Football | A draw for the club in the Veikkausliiga – “I think HJK had one place”

HJK played a 1–1 draw against Ilves in the football Veikkausliiga on Saturday. The match was played in Helsinki.

The draw kept the people of Tampere still at the top of the league in the men’s football league. HJK, which has played one match more, is a point behind Ilves, as are KuPS and VPS.

In the first half, champion favorite HJK was in trouble with the Tampere press, and Ilves’ pressure led to a penalty kick. Wind speed Santeri Haarala finished the ball from eleven meters surely in the middle of the goal with his fourth full hit of the season.

HJK’s Luke Plange tied the game with a header in the second half Noah Pallas from the skillful preliminary work. After that, Ilves came very close to victory: the defender Juhani Pikkarainen shot the ball into the post, and Oiva Jukkola wasted an open spot in the closing moments of the game.

“HJK probably had one place where they scored. I think we dominated the game otherwise”, Ilvesen Joona Veteli summed up in Ruuttu’s interview after the game.

You can watch the highlights of the match in the video at the main photo.

To the season The game of HJK, who started as the champion favorite, has coughed up. Last season Toni Koskelanand this season Ferran Sibilan Replaced HJK behind the bench Toni Korkeakunnas led the club to a 1–0 derby victory over the promoted Gnistan earlier in the week.

HJK has collected 16 series points from the first ten matches of the season, which entitles them to fourth place in the league table. Ilves, who played less in the match, continues to lead the league with a difference of one point.

Ilves started the season with high expectations, but failed to win in their first three matches. Ilves won the next five games and rose to the top of the league. The tough-minded Tampere will next face KuPS, the second top team in the league. If the good performances against the top teams continue, the championship favorite can be placed on the shoulders of the Tampere team.

“Three points, I don’t want anything else”, Veteli briefly said his thoughts on the upcoming meeting.

Story corrected on May 25, 2024 at 8:38 p.m.: The match was played in Helsinki, not Tampere, as was originally stated in the title and at the beginning of the story.