Monday 21st May 2012 ko 19.20

Superettan

LANDSKRONA B.O.I.S 4 (Raun 9 Karlsson 28 F Olsson 65 85)

HAMMARBY F.F. 1 (Dahl 11)

Att 3,450

Entry 160 sek

Programme FREE

Badge 40 sek

After an overnight stay in Linköping, we drove for 4 hours and 360 km south to Sweden’s south coast to Landskrona. The Danish coast is clearly visible from the seafront here. The town is overshadowed somewhat by nearby Malmö, particularly in the shipyard business and bypassed by the Øresund bridge since 2000, which ended sea passenger traffic to Copenhagen from here. Some help has come with the building of the new railway station, and all trains on the high-speed Gothenburg to Copenhagen service now stop at Landskrona. I have to say I rather liked the town with its wide array of cafes and restaurants and the remains of defences used at various times to keep Danes and Swedes out!

Landskrona idrottsplats stretches the multisport (idrotts) to the limit, there’s no running track, and other than other pitches one with a lovely old terrace, the only other sports in evidence are courtesy of the Ice Hall at one corner. There’s only one covered enclosure, the main stand with its vertical and horizontal curves, and one end features nothing more than a hospitality area. It’s certainly differently different, and there was plenty more of interest too.

Apart from the visitors being Stockholm based Hammarby, and my travelling partner Kim Hedwall being an AIK-Solna fan, the visitors were immmediately dismissed as “The Clinic” a comment on the area’s former use as a leper colony! Add to that the home manager being Celtic legend Henrik Larsson, and it was clear that this was to be no ordinary second tier game.

At so it came to pass as Landskrona took the lead in fortuitous circumstances. Thomas Raun’s 20 yard shot was decent enough but it took a wicked deflection off a Hammarby defender to wrong foot Johannes Hoff in goal completely and nestle in the bottom right corner.

The response was almost immediate, and spectacular, as Andreas Dahl on the right, picked his spot from 25 yards out and his thunderbolt will be a goal I’ll remember for a long time.

It proved to be a flash in the pan as Landskrona quickly regained control of the midfield. Landskrona regained the lead on the 28th minute when Fredrik Olsson’s scuffed shot fell kindly to Fredrik Karlsson at the back post to tap in.

Half time couldn’t come quickly enough for Hammarby but they gained no new ideas during the interval, and Fredrik Olsson started the second half by having his close range shot blocked by Hoff, only for the same thing to happen to his namesake, Linus a minute later. Hammarby’s passing was ponderous, and a catastrophic backpass from Sinan Ayranci allowed Fredrik Olsson to dance round Hoff to tap home.

Hammarby did eventually manage to exert some pressure, and had a goal disallowed, through star player Christophe Lallet, for a marginal offside decision. The hosts simply counter-attacked and got their fourth, Fredrik Olsson’s shot having just enough power in it to trickle over the line, despite Hoff’s partial block.

A highly entertaining game, with one quirk. The programme here is in fact the sports section of the local newspaper! It’s clearly a view amongst some in Swedish football that all you really need is a teamsheet, and that’s a view I don’t necessarily disagree with.