VPS defeated FC Honga in Espoo 1–0 in the final opening of the Veikkausliiga Eurofinal tournament. The second leg will be played in Vaasa on Sunday.
VPS goal stick Peter Michael led Vaasalaiset to a 1–0 away win over FC Honga in the opening part of the final of the Veikkausliiga Eurofinal tournament.
On Espoo’s natural grass, I trudged steadily for a long time in the 0-0 readings, until Michael caught up Prosper Ahiabun from a through pass from the Honka defense in the 85th minute.
The hit was in Veikkausliiga’s goal exchange for HJK Bojan Radulovic for Michael, who finished second after, already 18th of the season.
VPS got to the two-part final rested, because it played a week and a half ago in Seinäjoki. Since then, Honka has played two matches, the most recent of which was against AC Oulu on the weekend.
According to Michael, the short break felt like a lack of game feel.
– We knew that this would be a difficult match for us because we hadn’t played in a while. They played well, but in the end we won, Michael said in an interview with Ruudu.
Honga’s players had to face a difficult situation in the match, because on Tuesday it was reportedthat the club has not been able to pay the last salaries on schedule because there is no money in the cash register.
The Honka captain who played his last match on the field of Tapiola Henri Aalto said that he was proud of how the team was able to function in a difficult situation. The match was even and the bets towards the goal were recorded 5–5.
– Of course, it was a surprise and a disappointment for us. It is not the first time that things happen in this club without informing us in advance. I have given strong feedback to the club management and hoped for a change. Again, it was seen that that has not happened, Aalto said in an interview with Ruudu
– Many players are disappointed, frustrated and worried. Still, we were able to channel the anger into a good sense of togetherness and focus and dark humor. I’m really proud of it.
Winning the Euro final tournament gives you a place in the Conference League qualifiers, and in the summer that ended, you already received 150,000 euros in prize money from the first qualifying round. The prize money increases the further you advance in the league.
The teams will meet in the second leg in Vaasa on Sunday at 4 p.m.