Inter Turku Shatters Ilves’ Dreams While HJK Falls at Home and Oulu Rises to the Top of Veikkausliiga

Inter Turku 2-1 Ilves

Inter Turku managed to snatch a dramatic 96th-minute winner on home turf against Ilves, who are now facing back-to-back losses to commence their campaign.

Ilves had a challenging opener at home against KuPS, but their recovery seemed promising midway through the first half when they earned a penalty. Roope Riski confidently smashed it into the top corner, marking his first goal of the season.

However, the home side, having been left frustrated by a scoreless draw against VPS on matchday one, levelled the score in impressive fashion in the 74th minute. Loic Essomba’s cross from the right wing was expertly volleyed home by Alie Conteh, celebrating a memorable inaugural goal with FC Inter.

The turnaround was completed deep into stoppage time, when an inviting corner from Janne-Pekka Laine found 18-year-old Ilari Kangasniemi, a graduate of the Inter Milan academy, who headed home his first goal for Finland’s Inter.

HJK 0-1 AC Oulu

A commanding 3-0 victory over SJK in the opening round led many to believe HJK were back to their best under new manager Joonas Rantanen, especially after a disappointing end to 2025. Expectations were high as the Helsinki side retained the same starting line-up for this match.

But they were stunned midway through the first half when Lamine Ghezali made a surging run down the right flank and delivered a delicate cross onto the chest of Elias Kallio, who expertly controlled it and struck decisively into the bottom corner.

In response, HJK struggled to create meaningful chances, managing only three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes — none of which were classified as significant opportunities — as Oulu held firm, claiming all three points for their second victory of the season after a resounding 5-1 win against Gnistan in the opener.

KuPS 1-0 Gnistan

The reigning champions also boast maximum points from two rounds, having handed Gnistan their second consecutive defeat.

KuPS controlled the game with a staggering 75% possession and unleashed a total of 25 shots, yet they found it difficult to breach a much-improved defensive effort from their visitors compared to the previous week.

Ultimately, their persistence paid off nine minutes from time, when Saku Savolainen headed a deep corner back across the goal to Jaime Moreno, whose half-volley left the Gnistan goalkeeper with no chance, leaving Ilves and Gnistan as the only teams yet to register a point this season.