Honka knocked HJK out of the Finnish Cup.
Kai Meriluoto scored a goal, but it wasn’t enough to win. Matti Raivio / AOP
Helsinki Football Club’s dream of a triple championship fell on Tuesday, when it fell in the fifth round of the Finnish Cup against FC Honka.
Kai Meriluoto took Klubi into the lead in the 23rd minute from a through drive, but Hongan Lucas Kaufmann managed to level the game at the hour mark.
When the solution was not seen in the actual game time, an exciting dot race was ahead.
That’s Honga’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Roope Paunio stepped onto the stage and stole the show by blocking two shots from HJK players. When the counterparty’s colleague Jesse Öst couldn’t fend off the tough guys, Honka won the race 4–2 and advanced to the next round.
HJK opened the football spring with the league cup championship and went into the Veikkausliiga season as the overwhelming favorite to win. Even in the main series, it has been difficult at times, when it has won five of its ten games and drawn four.
HIFK relegated to Lahti
There was a minor surprise in the cup, when HIFK, who were relegated to Ykkö last fall, beat main league level FC Lahti 1–0 in their away match. The only hit of the game was scored Julius Tauriainen own goal.
In other Tuesday’s matches, VPS beat OTP playing in Kakkose 3–1 and FC Inter beat their own reserve team 8–0.