Veikkausliiga update

Last month I did a blog post about the most competitive title race in Europe which turned out to be Finland's Veikkausliiga. At the time the top seven in the league were extremely close to each other with just seven points separating seventh place and top spot.

In the month since the contenders have been whittled down from seven to four. The race has ended for KuPS, who have lost every single game they have played in the past month and RoPS whose hopes ended by picking up just four points in that time. VPS are currently fifth and astoundingly still could, in theory at least, win the league. They sit five points off leaders IFK Mariehamn with two games to play. However realistically their hopes depend on an odd combinations of results. That leaves the four contenders being leaders IFK Mariehamn, traditional powerhouse HJK Helsinki, defending champions SJK and outsiders Ilves.

The league enters it's final two rounds of games after Friday's results. A day that saw none of the final four contenders win their games. Ilves were held to a 1-1 draw at home by lowly HIFK, SJK rescued a late point against mid-table Lahti while there was a top two clash with HJK Helsinki and IFK Mariehamn playing out a 1-1 draw at Sonera Stadium.

Those results mean IFK Mariehamn remain just about on course for a first ever league title. The side from Åland which lies just south of the gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden are a solitary point ahead of HJK Helsinki. 
In third is defending champions SJK who are a point behind HJK. SJK also have a resurgent streak on their side and are actually the form team in Finland right now. In fourth a further point behind is Ilves. They are also reaching peak form at just the right time. 

The penultimate round of fixtures take place on Monday. IFK Mariehamn are away to Lahti, SJK host already relegated PK-35 Vantaa while Ilves host HJK in a massive clash between two contenders. Defeat for Ilves ends their hopes but a victory puts them above HJK and puts their title hopes in their own hands. 

This leads me onto the best part of this epic title race. The final day is next Sunday on October 23rd. In that round of games the fixture computer has given fans a pair of massive fixtures. All four contenders, should Ilves remain in the running until then, face another contender. HJK Helsinki host SJK while IFK Mariehamn are at home to Ilves. So it's pretty much set up for an almighty conclusion to what has been an utterly insane season. 

The run-in