IK Brage 1-1 Jönköpings Södra July 4th 2010

It was off to Borlänge next and for the second time on the holiday to see Jönköpings Södra. This was another Superettan match and both sides going into this game were neck and neck in mid-table. However with the league being so tight a win for either would repel them up as much as four places.

I arrived up in Borlänge at around 16:00 and found my hotel with ease as the town was not as big as the other areas I had seen previously. I made my way to match at around 17:00 where I meet IK Brage fans outside the Domnarsvallen stadium.

I had met up with a fan from Jönköping who was with his friend. They had not seen any other Jönköping fans. I was dressed in my Jönköping shirt and scarf to support J-Södra as Robert Walker was playing for them. We discussed what happened in their previous away outing, which was a 3-0 loss in Sundsvall and hope that the team avoid defeat.

I met up with Robert Walker before kick-off and he seemed delighted to see me again. Speaking to him I got the feeling that he had confidence of at leats getting a point which would arrest the run of defeats they were on going into this game.
Robert made his way for the dressing rooms and I made my way to the away section of the stadium.

We must have been the only Jönköping fans in the ground and we were not far from the vocal IK Brage support either.

The game kicked off at 19:00 and for the early part it was the hosts who were on top. Brage played some nice football but were dealt a blow when Mikeal Eklund was taken off with an injury. That seemed to tip the balance of play into Jönköping's favour. Mid-way through the first half there was a goal. The goal put Jönköping in front to the delight of the three of us in the away section. However we did hear a few more cheers from the main stand so there might have been around five or six away fans in total. The goal was created from a nice exchange of one-two passing that was confidently finished by 18-year old striker Branimir Hrgota. 

Jönköping went into the break 1-0 up and delighted with their lead obviously. However IK Brage came out in the second half and attacked in search of an equiliser. The goal was coming and it duly arrived shortly after the break. A cross from the right wing was met with a Johan Persson header. The game had chances after that but none that really forced any saves from either of the goalkeepers. In the end the reuslt was proberly justice, but not what either wanted. The draw did end Jönköping's run of defeats while IK Brage will look at two points dropped given they were at home.

Afterwards I made my way back to the hotel and made my plans to return home to my base in Örebro.

Vålerenga 2-2 Strømsgodset July 3rd 2011

Oslo was the next destination for match two of the holiday. The Eliteserien game featured Oslo's only club, Valerenga against nearby rivals Stromsgodset. Valerenga came into the struggling having also lost at home just three days earlier. I had arrived in Oslo the previous day and found my hotel. The morning of the game I went for a tour around Oslo's tourist spots taking in the nobel peace centre and theatre. As soon as that was over it was on to football and I made my way up to the Ulleval stadion early to get a tour of the venue.

The tour was amazing with everything from past international matches to archives on newspaper articles the football musuem was simple awesome. The football shop within the Ulleval stadion complex was spectacular also to say the least. I availed of the opportunity to purchase Valerenga and Rosenborg shirts while also managing to get AIK and Fenerbahce. The selection was unreal with all top flight Norweigen sides to choose from, the Norway national side, and clubs sides that ranged from Shakhtar Donetsk to the Orlando Pirates.

The game kicked off at 18:00 which was becoming the usual kick off time. Both sides attacked with some noteable players standing out. For the hosts I was impressed with the central midfielder Hermeet Singh. His passing was unlocking the opposition while winger Fellah was cutting them apart with his pace and trickery. The visitors worked well with their winger Alfred Sankoh impressing.
The impressive stadium was only about half-full with the majority being Valerenga fans and the 500-800 Stromsgodset supporters. Valerenga started the better in the early stages with chances being created by Hermeet Singh. Hermeet Singh was inevitably involved in the creation of the games opening goal when he played through Fengor Ogude who slotted past the on rushing Adam Larsen right in front of the visiting fans.

Stromsgodset did put up a good fight to their hosts. They fashioned out some chances with Sankoh especially. His mazy runs were often ended with huge checks but he got his just reward when on the stroke of half time he headed Stromsgodset level. An inch-perfect cross that met Sankoh gave Lars Hirschfeld absolutely no chance.

