Kalmar Södra IF v IFK Borgholm, Swedish regional division 4

 

Kalmar Södra IF 1-5 IFK Borgholm
Swedish regional division 4 (south-east Småland), tier 6
Saturday 8 August 2026, 13:00 kick-off
Södra Utmarken, Kalmar
Crowd: 76

I haven't seen Kalmar Södra (Kalmar South) since they moved to a new ground a couple of years ago. I really liked their lovely old ground and you can see that in a post from 2023 when they played the same opponents as today, IFK Borgholm, from the neighbouring island of Öland. So it's a rematch for me but in very different surroundings in a modern functional ground..

Kalmar Södra were founded in 1945 and have played in the local and regional leagues for most of their history. They have a flourishing youth section with boys' and girls' teams of all ages and many of them have taken the step up tothe senior teams. They play in red and blue stripes with blue shorts. At present they are in the middle of the league with 16 points from 13 matches. 

The visitors today, IFK Borgholm, were founded back in 1906 and are the oldest and largest sport club on the island of Öland. They have also played their football in the lower tiers with division 3 being their highest achievement. They play in blue and white but today sported their all-white away kit. Before today's game they were also on 16 points after 13 games.

The ground

A new ground with excellent modern facilities and must feel like a big lift for the staff and players with modern changing rooms and club rooms. However for nostalgic old boys like me the old place, Skyttis, had buckets of old-school charm including a retro 1950s kiosk. Three sides of the ground are off-limits to spectators with a high fence close to the pitch. All the facilities are on one side with the impressive club buildings and kiosk plus an uncovered wooden stand where almost all the fans sit. Not so good if it rains but splendid today in the sunshine.

The dugouts are opposite the clubhouse and access is straigh across the pitch. The pitch is grass,unusual in so many newly built grounds that tend to go for artificial all-weather pitches. There's a decent carpark and generous space for bikes.

The kiosk does the standard Swedish fare and as usual I decided to ask for a cup of tea (not on the menu). Once again the staff at smaller clubs show great resilience in the face of strange guys like me who incredibly don't like coffee! They searched the drawers and found a teabag, probably the only one they had. No kettle so they put a cup of water in the micro and I got my wish. Thanks!

The game

For the second time this week I witnessed an embarassing home defeat as Borgholm went away with a convincing 5-1 victory. Kalmar fought hard and had quite a few good chances in the match but the visitors were simply more clinical and had the game pretty well wrapped up by half time.

The first half got off to a dramatic start after 4 minutes when Anton Larsson broke free and slotted the ball past the onrushing home keeper to put the visitors into the lead. Kalmar almost equalised a minute later when Ottosson also broke free of a defender but this time the Borgholm keeper blocked the shot. In the 11th minute the visitors went two up when a pass from burly forward Fortune-West found an unmarked Emanuel Thorsen who fired home from close range. Things got even worse for the hosts a few minutes later when a cross found Fortune-West who slotted in 3-0. 

Kalmar were shaken and it was going to need a remarkable effort to turn this around. They got a ray of hope when a shot from Hammarström was parried by the keeper and John Engström was on hand to net the rebound. But the comeback was not to be and before the break Borgholm scored a fourth when a high ball into the box was headed in by Hultenius.

The second half lacked the intensity of the first and the visitors were content to let Kalmar dominate possession but the hosts failed to create serious chances. The deal was sealed already after 59 minutes with a second goal by Evan Fortune-West, heading home after a shot by Jörgensson was saved. Barring a shot off the bar Kalmar never really threatened and the away team and supporters went home very satisfied.