HJK’s fight did not bring the jackpot, but the team has to go to the home match of the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League with a 1-2 loss. Coach Toni Korkeakunnas still has enough faith.
Anu Karttunen,
Mika Halonen
HJK experienced a stinging 1-2 defeat in Azerbaijan in the first leg of the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League, but the head coach Toni Korkeakunnas saw a lot of good in his team.
– In my opinion, it was an excellent away match in quite exotic conditions, said Korkeakunnas, reached by phone.
Before the match, HJK had a few bumps in the road already with the preparation, as the team had to hold its finishing practice in Helsinki instead of Baku. Korkeakunnas admitted that at the beginning of the match the players were “on the racks” and too passive.
– When we calmed down and dared to play, we got many chances to score, especially during the second period. We could have gotten a better result, but overall a good away game in difficult conditions, Korkeakunnas said.
– Everything remained open and playable for the second leg in Helsinki. This was the minimum result from here, but I was left with the feeling that we can continue from this pair.
In the second half, HJK was able to crush Qarabag with a goal several times, but Shakhrudin Magomedaliyev stretched into the path of the ball and once the ball even hit the post. Korkeakunnas admitted that the situation turned out classically, because after a post shot, Qarabag scored a goal Joona Toivion through the foot.
– As the cliche says: if you don’t do it yourself, your friend will. But it doesn’t help to worry.
A rare situation
HJK changed the entire top three in the 72nd minute, because Anthony Olusanya, Santeri Hostikka mixed Filip Rogic came Bojan Radulovic, Topi Keskinen mixed Atomu Tanaka in place of. Just five minutes later, Olusanya scored for HJK.
Korkeakunnas was satisfied with how the substitutions livened up the team’s game. Above all, he was happy that he had a wide range of material at his disposal.
Korkeakunnas said that he is in such a rare situation in his career that he gets to think about who has the best shape of the day and who he puts in the starting line-up.
– I have been here for three weeks now. The first two weeks were spent with 13–14 field players. Now we have got new players and injured ones back. We are starting to have a roster with which we can fight every three days.
Korkeakunnas believes that just as Qarabag’s Kotikenttä was an exotic experience for HJK, the Töölö football stadium with its artificial turf will be that for Qarabag. The club’s game in the Korkeakunnas hot spots has been moving forward all the time and the team has gained more self-confidence.
– In any case, the opponent’s strength is the attacking game. Among other things, against the Polish champions, they dominated the ball even away. They strive to play actively and bravely, Korkeakunnas said.
– I believe that when we were able to play some pretty good and brave football even away from home, it certainly creates faith that we will be able to play even more evenly throughout the game on the home field.
Recap of HJK’s European playoff
HJK beat Northern Ireland’s Larne in the 1st round of the Champions League. In the 2nd round of the Champions League, it lost to Norwegian Molde. So now the 3rd round of the Europa League is being played.
HJK will play its home match against Qarabag on Thursday, August 17. at 7 p.m. It’s HJK’s next match, so it doesn’t have to play the Veikkausliiga in between.
If HJK were to take a further place in the pair of matches against Qarabag, it would secure its place at least in the group stage of the Conference League. HJK also played in the group stage in the previous two seasons, the 2021 Conference League and the 2022 European League.
The winner of the match between HJK and Qarabag advances to the last qualifying round of the Europa League, where they will face the loser of the match between Galatasaray (Turkey) and Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia). Galatasaray won the first leg away from home 3–0. The winner of that round goes to the Europa League group, the loser to the Conference League group.
The European games of the loser of the HJK–Qarabag match will continue in the last qualifying round of the Conference League, where the winner of the match Farul Constanța (Romania) – FC Flora (Estonia) will face off.