HJK looked to be steadily building thanks to away draws at current top two Inter Turku and KuPS before a win at Lahti, but a surprise loss at TPS last time out meant they came into this with one win in four, two of which were against newly-promoted sides.
But they looked to be clicking into gear again when they took the lead in the sixth minute - a deep cross from the left was headed back by Alex Ring and caught on the half-volley by Lassi Lappalainen, who scored his first goal since returning to HJK from Major League Soccer thanks to a big deflection.
The home side struggled to create much in response for the rest of the half, but their fortunes changed soon after the hour mark.
Luka Smyth received the ball from Jayden Turfkruier, turned and began to shrug off challenge after challenge before hitting the ball low from 25 yards, and what the shot lacked in power, it more than made up for in accuracy, evading the dive of Matej Markovic and nestling in the bottom corner.
In the final 15 minutes, TPS grabbed the winner against the record champions after they were awarded a penalty, and Simon Lindholm did the job from 12 yards to take all three points.
It's now five league games unbeaten for VPS since their only defeat of the campaign so far - a match that saw them reduced to nine men. HJK's record now reads three wins, three draws and three losses so far this season.
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