Orgryte IS - Gamla Ullevi

Orgryte IS

Gamla Ullevi

Ullevigatan 5

411 39 Göteborg

Sweden

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1316

Sunday 2nd June 2024

Orgtyte IS 3-0 Gefle IF

Superettan

ORGRYTE IS - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was founded in December 1887 by Willhem Friberg and participated in the first official football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892; football had been brought to the club by lacemakers from the Newmilns club in Ayrshire in 1891. A memorial on Heden in central Gothenburg exists to commemorate the event. The game saw them beat Lykkan's Soldiers 1-0 in the Gymnastics and Sports Festival at Heden. They dominated the early years of Swedish football, and in 1926 they beat English side Aston Villa 5-2 in a friendly game. They were three times winners of the Swedish League but the late 1930s the fortunes began to decline for the team. They finished 10th out of 12 teams in both 1938 and 1939, and avoided relegation. In 1940 Örgyte IS relegated from allsvenskan to Division II Västra. During the 1940s and 1950s, the team played in Division 2 but would enjoy greater success in the 1950s.  After having financial issues Örgryte Fotboll AB went into bankruptcy in February 2011. The upshot of the bankruptcy was that Örgryte was relegated to the third Swedish division, Division 1 Södra. They've since recovered to climb back to the second tier.

Örgryte IS have won 12 Swedish championship titles and in 2000, the Swedish Cup. Their home arena is Gamla Ullevi. According to a recent survey, Örgryte IS is the third most popular team in Gothenburg, with 11% of the football fans supporting them. The other local teams with a notable following are IFK Göteborg, GAIS and BK Häcken. Their biggest rivalry is with IFK Göteborg. The derbies between the two teams have attracted some of the highest attendance in Swedish football. The fixture attracted 52,194 spectators in 1959, an all-time Allsvenskan record. The other big rivalry is with GAIS.

MY VISIT

With limited football in Malmo on Sunday, I would need to decamp to another part of Sweden. Originally the plan was to go to Norway on Sunday but this was not practical at least by road or rail. Various options were explored and in the end, I decided to go to Gothenburg.A Flixbus was booked for around £15 and would get me into the area just after midday. A decent hotel, the cheapest of the weekend was booked and all in all, it looked like a good trip. My original game choice was BK Hacken but when I checked a fortnight before, Orgryte IS had a game scheduled. This was around a 20-minute walk from my accommodation and had a potential bonus game nearby.

I awoke around two hours before my 7.15 am alarm on the day of the game. I soon got back to sleep and woke when it went off, in fact I'd have liked a little more sleep. I got ready and got my things together before going down for breakfast. It wasn't as good as Scottish or English breakfast but it was still a nice selection of items. The herring and brownies were the highlights. From there, I went and picked up my bag and headed to the Flixbus stop. It was only a few feet from my hotel and 20 minutes ahead of time, it was there waiting for me. This was a relief as in the past I've missed connections through my own choice (snow in Nottingham, opting to take a later train), because of lockdown and when I finally did board a service from Tallinn to Riga, it was an hour late. We were away on time and there was plenty of space to spread out.

We got to Gothenburg well on time and it had been a great service for the money. It was a 20-minute walk to my hotel which was actually a boat. I could only leave my bag for now and not check in. Compared to the building site I'd walked through, it was very pleasant. As it was a locked room, I decided to leave my smaller bum bag in there too even though it contained all of my valuables and passport. I had lots of time to kill, so I headed to BrewDog for lunch. It was on the pricier side, but stuff it, I was enjoying myself. I went for a Group Hug cider which was superb. For food, I went for the Spicy Deluxe burger. Plus another local cider. It came to £36.30 once I'd left a tip but I wasn't fussed as it was all nice. The last day of my 2023/24 season deserved to be seen off in style. From there, it was easy enough to walk the 20 minutes to the ground, I was there and in 30 minutes before kickoff.