The 2nd half saw Sankoh go off and replaced by another player who impressed during the 2nd half, Jo Berget. Berget, a centre forward kept the Valerenga defense on their toes for much of the 2nd half. Chances went by almost every minute. However the feeling of another goal grew when both sides had shots cleared off the line. Yousef Koné, formally of Rosenborg and CFR Cluj was bought on and he was to make a big impact. His presence made Stromsgodset weak and with just two minutes to go he pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area to stab home to give Valerenga a 2-1 lead. Mohammed Keita was introduced for the visitors immedietely after the goal was scored. Stromsgodset piled forward in search of a goal.
That goal arrived in style in the final minute of stoppage time. A cross from the left hand side was not cleared proberly by Valerenga and the ball fell kindly to Mohammed Keita, unmarked and he lashed a half-volley into the top corner past Hirschfeld to make it 2-2. The goal was scored in front of the visiting fans, who went bonkers over what they had just witnessed.

Afterward I made my way back to the hotel but did end up going on a stroll around the city which was nice taking in the atmosphere that was still hoping despite their team dropping points. The quality on show in the game though was of a higher standard than the Superettan, which was to be expected but the individual talents on show were also interesting. This game featured two sides with outside chances of making a European spot so it begged the question would the likes of table topping Tromso or Molde have more quality and what of Rosenborg?

Jönköping Södra 0-2 Hammarby June 22nd 2011

This was the first match of my holiday in Scandinavia. I decided to make this game my first match because having arrived in Sweden on the previous Sunday I had missed the bulk of the round of games taking place that weekend. I took a peek through the fixtures and saw that Hammarby were visiting Jonkoping. Jonkoping also had a friend of mine on their book, Robert Walker is an Irish-Swedish footballer currently plying his trade in Jonkoping after spells with Orebro and Atvidaberg.

This game was also the third time I was going to see Hammarby. On the two previous occasions, Hammarby remained unbeaten. The first game was when Hammarby visited Cork for an InterToto Cup game in Turners Cross back in 2007 and on that ocassion it finished 0-0. The 2nd occasion was in 2008, in my first ever match in Sweden when they came away from Orebro with a 1-1 draw.

This game was an 18:00 kick-off and I arrived early into town from a bus line that took me from Orebro to Jonkoping via Mariestad. Half an hour it took me to find my hotel, The Grand Hotel and as soon as I checked in I made my way to the Stadsparkvallen. The stadium was overlooking the city and the base of the great lake Vattern. Atmosphere was building as more and more fans turned up. I purchased my tickets and entered the ground. I was seated quiet close to the visiting Bajen fans.

The game started with a good tempo with some slick passing. This high tempo though would lead to mistakes and the first mistake in the Jonkoping Sodra backline exposed J-Sodra's IVo Vasgez, who was left helpless trying to stop Christer Gustafsson's low shot into the bottom corner. That gave Hammarby an early lead which they ooked confident in holding onto. The first half would have its fair share of chances with Hammarby coming close on a couple of occasions. J-Sodra did have some good chances with Robert Walker and Tommy Thelin both going close. Walker also had an altercation with the Hammarby backline in going for a 50-50 which referee Matias Nyman.

The 2nd half had its fair share of excitment with some neat football being played by J-Sodra. Hammarby though did have the quality to fashion out chances almost at will. The impressive Sinan Ayranci was always a treat to the backline of J-Sodra. Robert Walker started as a right winger but drifted into attack to help lone-striker Branimir Hrgota but he went over awkwardly on his ankle just after the hour-mark and was forced off. With his departure J-Sodra's Hrgota became more isolated up front which didnt help and the game swung back into Hammarby's favour. Sinan Ayranci was hauled down with six minutes to play in the box and Nyman awarded a spot kick right in front of the visting vocal support. Fadi Malke stepped up and converted past Vasgez to the delight of the Hammarby faithful. The game was up for J-Sodra and the three points were heading back to Southern Stockholm.

After the game I caught up with Robert Walker for a chat as usual. For someone born and bred in Sweden his accent would remind you so much of a person from the midlands back in Ireland. Nonetheless he was disappointed in the result which was understandable.

After about ten to fifteen minutes chat I departed back to the hotel.

Introduction

This is my blog where I will store all my views on the matches that I have seen in the flesh. I will also post some reports of how the games panned out as well as many photos and some videos of these matches.