Finland, with 17 Olympic champions from Beijing, dominated the game from the start and, through captain Valtteri Filppula, also led quickly after 105 seconds. With a lot of defensive discipline and fighting spirit as well as a strong goalkeeper David Kickert, Roger Bader’s team then braced themselves against the attacks of the Finns, who were cheered on by the 11,573 spectators.
Mostly with success. In the middle third, star striker Mikael Granlund (25th) increased. Shortly before the second break, Austria had a great chance of scoring the goal through Paul Huber and Ali Wukovits before Toni Rajala (48th) fixed the final score.
It was the Austrians’ heaviest defeat in the six games in Tampere so far, but for the first time since Prague 2004 they remained without a debacle against the top nations.
After such strong performances in Tampere so far, Austria’s team can go into the duel with Great Britain with self-confidence. If the Brits don’t win against Latvia on Sunday, one point on Monday will be enough to avoid relegation.