Tampere win Finnish final 'thriller'

Tampere United completed a double on Sunday after beating FC Honka Espoo on penalties in a Finnish Cup final described as "quite a thriller" by winning coach Ari Hjelm.

Timely equaliser
The league champions were on top against the team that finished in fourth spot this season, but were reduced to ten men after half an hour when midfielder Juska Savolainen received a straight red card for striking an opponent. At the start of the second half Honka's John Weckström was also dismissed after a second booking, although his side still took the lead in the 60th minute through substitute Jami Puustinen. The underdogs seemed to be in control only for Tampere substitute Miki Sipiläinen to react quickest in the box to equalise in the dying seconds.

Kavén heroics
In extra time it was Tampere who seemed to be cruising to victory after goals from Antti Hynynen and Henri Myntti in the first period, but with six minutes left Ville Jalasto pulled one back and Janne Saarinen's free-kick swiftly levelled the scores and forced penalties. The shoot-out went against Honka as captain Saarinen shot over and Tampere goalkeeper Mikko Kavén saved from Tero Koskela and Mika Helin in a 3-1 victory.

Honka consolation
Hjelm, whose team lifted the trophy for the first time since their 1998 success, said: "This is what the cup is about. When we were leading 3-1 in extra time, I thought we had it in the bag, but it wasn't. Quite a thriller!" Saarinen added: "Everybody is disappointed, but we have earned a place in UEFA Cup qualifying for the first time. After scoring the second goal we began to believe we still had a chance and sure enough scored a third. In the shoot-out Tampere were better and they deserved the victory." Honka made their European debut this year in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, not losing over 90 minutes but exiting against Aalborg BK on away goals in the second round.