Veikkausliiga Recap: KuPS Breaks Drought with Dominant Victory over HJK, While Turku Maintains Lead

In recent weeks, the Veikkausliiga champions, KuPS, have found themselves plummeting in form, while HJK, the record champions of the Finnish league, have been on a hot streak. Consequently, when the two sides clashed in Kuopio on Friday, few anticipated that the home team would secure a 3-0 victory, spearheaded by a hat-trick from Joslyn Luyeye-Lutumba.

KuPS entered this fixture having managed just one point from their last five league outings, although that solitary point was earned in the previous encounter against HJK a month prior. In stark contrast, the Helsinki side boasted an impressive nine-match unbeaten run in the league and had not lost in 12 games across all competitions.

However, HJK was left reeling when they fell behind just three minutes into the match. A corner was played short to Clinton Antwi, who expertly curled a cross that found Luyeye-Lutumba. The forward made no mistake, guiding the ball past the goalkeeper into the net.

Just five minutes later, he struck again against his former club, capitalising on a delicate through ball from Otto Ruoppi. Luyeye-Lutumba shrugged off several challenges before unleashing a powerful shot into the top corner.

While HJK demonstrated their attacking prowess, with Teemu Pukki registering four shots on target throughout the match, they were unable to claw their way back into the contest before Luyeye-Lutumba sealed the deal.

With 19 minutes left on the clock, Antwi was once more the architect, delivering a pinpoint pass that allowed the 22-year-old to complete his hat-trick, elevating his season tally from one to four goals within just 71 minutes of play.

This victory propelled KuPS back above HJK in the standings after briefly slipping behind on goal difference, although HJK still holds a match in hand.

Nevertheless, KuPS could not reclaim pole position in the league table, as Inter Turku played out a 2-2 draw against Gnistan, allowing them to maintain their top spot by virtue of goal difference.

Inter’s unbeaten league run was put under serious pressure in the first half when Tim Vayrynen and Juhani Ojala both netted, putting the capital club ahead 2-0 within just 26 minutes.

Ojala’s opener was a thing of beauty; after winning possession at the halfway line, he lobbed the goalkeeper from over 40 yards out.

Although the visitors got one back just before half-time through Dimitri Legbo, they had to wait until the seventh minute of added time in the second half to complete their comeback.

What followed was chaotic in the Gnistan penalty area with everyone pushing forward for a corner, before the ball was eventually bundled across the line by Loic Essomba.

This draw extended Turku’s unbeaten streak to 12 league matches, although no side has drawn as many as their five this season. Gnistan currently sits in seventh place, with a record of four wins, four draws, and four losses this season.