Trailing the sides in fifth and sixth by five points at kick-off, a win was the only option for Ilves, but two league defeats in three after a busy summer of European football was hardly ideal preparation for the hosts.
The pressure was off VPS, even if their recent form was similar, and they took less than nine minutes to take the lead. The ball was given away sloppily by the hosts to Kevin Kouassivi-Benissan, who fed the ball through to Simon Lindholm and he burst into the Ilves area and slotted the ball under the goalkeeper.
Both goalkeepers were busy during the rest of the half, but the Vaasa side preserved their lead until the break. After which, the Lynx were limited mostly to efforts from range that rarely troubled Mamadou Jalloh, whose teammates were wasteful when chances came to wrap up the win.
But the early goal was enough for VPS, who are up to fourth with two away wins in a row and are now four points clear of seventh-placed Lahti, meaning they will be fighting for European football in the championship group. Seven points off Gnistan, Ilves are now resigned to relegation group football next month.
Gnistan have fallen to sixth because AC Oulu have kept pace with VPS and also secured championship group football with a win at Jaro, who remain 11th after a fourth defeat in a row.
The home side could have ended that run if they had made the most of a first half when they were the better side, but a lack of cutting edge handed Oulu the chance to win it in the final 20 minutes. Rasmus Karjalainen curled a free-kick into the box from the right, and when Jaro failed to properly clear, Niklas Jokelainen produced a header from 15 yards that saw the ball loop into the bottom corner.
That goal came as relief for Oulu, ending their two-game losing run at a crucial time, as Jaro stay three points behind SJK.
As things stand, the sixth and final place in the championship group will be between Gnistan, Lahti and TPS. Lahti have played a game more than the other two, while Gnistan hold a three-point advantage.
