HJK Helsinki take Finnish Cup trophy

FC Haka and Honka benefit from HJK's win

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HJK Helsinki beat KPV of Kokkola by the only goal of the game in Saturday's Finnish Cup Final, played at the Finnair Stadium in Helsinki.
      HJK went into the match as red-hot favourites - after all, they were runners-up to Tampere United in this year's Finnish League Championship race, while KPV could manage no better than 9th in the lower echelons of the First Division.
      HJK had disposed of Tampere United at the semi-final stage, but they also had something to prove after falling short in the League, and even though KPV had themselves removed two League sides on their way to the final, they were the obvious underdogs. The balance was tipped further in HJK's favour since they were technically playing at home: the Finnair Stadium is also HJK's home ground.
     
However, on the evidence of the first half an hour, it was hard to tell which was the senior side, or even who the visitors were: KPV had obviously come with the intention of enjoying the occasion and selling their scalp at a high price, and they had brought with them five or six hundred noisy travelling fans, who outsang and outshouted the Helsinki supporters.
      The match was not particularly well-attended for a final - only a disappointing 2,450 people turned out on a bright but bitterly cold afternoon.
      Despite settling first and exerting a decent amount of pressure in the early stages, the Kokkola players had nothing to show for their efforts at half-time except a string of corners, and the HJK defence was kept busy but not seriously threatened.
      As time wore on, the HJK players - probably suitably chastened by a dressing-down at the interval - began to pick up the pace, and after 63 minutes they worked a neat move down the right that led to a precise cross from Sebastian Sorsa, which was headed home by Algerian striker Farid Ghazi. KPV went close in the final minutes, but HJK hung on to win their ninth Cup title.
     
The result was good news for two other Finnish clubs. The cup winners are automatically eligible for the qualifying rounds of next season's UEFA Cup. But since HJK had already secured one ticket to next year's UEFA Cup qualifiers by finishing behind TamU in the League, their extra spot passes to FC Haka from Valkeakoski, the third-placed side in the League. In turn, Haka will hand on their own Intertoto Cup place to Honka of Espoo, who finished 4th in their first season at the top level.
      Tampere United go into the qualifying draw for next season's European Champions League as Finnish champions.
     
It was a sixth cup final outing for HJK's British-born head coach Keith Armstrong. He has been on the losing side twice as a player, and has won three times (twice with HJK, most recently in 2003 when they won the league and cup double) and lost once as a coach.
      HJK's own relationship with the Cup is rather double-edged: the side has won on nine occasions, putting them in second place behind FC Haka (12 wins), but they have also been on the losing end of four finals, equal with TPS of Turku.
     
For one player at least, Saturday's match was a farewell.
      KPV's Juha Reini announced he would be giving up the game. The 31-year-old defender played for several years in Belgium and Holland before returning home to the club he first represented. His recent career has been blighted by injury, but when fit Reini won 23 international caps for Finland.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Tampere United take football league title in style (30.10.2006)

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