Orgryte were rock bottom of the table. They'd lost three in a row, the latest a 3-1 defeat at Sandviken.Their sole win had come against next-bottom Varberg BoIS. Visitors Gefle were in 9th and had won three of their last four games. They'd beaten Orebo 3-1 in their last game. Orgryte had decent home support behind them and dominated early on. It was two goals in quick succession that got them on track. Firstly a penalty from Johnathan Azulay on 21 minutes. Then, a little over a minute later, Edi Sylisufaj got in the end of a move to finish from close range. The game petered out in the heat of the afternoon sun, and Gefle were especially disappointing. Orgryte made sure on 72 minutes, a swinging cross from the left was slotted home by Viktor Lundberg from around ten yards out. That was it as far as scoring was concerned but Orgryte could have added to their scoreline.

THE GROUND

GAMLA ULLEVI is a smart and modern stadium. It has a capacity of 18,500 of which 15,000 are seated. It's not the most attractive stadium but it is quite a practical one. The terraced accommodation is low down behind each goal. A reasonable range of drinks is available, including Rekorderlig Pear Cider for 80SEK. Food is a little more basic although outside are various chains including burger outlet Max. Merchandise is quite limited for Orgryte, just a table with a few random items on and no price list.

Ariana FC - Malmo IP

Ariana FC

Malmo IP

Pildammsvägen 10

211 46 Malmö

Sweden

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1315
Saturday 1st June 2024
Ariana - BK Olympic

Ettan Sodra

ARIANA FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club is a fairly modern one, having been established in 2015. They had lofty ambitions, aiming to get to the top level of Swedish football - the Allsvenskan.The initiative for the formation was taken by young people in Malmö, and the club has described itself as an association that will add colour to Swedish football. The club has been called Malmö's first Afghan football club and was founded by players with Afghan roots, including Norlla Amiri, Omid Hushmand and Saber Azizi. The name Ariana is an old name for Afghanistan. They started out in the reserves leagues at first before joining the 9th tier Division 7 Sydvästra Skåne which they won in in 2017. It has been a rapid rise from there as they finished as runners-up behind Liria IF in the 2018 Division 6 Sydvästra A Skåne. They then beat IFK Rössjöholm in a playoff game to win promotion. The next year they won the Division 5 Södra Skåne the following year. In 2020, they had to setttle for a runners-up spot behind Åkarp IF in Division 4 Sydvästra Skåne but won Divison 3 and Division 2 Södra Götaland in successive seasons to reach the third tier Ettan Södra where they finished 8th last season.

They originally shared at Hyllie IP, a pleasant but basic venue. As better facilities were required, they moved on to Limhamn's IP which had a capacity of 2,800. In 2023, they moved to Malmo Stadion, taking the place of IFK Malmo who moved to another venue. Then, they were off again, this time to Malmo IP. It's been the home to several Malmo clubs and has a 3G surface now. Since 2006, FC Rosengard, who play in Sweden's third tier alongside Ariana.

MY VISIT

When planning this trip, this was initially the standout stadium. The design was very nice and although it had a running track around the pitch, I thought it was well worth a visit. I learned in my research that it was used during Euro 92, the last international tournament that I didn't watch. Retrospectively I watched the last-ever Saint and Greavsie show that previewed Euro 92 and it looked a clean and pleasant country. I had some memories of Sweden at my first international tournament of USA 1994, especially their balding but excellent goalkeeper Thomas Ravelli. They finished a credible third place at that tournament. In more recent times, I have met a few Swedish hoppers. One, Kim Hedwall, has organised groundhops in Sweden for a number of years but I have never taken the plunge due to what I thought was high accommodation prices should I wish to have a single room. I would probably think differently now but have been thwarted by work forcing me to book my holiday months in advance. I was a couple of weeks too early for this year's event but I still managed to plan a pretty decent weekend.

