Helsingborgs 4-1 Elfsborg, Allsvenskan, att. 7,275
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| Head up here towards Olympia. A bit understated for me. |
In the 'Battle of the Borgs', struggling Helsing despatched the 3rd placed Elfs as comfortably as I've seen anyone do on this holiday. 2-0 up after 10 mins, the game was effectively over once Elfsborg went down to 10 men after 14. A long hoof up the pitch bounced behind the Elfish centre half and as he turned to recover, the ball bounced and hit his hand. The ref waved play-on but the linesman was insistent. Obviously wants to make a name for himself. And if it was a foul...then, as the last man, he had to walk. I sat (stood) back expecting a goal fest.
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| Ticket booths. Seriously. |
Elfsborg still went at the home side (they had a European place to contest) while Helsingborgs looked to counter - but never quite got it right. After another criminal miss from Helsingborgs, Elfsborg scored with a carbon copy headed opportunity. Worried, the homesters thought it best to attack again and within 10 minutes had scored two more. Easy! So the manager took the best attacking players off and Helsingborgs fell into the mediocrity they usually are.
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| A 6ft subbuteo keeper. Possibly made in tribute to a 'borg great. |
I really liked the stadium. Essentially, it's two side side stands and open terracing at either end. One side stand curves in slightly at each end. At the home end of the stand, the seats have been taken out in the upper tier and the resultant terrace is where their ultras congregate. And, may I say, what a terrific din just a few hundred make.
This is also great, cos it affords the rest of us a much more mellow time behind the goal. There was plenty of space. If you wanted barrier to lean on, you could have one. Elfsborg had a small section of terracing at the far end. They'd brought about 150, but it was midweek.
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| Helsingborgs ultras. |
'Olympia' is easy to get to as well, There's signposts all over the city centre for it ('900m' away; very precise). Surely the best route though is to walk up the castle ('Karnen') staircase, past the castle itself and through the park? Where else do you walk through castle grounds to get to the stadium? Caernarfon Town? (maybe)
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| Scoreboard. But who is match C? (No idea.) |
There was limited regalia in the club shop, though some decent t-shirts for a bargain 100 SEK (£8). No badges. Inside the stadium, no beer either. This was a bit of a shame since the area around the ground was hardly swimming in hostelries. But with plenty of ticket ('biljetter') kiosks around the stadium, have a drink in town and then mosey on up the hill to Olympia. I shouldn't imagine there'll be a run on tickets.
**Note. Tickets (and I'm talking terrace tickets) were 50% more expensive for certain games, eg AIK, IFK, Elfsborg (and presumably Malmo). Maybe that helped keep the crowd down to 7,275 tonite?
Attendance: 7,275 (away: c150)
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| Slinky |
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| Another ticket booth. |
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| Note the corner. |
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| Entrance to the terrace (home end). |
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| I love that roof. |
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| The rain is leaving as the sun arrives. |
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| Elfsborg's fans. Started well before tailing off. |
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| Heja Helsingborgs! |
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| Ultras' cheerleader |
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| Sun setting over Olympia |
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| Not quite light, not quite dark. Twilight! |
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| Match action. |
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