KuPS open championship group with draw as Lahti end Mariehamn's winning run

[p] [/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/gnistan-Aa28K98n/kups-nLBbqJDS/?mid=K8IXqI0k"]Gnistan 1-1 KuPS[/a][/b][/p][p]KuPS stumbled over the regular season finish line with two defeats that left them a point clear of an [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/inter-turku/QwkNUoNH/"]Inter Turku[/a] side who will now have the opportunity to go top with a win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hjk/nmjJVR7B/"]HJK[/a] on Wednesday 9th as KuPS could only take a point against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/gnistan/Aa28K98n/"]Gnistan[/a].[/p][p]The away side were set for all three after they took the lead late in the first half - [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pennanen-petteri/dGM43Ult/"]Petteri Pennanen[/a] cleverly chested the ball towards [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/parzyszek-piotr/8Kls3hfE/"]Piotr Parzyszek[/a], who turned neatly and picked out the bottom corner.[/b][/p][p]But just three minutes after the break, the home side levelled when [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/latonen-joakim/nBIXhefH/"]Joakim Latonen[/a] spotted the run of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/milovanov-bogdan/SA3fSiu0/"]Bogdan Milovanov[/a] off the right wing, and despite the narrow angle, he managed to slip the ball past the goalkeeper[/b] and draw Gnistan level.[/p][p]Neither side could find a winner, leaving the Kuopio side at risk of losing first place. Gnistan are fourth but just seven points off the top and unbeaten in five.[/p][embed guid="a2af3cf9-13fb-4687-8051-df5d5bccf948" url="https://x.com/Veikkausliiga/status/2097378449409098041" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ac-oulu-Y35Jer59/vps-8GveH5dA/?mid=AZW1kvwS"]VPS 1-0 AC Oulu[/a][/b][/p][p]Also in the championship group, VPS moved within a point of Gnistan thanks to a narrow home win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ac-oulu/Y35Jer59/"]AC Oulu[/a], from whom the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vps/8GveH5dA/"]Vaasa[/a] side take fifth place. The only goal arrived just eight minutes in when [b]the Oulu back line failed to deal with a low cross from the left and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kouassivi-benissan-kevin/rVqxbnZq/"]Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan[/a] was in the right place to roll home[/b] the loose ball.[/p][p]The visitors had chances to restore parity, none better than a penalty for handball on the stroke of half-time, but [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/karjalainen-rasmus/0vdJdbrC/"]Rasmus Karjalainen[/a] had his spot-kick well saved by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jalloh-mamadou/rZn9m4rJ/"]Mamadou Jalloh[/a][/b]. It's the third VPS match in a row with only one goal, two of which have been wins, while Oulu have won one of their last five.[/p][embed guid="e9c9a0a6-4298-4153-a18f-be0e48536689" url="https://x.com/Veikkausliiga/status/2097351791528620367" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/lahti-pn1BFqRM/mariehamn-C8bOhcyj/?mid=lvwCe90f"]Lahti 2-1 Mariehamn[/a][/b][/p][p]In the relegation group, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/mariehamn/C8bOhcyj/"]Mariehamn[/a]'s unforeseen three-game winning run was ended by a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lahti/pn1BFqRM/"]Lahti[/a] side who are now on such a run. [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lindholm-aaron/EafqkbDI/"]Aaron Lindholm[/a] put the home side ahead, and though [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stroud-adam/rk5oehJi/"]Adam Stroud[/a] levelled midway through the second half, Mariehamn were unable to kick on for another win, and [b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ojanen-justus/KUYSejEf/"]Justus Ojanen[/a]'s deflected strike three minutes from time won it for Lahti[/b]. Already safe, Lahti have strengthened their grip on seventh place, while Mariehamn remain one point behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/jaro/faEPan8O/"]Jaro[/a] at the bottom.[/p][embed guid="45ddc018-35f9-4f21-9bb6-0d7a1568e76f" url="https://x.com/Veikkausliiga/status/2097371813462384797" social-type="twitter" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ilves-pYGmWmwa/jaro-faEPan8O/?mid=fytKgmV6"]Ilves 2-0 Jaro[/a][/b][/p][p]That gap remains one point because Jaro fell to their sixth defeat in a row on the road at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ilves/pYGmWmwa/"]Ilves[/a], who have assured their survival with their first win in four, as they went 13 points clear of today's opponents. The Tampere side had to be patient, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hytonen-teemu/S0H1AjT1/"]Teemu Hytonen[/a] broke the deadlock in the 74th minute, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tamminen-elias/SfKjDepd/"]Elias Tamminen[/a] made sure of the points 10 minutes later.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/sjk-hj3ima3I/tps-dM4FE3tT/?mid=SlvSiRaJ"]TPS 0-0 SJK[/a][/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sjk/hj3ima3I/"]SJK[/a] are now the only side Jaro and Mariehamn can catch, though they improved their hopes slightly by taking a point in a goalless draw at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tps/dM4FE3tT/"]TPS[/a]. It was a second draw in a row for SJK, putting them five points clear of Jaro, though no wins in five is a concern. TPS have drawn three in a row and sit safely in eighth place.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/finland/veikkausliiga/"]Follow the Veikkausliiga championship and relegation groups on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]