In the Veikkausliiga of football, the championship has not yet been decided, even though Seinäjoki Football Club tormented Kuopio Palloseura for a long time. KuPS drew 1-1 against SJK at home, which further minimized its championship chances.
Helsinki Football Club, leading the series by six points to KuPS, can secure the championship next Sunday with a win. At that time, HJK will face Vaasa Palloseura, who is on a 13-match unbeaten streak, on the away field.
HJK’s team watched the fight between KuPS and SJK on their home field at the Töölö football stadium. The tension grew when SJK moved By Diego Rojas with a lead in Kuopio in the opening period to a 1–0 lead. However, the championship party drinks ended up staying in the fridge when KuPS Jasse Tuominen tied the game a little more than ten minutes before the end of the regular game time.
When neither KuPS nor SJK managed to score in the five minutes of added time, the eyes turned to next week.
Head coach of HJK Toni Korkeakunnas was calm in the interview. It didn’t hurt that the parties were moved.
– The situation has not changed for us. We still have to win our own games, as we have talked about before, Korkeakunnas stated right at the beginning.
The “club” has enough to do for next week besides Sunday’s VPS fight. On Thursday, HJK will play their second match of the Conference League group stage against Aberdeen FC.
– We haven’t really thought about Sunday yet. We’re off to Scotland first on Wednesday, so that’s where we’ll focus. Today we returned to sweat a little together. So a certain kind of return from vacation, first the games on the field, a meal among the team and then we followed the Kuopio game. We had such a wonderful treat that we had three days off after the Honka match. It’s an exceptionally long vacation for us, Korkeakunnas opened.
SJK’s players continue training without breaks
When HJK has spent its exceptional days off, SJK’s players have not had such days off. The head coach of the team Joaquin Gomez has said publicly that Seinäjoki will practice without a break until they win the Veikkausliiga game. Before arriving in Kuopio, SJK had lost three games in a row.
Due to the draw, there are still no days off. The SJK goalkeeper who made an excellent save against KuPS Markus Uusitalo said that the flute day would be necessary for him.
– It does feel a bit like that. Personally, I would need a rest day a week, but I do understand that you have to try something. Let’s see if it works. Today we already got a taser, we’ll see how it works next week, Uusitalo thought to Urheilu on Kuopio’s central field after the match.
So does tasuri mean a day off?
– No, yes it only comes from winning.
According to Uusitalo, SJK has recently been training every day, “more or less”. The goalkeepers have also had a taste of double training days at the beginning of the week. Uusitalo has had injuries behind him, so the amount of training feels like this as we move towards the end of the season.
– We have lightened the training load a bit. Closer to the games, of course, we pull much lighter sets. I would say more that it feels on the mental side, but like I said, something has to be tried.
– Personally, I don’t like this, as I would need that day off to recharge my batteries mentally and physically. But I still emphasize that I am completely behind this decision, Uusitalo laughed at the end.
KuPS has only a few scraps of championship hopes left
Sunday night was the saddest of the top three clubs for the jaundiced Kuopio residents.
KuPS, who entered the second period against SJK wildly, had to be disappointed on their home field. The ball clattered on the post and there were chances to score, but only Tuominen could hit behind SJK’s Uusitalo.
The draw shrunk its championship chances to very small and they rely almost entirely on HJK’s failures.
The home team, who played in their yellow shirts, gathered on the field after the game to talk.
– I told the team that I was proud of our performance in the second period. It had what should have been visible from the first. In the opening period we were a bit on the racks and we weren’t dangerous. In the second period, we put everything into play, it’s a shame it wasn’t enough, KuPS head coach Jani Honkavaara told.
The final arrangement of the championship is difficult for KuPS. HJK should no longer win and should win all the remaining games. For Honkavaara, the spirit of the game is clear.
– Yes, this is really in HJK’s hands and not in our hands. We have to focus on our own business, we can influence that. We strive to finish our work with honor. While we’re in that ring, I try to emphasize that we try to enjoy these last three weeks. That’s how much this group has left, Honkavaara decided.