From the game at Heleneholms, it was a half-hour walk to the Malmo Stadium where Futbology had the game listed as being played. However, when I saw the place was deserted, I double checked. It turned out the game was being played at Malmo IP. It wasn't a problem though as due to Malmo's compact size, it was only 20 minutes walk away. I was at the stadium 20 minutes before kickoff. I'd purchased my ticket online at the great price of £4.50. My ticket was scanned and I went in and had a look around. It was disappointing not to be seeing a game at a former Euro 92 venue but it was still a great ground.

Ariana were 6th in the the table and had lost their last three games prior to their game on Tuesday. Last Friday they had lost 3-2 to Torns IF. Visitors BK Olympic were in 14th and their last couple of games, most recently 2-1 against Lunds BK. BK Olympic had a lot of pressure early on. They took the lead on 4 minutes, a shot followed up after the ball was not cleared properly, Joshua Silvertson the scorer. On 15 minutes, Ariana equalised, Andre Reinholdsson turning in a cross from close range. BK Olympic continued to have the better of the game and they went ahead, this time a cross from the left was bundled home at the back post by Okland Spelare. Following a rough challenge, the Ariana keeper had to go off on a stretcher with five minutes remaining, an outfielder replacing him in goal. There was still a twist in the tail as they pressed for and got an equaliser in the 6th minute of injury time. BK had been playing keep ball down one end of the pitch. Ariana broke and equalised after a smart move and finish by man of the match Reinholdsson. A frentic finish ensued, real end to end stuff. BK Olympic had the ball in the net but it was ruled out for offside. It was Ariana that looked most likely in the 11 minutes of injury time, but the goal wouldn't come.

It was something of a Malmö derby, and the home fans especially created a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed my visit, and the good thing was, the change of venue brought me closer to my room. It was only 25 minutes walk back to my hotel. My phone battery was almost dead, so I stayed in for a while and charged it while I had a shower. With it up from 12% to 64%, I headed out for a few drinks and something to eat. The Malmö Brewery Taproom was around 25 minutes walk away, and the benefit of its isolation was that it was easy to get a table. I had a couple of ciders from the Ability Micro Brewery, some hot chilli beef jerky and a great bacon cheese meatloaf burger. It was very messy and served with crisps, strangely but it was enjoyable. From there, I headed back to my room. Despite the prevalence of Kopparberg in the UK, there were not many places that did cider in Malmö. I did consider Brewdog, but the prices weren't great. It did me no harm to go back and have a soft drink whilst watching the Champions League Final and typing my blog before a fairly early start tomorrow.

THE GROUND

MALMO IP is a charming venue with every stand different. They do all have supporting pillars but this means the designs vary wildly. The main stand also houses a basic cafe and this holds a few thousand seated. Opposite is a smaller attracdtive stand along with a disabled enclosure and a terrace. This is matched by one end which is also a terrace whilst the other end is bench seating. No souvenirs were on sale for Ariana when I went but I saw people wearing scarves. The ground is well located, around 20 minutes from the centre of Malmo. 

Heleneholms SK - Heleneholms B-Plan

Heleneholms SK

Heleneholms B-Plan

Ystadvägen 23A

214 45 Malmö

Sweden

Official Website

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Ground Number: 1314

Saturday 1st June 2024
Heleneholms SK 0-3 FC Bellevue

Division 4 Skane Sydvastra

HELENEHOLMS SK - A BRIEF HISTORY

With the club being in the lower reaches of Swedish football, information is scarce on the history of the club.They appear to be a merger of three former clubs. The first merger was between Malmö SK and Alhmögsvingar,  named Malmö SK/AV. When Augustenborgs IF were merged into the club, they were renamed Heleneholms SK and have an official formation date of 1989 for the present constitution. They play at the Heleneholms B-Plan, effectively a pitch at the back of the better known IFK Malmo's ground. The club's home colours are purple and they value community values and inclusion over results on the field. The team plays in the sixth tier of Swedish football, namely the Division 4 Skane Sydvastra and are members of the  Skånes Fotbollförbund association. The club is based in Heleneholm,  a neighbourhood of Malmö, situated in the Borough of Fosie, Malmö Municipality, Skåne County. It has a population of 1,800 and one of the most famous landmarks is the power station, which is also a backdrop to the ground.

