Champions KuPS make strong start and HJK cruise to victory on Veikkausliiga return
Ilves 1-3 KuPS
Ilves emerged as a key contender for the championship prior to KuPS securing the title last fall, and they aimed to challenge the Kuopio team once more at their home opener. Yet, their aspirations started to wane as soon as the 12th minute, with Petteri Pennanen giving the away team the lead.
Importantly, the title holders extended their advantage right before halftime in impressive fashion - Otto Ruoppi passed the ball ahead to Jaime Moreno near the penalty area edge, where he prepared it, spun around and smashed a volley straight into the bottom corner with genuine flair.
During the off-season, KuPS signed Valentin Gasc from SJK, and this move paid dividends shortly before the 60th minute, as the Argentine assisted Bob Armah to score the third goal and seal the outcome definitively.
Teemu Hytonen prevented KuPS from achieving a shutout on the first day with a late consolation strike in the 92nd minute, but this marks a major setback for the Tampere outfit who seek to disrupt the KuPS-HJK dominance in the league.
HJK 3-0 SJK
SJK ended the previous campaign one position higher than HJK, but that meant little in their Helsinki encounter for the hosts debut league match under Joonas Rantanen.
The fresh managers tenure truly ignited in the closing 10 minutes before the interval, as David Ezeh connected with a Lucas Lingman corner using his head at the front post and directed it inside, netting the very first goal of the entire season.
Ezeh switched to assisting role early in the second half, delivering a low cross from the right that the experienced Teemu Pukki neatly redirected into the net.
With nine minutes remaining, Toivo Mero finished the tally with his debut league strike, capping HJK's initial Veikkausliiga win since the prior years regular campaign.
Jaro 0-1 Lahti
The team that swiftly returned to the elite division claimed a win on debut day, netting late in the first half during their away fixture against Jaro and then defending for a blank sheet. The decisive goal arrived when Romain Sans launched a long pass that Momodou Sarr collected, and the loanee from Kolding - previously at Inter Turku - chipped it over the exposed keeper Senne Vits.
Mariehamn 1-1 TPS
The alternative promoted team, TPS, kicked off without defeat away from home, trailing late before halftime due to Adam Larsson's effort for Mariehamn. However, the Aland hosts could not maintain their edge, and with 13 minutes left, the Turku outfit equalised as Pau Juvanteny's 25-yard volley sailed into the upper corner.
Gnistan 1-5 AC Oulu
Gnistan featured in the promotion playoff spots last year, whereas Oulu barely avoided the drop in the closing stages, but this afternoons game suggested otherwise with the away side triumphing by a four-goal margin.
Sergei Eremenko's early 10th-minute strike was quickly matched by Tuomas Kaukua, who then assisted Julius Korkko to regain the lead for Oulu with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Post-interval, Rasmus Karjalainen added a pair of goals, prior to Korkko netting his second in the 81st minute.
Inter Turku 0-0 VPS
The campaign opened somewhat flatly, with Inter Turku managing only a scoreless stalemate against VPS in the early match. The home side, coming off their Liiga Cup success ahead of the international pause, generated all five on-target attempts but found the Vaasa guests unyielding.