The 1971 season was the first one when Kuusysi did better than Reipas. During this season, Kuusysi was not able to field Hannu Hämäläinen ja Urho Partanen, because Reipas demanded a quarantine fee of 20 000 for them, which Kuusysi could not afford to pay. This was first season, when Kuusysi took the lead in the series. However, any hopes of a gold were buried in September, when the club drew with Kokkolan Palloveikot. At the end of the season Kuusysi failed to focus on its matches properly, when they had lost sight of their goal, and in the end they finished sixth.