The JS Hercules first team travelled to the end of Gulf of Bothnia to meet with FC Kemi in Hercules' second league game of the season. FC Kemi fielded a slightly weakened team due to injuries, but still had plenty of experience and quality on the pitch with ex-RoPS striker Huusko starting for the home team. Hercules travelled to the game on the back of a disappointing opener at Kajaani and improvement was necessary to take anything from this game.

The match started with Kemi keeping the ball and creating good opportunities with their attacking movement. It didn't take long for this pressure to tell, and in the ninith minute it was Huusko who nodded in at the back post. Despite this early setback, Hercules heads didn't drop and the team kept their shape looking to score on the counter. However, for the first 45 minutes Kemi kept the ball well and Hercules attackers struggled to create any chances of note, with Joona Veteli passing the ball well in the middle and Hercules struggling to close him down.

The second half kicked off with much the same pattern as the first, but the urgency had gone from FC Kemi's game and Hercules managed to create few half-chances. This gave the team a lift and some better interplay in attacking positions resulted. Tommi Päkkilä was the visitors' main danger when found on the ball, and it was late in the match when Päkkilä managed to turn his defender in the box and played in a cross which Antti Karjaluoto swept in from close range! The clock showed 82 minutes played and with stoppage time added on there was plenty to play for, but despite the added urgency of conceding an equaliser FC Kemi didn't create the kind of quality chances they needed to win. The match ended 1-1 with the visitors happy to take a point back home to Oulu. The performance against the current leaders of Kolmonen was much better than in previous match, but Hercules will undoubtedly look to improve the result in their next match.

Js Hercules' next game is this Sunday, when OPS-j hosts Herkku in Heinäpää. The match starts at 19:00. With sunny forecasts for Sunday afternoon, hopefully there will be entertaining football for those attending. Welcome!

FC Kemi match report in Finnish at http://www.fc-88.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=464:tuomas&catid=40:ryhma-ajankohtaista&Itemid=80