MY VISIT

After me choosing to visit Copenhagen for the Friday leg of my trip, the obvious place to visit was Malmo. This was a short hop across the bridge to Sweden, therefore accomplishing my aim of visiting another country on this trip. The main attraction was to visit the Malmo Stadium where England played some games during Euro 92, but more on that later. The opportunity to visit two grounds within walking distance was too good to turn down although research for the club was a bit trickier. A decent deal was secured for my hotel with Malmo being a lot cheaper than Copenhagen. A couple of hoppers, especially Per-Gunnar Nielson were very helpful. He recommended this double and another hopper whose name I forget informed me that you aren't allowed bags into Swedish events. I, therefore, contacted my hotel to arrange to leave all my luggage in their room as I wanted to avoid lugging a bag around all day in any case.

I'd had a boozy night the night before and Copenhagen had been surprisingly excellent for cider.It had all been a bit rushed though and so I wanted to come back and have a more relaxed time. Plus, eat some proper food rather than over priced McDonalds. I had a good nights sleep, waking at 7 am. As the fridge in my room was noisy, I whacked off the electricity overnight and so the morning was a good opportunity to charge everything up, get ready and type my blog from yesterday. I had time to kill and was out of the room by 9.30. Back in England, I saw that the Middlesex League was a farce as usual with teams failing to fulfil fixtures left right and centre. I was glad to be out of the place, especially now football was forbidden by the FA for the most part for the whole of June, the weird creeps.

From my hotel, it was a short walk to the station. I just missed the half hourly service to Malmo so went for a look in the local supermarket. The choice was overwhelming but with time tight, I didn't buy anything after I saw the checkout queues. Copenhagen had been excellent, though I was slightly bewildered by the endless pictures of politicians on billboards everywhere which nearly outnumbered the numerous cyclists who had excellent infrastructure unlike the pathetic facilities in the UK. The train cost just under £13, reasonable value for the 40 minute journey. It was like a cattle truck though, packed out as it called at the airport. I also twigged that this was the transport I should have taken yesterday which would have made things easier.

I was in Malmo just before 11. For some reason, roaming on the Tele2 network provided no data so I used the train station WiFi to get me to my room. Moment Hotel was a decent and clean room for £52 a night, plus they let me check in early for free. It was nice knowing everything was safe and that I had no luggage. There was little difference between walking and public transport times so I took the 50 minute stroll to the game. I stopped at Lidl on the way for food including a nice sausage pastry. From there it was to the ground where I paid 50SEK for entry.

Heleneholms SK were one off the bottom of the table, sitting in 11th place. They had drawn three on the trot, the latest a a goalless draw at Kulladulls FF. Thir sole win had come against Akarps FF who they beat 2-1. FC Bellevue were a couple of places higher in 9th and unbeaten in two games. Last Friday they beat Villinge FF 2-1. Heleneholms were well on top, they hit the bar and forced a good save out of the keeper in the first five minutes. The excellent Min Fotboll app kept me up to date with the lineups. Belle Vue got back into the game and took the lead on 57 minutes, a cross from the right found Besnik Rustermaj who drove a shot into the roof of the net. The second was similar, a cross from the other side and a finish at the back post, this time from KRM Lemos on 67 minutes. There was nearly a third soon after but somehow, the ball didn't cross the line. The hosts had a similar situation down the other end and were unlucky overall. The game was well and truly decided in the last minute, a good run and shot for Rustermaj's second goal of the game, 3-0 to Belle Vue.

THE GROUND

HELENEHOLMS IP B-PLAN is a basic but pleasant venue. It's a grass pitch in a cage and only one side is an official viewing area with a rail. Entry is 50SEK (£3.72)and a barbecue with burgers is available. There was no merchandise and it's around 50 minutes walk from the centre of Malmo.