HJK Dominates Their Reserves to Secure Spot in Suomen Cup Semi-Finals

Record champions HJK have secured their place in the Semi-finals of the 2025 Suomen Cup following a dominant 4-0 victory against their own reserve team, Klubi 04, in the Quarter-finals. The current cup holders, KuPS, managed to sneak into the final four by defeating Haka in a penalty shootout.

In a match played at HJK’s Bolt Arena, Klubi 04 managed to hold HJK at bay until halftime, aided by Lucas Lingman’s failure to convert a penalty just ten minutes before the interval.

However, the second half saw a complete turnaround as Santeri Hostikka found the net just five minutes after the restart, followed quickly by Liam Moller scoring HJK’s second, thanks to a set-up from Lingman.

Benji Michel added to his tally, making it two goals in a week for him within the last 20 minutes, before Moller netted his second to conclude the match with a convincing 4-0 scoreline, keeping the Helsinki club on track for their 15th Suomen Cup title.

In another all-Veikkausliiga Quarter-final, Haka faced league and cup champions KuPS, taking the contest to penalties after a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately for Haka, they missed all three of their penalty attempts, handing KuPS the victory.

The hosts fell behind in the 12th minute when Saku Savolainen struck first, but Mikael Almen equalised for Haka just over 20 minutes later. The score remained level until the end of regular time, pushing the match to a penalty shootout.

Oskari Sallinen, Almen, and Arlind Sejdiu all failed to convert for Haka, while Ibrahim Cisse, Arttu Heinonen, and Agon Sadiku scored for KuPS, leading to a 3-0 victory and providing some much-needed relief from their struggles in the league.

Following the exit of Klubi 04, Jaro ensured there would be no representatives from the lower leagues in the Semi-finals by overcoming a determined Ekenas side with a score of 4-2 in an away match.

Salomo Ojala netted twice for the Ykkosliiga side during the second half, but a pair of goals from Rudi Vikstrom, along with strikes from Jim Myrevik and Samouil Izountouemoi, propelled Jaro into the Semi-finals.

Lastly, AC Oulu, currently sitting at the bottom of the Veikkausliiga table, have made their way into the Suomen Cup semis after a 2-0 victory at home against SJK.

Leon Bergsma opened the scoring in the sixth minute, with Tuomas Kaukua securing the win in the 89th minute.