Mikkelin Jukurit — Ässät, Liiga

Ässät came away with a 1-0 victory over Mikkeli Jukurit in the Liiga on Wednesday night. The hosts had been riding a wave of momentum, but the visitors managed to close out the result despite the setback they suffered earlier in the week.

By then, Jukurit sat second in the table with 11 games under their belt — eight wins, three defeats, no draws. Ässät occupied fifth place after ten matches, six victories and four losses on their ledger. The gap between them in the standings remained unchanged.

Neither side offered much in the way of scoring. Jukurit had come into the fixture on the back of a 2-1 win over Kalpa, while Ässät were still reeling from a 0-3 hammering by Lukko just a day before. Things came to a head in a match that refused to open up.

The result means Jukurit stay on course to challenge for the top spots, though their unbeaten run in terms of not losing has been punctured. Ässät, meanwhile, can raise the tempo when they need to — as this result showed — even if consistency remains a work in progress.

Both teams remain without a draw in the league so far, which is a rarity these days. The scoreline tells you everything: one goal separated them, and Ässät had the sharper edge when it mattered.