Lawrence Smith and VPS were unable to break through a tight Tampere United defense in Sunday Veikkausliiga action at Hietalahti Stadium in Vaasa.
The match was the fourth one for VPS in a span of 12 days prompting head coach Petri Vuorinen to start the fatigued Smith on the bench.
The Charleston, South Carolina native ended up being substituted in at halftime for the hosts but was unable to contribute on the scoreboard.
With TamU completely stricken with injuries, the visitors looked for the counterattack to serve as their offense and the strategy paid off for head coach Ari Hjelm's squad when they scored the game's only goal in the 18th minute.
Forward Aleksei Kangaskolkka took possession in his own half and weaved his way through four VPS defenders before firing a shot past VPS goalkeeper Henrik Moisander.
Smith's entry into the match in the second half gave some spark to the VPS offense as the forward nearly tied up the match in both the 56th and 78th minutes only to see each effort miss the target.
A flurry of shots from the home team in the final minutes all proved to be fruitless and VPS were left with their second straight home loss.
The defeat for Smith and his teammates keeps them stuck in 10th place with 17 points in the league standings.
VPS now enjoy a full week of rest before returning to action next weekend when they hit the road to face second place Haka. |
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