Veikkausliiga Highlights: Ilves Maintain Unbeaten Run with Dominant Victory Over KTP

Ilves travelled to Kotka and produced a dominant performance, thrashing KTP 5-0 to secure their third consecutive victory in the 2025 Veikkausliiga. Meanwhile, SJK also maintained their perfect start by overcoming Mariehamn away from home.

Having achieved two narrow wins prior, it initially appeared as though Ilves would face another tense fixture as newly-promoted KTP spurned some decent early opportunities.

However, the breakthrough came in the 27th minute when Roope Riski headed home Oiva Jukkola’s perfectly placed cross, allowing the Tampere side to seize control. Riski nearly added a second with a curling effort just before half-time.

Ten minutes after the break, the floodgates opened as Ilves scored three times within nine minutes.

First, Marius Soderback volleyed in from a tight angle after his attempted cross was deflected back to him. Just two minutes later, Lauri Ala-Myllymaki drew the goalkeeper out and squared the ball for Riski, who tapped in his second goal of the match.

Ala-Myllymaki then turned from provider to scorer, pouncing on the rebound after Maksim Stjopin’s shot was parried by the keeper.

The icing on the cake came in the 72nd minute, when Teemu Hytonen found himself played through by Stjopin and expertly finished to seal the 5-0 victory.

This emphatic win keeps Ilves at the top of the table on goal difference, while KTP, despite creating four significant chances of their own, remain with just one point.

SJK are closely following Ilves, achieving their third one-goal victory in as many matches with a 2-1 win over Mariehamn.

The visitors suffered their first defensive lapse of the season when Emmanuel Okereke headed in a deep cross just before half-time.

However, Stevie Grieve’s squad rebounded impressively in the second half, with Kasper Paananen netting twice. His first came just 11 minutes after the restart with a powerful strike from the edge of the box, followed by a low finish from close range with time running out.

Paananen has now scored three of SJK’s four goals this season, placing him joint-top of the Veikkausliiga scoring chart.

Inter Turku trails by two points but has also shown impressive form, recording their second consecutive win after a draw against champions KuPS in the season opener.

This time, they handed VPS their first defeat of the campaign with a 2-0 win in Vaasa, scoring once in each half.

Jussi Niska struck a sweet effort from 20 yards out to find the bottom corner in the 30th minute, and Mamodou Sarr doubled the lead 12 minutes after the break with a well-timed run and first-time shot.

KuPS have also secured back-to-back victories since their draw in Turku, the latest being a 1-0 win at home against newcomers Jaro.

A penalty awarded to Jaro late in the first half seemed to hint at an upset, but the resurgent Kerfala Cissoko was unable to convert. Jaro was then denied a share of the spoils just six minutes from time as Rasmus Tikkanen’s effort from outside the box found the bottom corner.

These consecutive losses leave Jaro in mid-table, still buoyed by their opening round win.

AC Oulu’s struggles continue, remaining without a point after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Haka, who notched their second win of the season.

Looking poised for their first win when Danny Barrow scored to give them a half-time lead, Oulu ultimately fell victim to goals from Danila Bulgakov and Lucas Cini, turning the tide in Haka’s favour as they sit fifth in the early league standings.

The third round of fixtures wraps up on Tuesday evening with HJK taking on Gnistan in Helsinki, as both teams are still searching for their first points.