Finland round-up: Haka on top

Two points clear
Haka won 1-0 at home against TPS Turku to take advantage of a surprise 4-1 home defeat for Alianssi against Myllykosken Pallo-47. After seven rounds, Haka are now two points ahead at the top of the Veikkausliiga table with 18 points.

Missed penalty
In their contest on Sunday, Haka dominated from start to finish against TPS but only managed to score once. The goal came after just two minutes when Sami Ristilä found Valeri Popovitch in the penalty area, and he had plenty of time to shoot into the right-hand corner of the goal. Haka even missed a penalty towards the end when Jani Tuomala saved Juha Pasoja's effort from the spot.

Botha double
Allianssi also started well in their fixture with a goal from Adriano, but then conceded four times without reply. MyPa's equaliser came from Ryan Botha and from then on there was only one side in the contest. A second for Botha, along with strikes from Toni Huttunen and Saku Puhakainen ensured a famous victory at Pohjola stadium. Third-placed MyPa are now just two points behind Allianssi.

Late winner
Elsewhere, HJK Helsinki left it late before winning 2-1 at FC Inter Turku. Rami Hakanpää scored the decisive goal after a corner in the 84th minute to take his side into fourth spot, level on points with MyPa. At the other end of the table, FC Lahti recorded their first win of the season with a 4-2 win against FC Jazz despite trailing at half-time.

Talented Tyyskä
FC KooTeePee won 2-1 at home against Tampere United thanks to a late goal by 17-year-old Marko Tyyskä while Ismo Lius started his career in charge of KuPS Kuopio with a 5-1 defeat against FF Jaro. John Weckström scored twice for the visitors. In Saturday's only fixture, FC Hämeenlinna recorded their second victory of the season by beating FC Jokerit 2-1.