last won their opening game of the season in 2018.
– We are exactly on the same schedule as in recent years. Two games to go and then we will slowly start to rise. Let’s hope it goes the same way now. Game-wise, we are in an OK phase, Remes stated.
Åland United’s next challenge is ahead on Saturday, when PK-35 visits Mariehamn.
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