TamU - RoPS preview 17.6.2009 Veikkausliiga

1x2 % 67.0% - 21.0% - 12.0% (1.49 - 4.76 - 8.33)

End of goal drought for TamU?


Tampere United was one the favourites for the title but their season has been quite rocky so far and they find themselves at the 11th spot. The performances have not been bad, but they have been awfully inefficient in front of the goal, and also it is honest to say that they have been unlucky. There have been storms in the background too with the management of the team, but everything is calming down now and they can concentrate on the game again. The important thing.

TamU head coach Ari Hjelm warns about the visiting RoPS from the very north, ” it is very international team, full of artists, good individual players and skill. On a good day they can beat anyone, like their last home game shows when they won HJK 1-0.”

RoPS is only 12th in the league and they have already sacked coach Bondarenko and replaced him with a Finnish-Sambian duo of Lumijärvi and a Lapland legend Saileti. It might have helped, as the biggest title-contenders HJK had to settle to a 1-0 away loss at Rovaniemi last time around. ”There is a lot to do, we need to minimize the amount of mistakes made. Partly they have happened because there have lots of injuries and suspensions, but we have to change the poor away record sooner or later and can not respect TamU too much.” Says Jorma Turpeenniemi from the Lappish side.

The only important missing now is defender Janne Turpeenniemi as very important goal-scorer Nchimunya Mweetwa - Drogba as they call him at Rovaniemi - is slowly regaining full match-fitness.


TamU form from the right: 0-0-3-3-0-0

RoPS form from the right: 1-1-0-0-3-0

Head-to-head 10-2-3, last game March 2009 League Cup TamU – RoPS 2-0


TamU: 12 Juha Soukiala (gk) 7/ - Rafinha - 3 Mathias Lindström 9/0 – 7 Jussi Kujala 9/1 13 Sakari Saarinen 9/0 - 17 Vili Savolainen 6/0 – 20 Juska Savolainen 9/1 - 5 Antti Ojanperä 7/0 - 22 Henri Scheweleff 8/1 – 8 Antti Pohja 7/1 – 30 Jari Niemi 9/0

bench: 9 Juha Pirinen 3/0, 11 Aleksei Kangaskolkka 8/0, 16 Ilari Ruuth 1/0, 21 Jonne Hjelm 9/0

out : 1 Mikko Kavén (gk) 2/0, 2 Toni Järvinen 10 0/0, Petrescu, 23 Chris James (Confederations Cup, NZ) 0/0, 25 Aapo Lappalainen 2/0

Coach : Ari Hjelm

RoPS: 1 Jung-Huyk Kwom 8/0 – Stephen Kunda 8/0 – 5 White Simwanza 7/0 - Joonas Ikäläinen 8/0 - 3 Marko Koivuranta 4/0 - 11 Chileshe Chibwe 8/1 - 10 Chanda Mwaba 8/0 - Okodugha, 18 Christopher Musonda 8/1 - 6 Jeferson Pires 5/1 – 17 Ville Syväjärvi 7/0

bench: 2 Godfrey Chibanga 6/0, 8 Nchimunya Mweetwa 1/0, 9 Zeddy Saileti 7/1, 12 Kari-Pekka Syväjärvi, 13 Jukka Yrjänheikki 1/0, 15 Mika- Matti Maisonvaara 6/0, 20 Juha-Pekka Inkeröinen 3/0

out: 7 Jarno Tenkula 0/0, 22 Juuso Majava 0/0, 19 Janne Turpeenniemi 6/0

Coaches: Zeddy Saileti & Mika Lumijärvi



Some numbers for betting reasons:

TamU -1.50 2.42
TamU -1.25 2.06
TamU -1.0 1.80
TamU -0.75 1.63
TamU -0.50 1.49


Value lies on RoPS at the moment but it sounds too risky. My decision is to take a look at live betting. If RoPS can keep a clean sheet for 15 minutes TamU might become worth a bet, if the performance so allows that is. After all, bookies only take into account the time factor in non-televised games.