HJK, who visited Northern Ireland with a thin circle of players, will face Norway’s Molde in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League.
SpongeBob Forsberg,
Mika Halonen
HJK’s new head coach Toni Korkeakunnas got to celebrate in their opening game, when the team from Helsinki defeated Larne from Northern Ireland in the 1st qualifying round of the Champions League with 3–2 on aggregate.
Korkeakunnas was relieved after the struggle that stretched into the follow-up match. The victory of the match pair guaranteed HJK a place in the 2nd qualifying round.
– Of course, I am very happy that we got the next place and really happy for the boys that they showed such resilience and hard fighting. On the mental side, it really hurts that we asked the guests for a second place in a difficult place, Korkeakunnas said after the match.
Korkekunnas, who worked in the Huhkajie coaching group before the HJK-pesti, was in a tough spot in Northern Ireland also in March, when Finland claimed a narrow 1-0 win over the host country in the European Championship qualifiers.
– We lost control there too and had to survive. This island is not an easy place for the visiting team.
HJK’s player material was thinner than usual in the away game, as they were on the sidelines due to recent injuries Matti Peltola and Perparim Hetemaj and sick Santeri Hostikka. In addition Kai Meriluoto and Miska Ylitolva moved elsewhere before the match with loan transfers.
An undulating match
In terms of gameplay, there was still room for improvement in the occasionally confusing match.
HJK played cheerfully after the initial fumbling and were able to create good goal chances and keep the match under their control according to Korkeakunnas’ Game Plan. HJK went into the break with a 1–0 lead.
Last week Toni Koskelan Korkeakunnas, who was named as a replacement, has only had time to do a couple of training sessions at HJK, but his handprint was already visible in the attacking game. The people from Helsinki were able to advance from the middle, turn and give the last passes.
– I got caught up in the last decisions, that there were no more goals. There were flashes, several good attacks, Korkeakunnas said.
In the second half, the picture of the game changed. Larne hit the ball straight into the Klub’s penalty area, and HJK had to spend their energy playing defense.
– They probably had better pills than us at halftime. We stayed in the booth for a bit. We couldn’t get the ball game going and we couldn’t have the patience to play it. We attacked too straightforwardly and didn’t get control of the game at all. It was survival.
Möller calmed down the game
Larne scored two goals in the second period and took the game to the follow-up match, where HJK got a hold of the game again.
Korkeakunnas praised the midfielder after he was replaced on the field at the beginning of the follow-up match Liam Möller18, who brought fresh legs and activity to the field.
– He also dared to play calmly, then we got a better ball game. We got our game organized when we changed our grouping. We got the message across better about how to defend and attack.
According to Korkeakunnas, Larne’s energetic playing style took its toll in the final moments of the match.
– Quite a few players cramped there. They had players who would have wanted to trade, but the trades had been made.
HJK will face Norway’s Molde in the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League on July 25. and 1.8.