Inter Turku began the business end of the campaign with a trip to Gnistan, who finished a distant sixth in the Regular Season. The Helsinki side proved to be no pushovers, holding out until half-time, only for their resistence to be broken early in the second half.
In the 53rd minute, Dimitri Legbo picked out Jussi Niska to score his fourth league goal of the season, then with just under 20 minutes to play, the visitors sealed the points when a corner wasn't cleared and the ball eventually fell to Legbo who forced the ball over the line for 2-0.
21 points now separate the two sides at either end of the Championship Group, with Gnistan's faint hopes of a European push all but over already.
The win moves FC Inter to 49 points, but they remain just one clear of Ilves after they blew away KuPS away from home in a 4-2 victory.
The visitors raced into a 4-0 lead in just 24 minutes to stun the title holders - Roope Riski got the rout underway in the eighth minute by firing the ball into the top corner, before Oiva Jukkola added a second just a minute later.
Marius Soderback added a third in the 21st minute, before the Tampere side completed another quickfire double, as Riski drove forward and powered in the fourth, with which home goalkeeper Johannes Kreidl should have done better.
Joslyn Luyeye-Lutumba pulled one back midway through the second half, before Piotr Parzyszek added another consolation late on, after Petteri Pennanen had been sent off for KuPS, who remain in fourth place, but now five points off the pace.
The champions failed to slip down the table thanks to a dramatic 3-3 draw in Seinajoki between SJK and HJK, which leaves the hosts in fifth place and two points behind KuPS.
Teemu Pukki opened the scoring from the penalty spot with less than eight minutes gone, before Kasper Paananen equalised with 15 minutes played. Pukki restored the HJK advantage midway through the half, only for SJK to respond again several minutes later through Rasmus Karjalainen.
A second penalty for the visitors, this time converted by Santeri Hostikka, with six minutes to play looked to have finally wrapped up the win, but in the 98th minute, SJK threw everyone up for a Murilo corner, which was headed home by Ayo Obileye to send the home fans wild.
In the Relegation Group, VPS have already reached the safety net after they beat KTP 2-1 at home to move 11 points clear of the bottom two with five rounds of fixtures to play, but with those below them to play each other, it is impossible for them to fall so far.
The Vaasa side got the job done early, as goals from Prosper Ahiabu and Olli Jakonen put them two goals up within 35 minutes. Assane Seck set up Aleksi Tarvonen to pull one back for the visitors just past the hour mark, but it wasn't enough to prevent a sixth defeat in a row for KTP, who remain bottom.
Not only do KTP stay rooted to the table's foot, but they are now seven points behind 10th place AC Oulu, who secured what could be a precious 2-1 away win over Jaro.
There were early goals in this one, too, as Joel Lehtonen put Oulu ahead in just the third minute, before Filip Valencic struck back with less than six minutes on the clock after some poor Oulu defending.
But the hosts had no such reply after Julius Paananen restored the visitors' lead 10 minutes into the second half, arrowing the ball low into the bottom corner to give The Navy Blues their second win in a row, taking them four points clear of the bottom two, while Jaro stay eighth.
Oulu's advantage would have been five points had 10-man Haka not come from behind to pick up a point in a 1-1 draw away at Mariehamn.
Korede Adedoyin was on hand to nod in Daniel Enqvist's knockback in the 12th minute, before things seemed to get better for the home side when Simon Lindholm was dismissed with 14 minutes to play.
However, the sending off seemed to galvanise Haka, who equalised just three minutes later through Abraham Okyere to keep the Valkeakoski side's survival big intact despite no wins since early July. Mariehamn remain ninth, just a point ahead of Oulu.
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