The season started with a huge surprise in Oulunkylä, Helsinki, when Gnistan beat FC Inter in the opening match of its Veikkausliiga history.
Urheilu follows the opening round of the Veikkausliiga in this article.
100 years, and no swamp. Veikkausliiga’s promotion Gnistan’s festive season could not have started better. In honor of his first Veikkaus league season, Gnistan took an amazing home victory over FC Inter with numbers 2–1.
The result can be considered a huge surprise, because the Turku team is already one of the medal favorites of the season. Jussi Leppälahten piloted Gnistan, on the other hand, is expected to struggle mainly for its place in the series.
This is how the Veikkausliiga opening match progressed
The opening goal of the season was already seen in the fourth minute of the game. Inter Juuso Hämäläinen header from a wonderful cross into Gnistan’s goal. However, the home team recovered quickly when Ykkönen’s goal king last season Joakim Latonen hit from the penalty kick.
At the end of the second half, the loud home crowd had more reason to rejoice when Vertti Hänninen shot the first goal of his career in the Veikkausliiga from close range.
The second half went for a long time according to Gnistan’s Game Plan. Inter dominated the ball, but the home team defended well and were able to attack dangerously.
However, Inter came close to equalizing a quarter of an hour before the end, when Florian Krebs hit the top bar. The visitors managed to make a wild run in the last moments of the game.
The goal ended up being a dream and thus Gnistan was able to celebrate the victory to the delight of more than 2,300 home spectators.