Helsinki 4 - 0 Hartlepool
With a two goal lead, there was still jeopardy in this tie. That joepardy got a little greater when Shynkarenko was injured on 10 minutes and left the game - thankfully he doesn't look to be out for a long period of time. Yuya Maeta, returning from loan at Rix was thankful to get some gametime under his belt as he made an early entrance.

The home fans didn't have to wait long for some comfort though with in form defender Bjelica revelling in his starting role and scoring on 16 minutes after being found by Shephard. Bjelica then turned creater for Jalen Hurts to round the keeper and slot into the net. On 31 minutes HarrisJones got in on the act and made it 3 - 0 and 8 - 3 on aggregate. Game over.

The second half was played out without too much incident. Both teams sent on reinforcements to keep the teams fresh and it was one of those substitutes Taylor who got the 4th and final goal after again being found by Shephard. Taylor thought he had a second a minute later but it was ruled out for offside.

Aside from the Shynkarenko injury, job done and safely through to the next round.

Helsinki (5) vs Hartlepool (3)
Second leg sees Helsinki bringing a two goal cushon into the home leg. Hartlepool have it all to do with Olaff seemingly dying from exhaustion but still playing every minute and the defence looking jaded too. Denke is suspended in midfield for the visitors. Helsinki have a full squad to choose from but Taylor will be left out the squad to get a much needed rest.

The lead isn't sufficient to be playing a second string so expect a strong XI from Helsinki as they won't want to risk slipping up against Hartlepool.

Helsinki 2 - 1 Dusseldorf
Helsinki countered their opponents from the off but a stubborn rear guard from the Dragons meant they made it to half time at 0 - 0. Was an unlikely point on the cards for the visitors? Thankfully the players found their shooting boots after half time. But the first goal came from an unlikely source, defensive midfielder McClare! Taylor got to a cross, headed it back across to McClare who arrived late to nod the ball into the net. 1 - 0 ! Shortly after that Shynkarenko got onto a loose ball, ran at the Dusseldorf defence and rifled the ball into the net, 2 - 0, game over? Perhaps not, as the Dragons found a goal back. Squeaky bum time for the final 20 mins but Helsinki limited Dragons to very little and had more chances themselves. 2 - 1 win and three points in the bag as they look to start a run and put pressure on the top three!

Hartlepool 3 - 5 Helsinki
Wow, what a breathless first leg as these two teams went at it from the off. Karrar showed his class to get Helsinki ahead early on but Gary Shaw soon hit back to level matters. Prochazka then got Helsinki back ahead but that lead lasted only 5 minutes as Shaw made it 2 - 2. At half time both sets of teams were probably quite happy. Hartlepool to still be in the game, Helsinki to not be behind.

Into the second half and Helsinki went ahead for the third time, again through the impressive Karrar. After a host of substitutions Helsinki got their 4th goal to lead 4 - 2 but within 60 seconds Shephard gave away penalty (just two mins after coming on) and Olaff reduced the arrears to 1 goal. In a frentic closing period both teams had chances and it was Karrar who made the most grabbing his hat trick and sealing an entertaining 5 - 3 win and a healthy lead to take into the home leg next week.

Helsinki
C_HarrisJones 19 aus  1 12 15 17 18   1 490 213 734 +600tk 6M
A_Asanovic 17 cro 1 10 16 13 21 1 409 85 203 +900tk 9M
M_Prochazka 18 cze 1 18 16 12 23 1 309 147 144 +500sh 5M
20M

Hellhound howler: Round up

It's been a long old while since we checked in with the Hellhound squad. This edition looks at the team's performance as they hit the mid point of the league season.

Player performancesGoalie: Hikkara - its been a strong showing so far for the club's number 1. He's conceded 25 in 177 shots on goal, that's a save rate of 86%, saving around 7 of 8 shots on goal - potentially meaning opponents need around 15 shots to score a goal.

Jalen Hurts - 27 tackles, comfortably the most in the team. He's has combined that with 6 goals and 2 assists, demonstrating his all round capabilities and why so much was outlayed to bring him in in the close season.

Shynkarenko - talisman in midfield, now up to 55 passes with 5 assists, and 6 goals to boot.

Lyle Warwick - less was expected of young Warwick following his move but he's matched Shynkarenko for goals and assists so far.

Raffi Karrar - 9 goals from 78 shots, a decent return, but needs to improve on almost 9 shots per goal, it's holding the team back.

League form - reviewRating: 7/10
It could have been so much better, but two back to back defeats against title rivals leaves Helsinki 6 points adrift and starting to hope for mircales.

Xbox cup - reviewRating: 9/10
Safely through to the last 16 following 5 consecutive victories after a worrying opening defeat. Reasonable draw in last 16 makes the team hopeful of making the quarter finals. From there anything can happen.

EA KO cup - reviewRating: 6/10
Safely navigated the first round against Tranmere but now face a real step up away to Arctic. Tough draw, tough ask. They'll need a top performance to make it through.

So a bit of a mixed bag, a number of players playing well, but just feels like the team is missing the 2 or 3% needed to be genuine contenders.

Helsinki 1 – 2 Kyushu
Half point in the league season and a hammer blow for Helsinki. Back to back league defeats against title rivals leaves them with a mountain to climb in the second half of the season. In truth, it was an even, but entertaining game. Again, more than 30 shots, but an inability to turn those shots into goals with the opposition keeper making 17 saves. The rescheduling of the cup game caused some chaos as the club decided to rest jaded stars Karrar and Shynkarenko. In hindsight, probably not the right decision. But, even with them fresh on the bench and on the field for the last half hour is was youngster Kokko who got the winner and broke Hellhounds’ fans hearts. Helsinki drop to 5th, 6 points off Sarnians and 3 points off Kyushu. The top 5 all have a chance, but Sarnians look to be imperiously strong.