Kristianopels GoIF v Rödeby AIF, Swedish regional division 3

Kristianopels GoIF 0-1 Rödeby AIF
Swedish regional division 3 (tier 5)
Friday 21 August, 18:30 kick-off
Fågelmara Idrottsplats, Fågelmara
Crowd: 175

Another game in division 3 (south-east Götaland) and an attractive ground that I have driven past hundreds of times but never seen a game at. Kristianopels GoIF belong to the category of clubs who play in a different place than their name suggests. The historical village of Kristianopel (see more at the end of this post) is on the coast whilst their football team plays in the village of Fågelmara a few kilometres inland. Today's match is against Rödeby, the same club whose women's team I saw getting thrashed by Madesjö in my last post.

Kristianopels GoIF were founded in 1941 and, like so many Swedish clubs, comprised sections for other sports than football - athletics, gymnastics, table tennis and orienteering. Their present status as division 3 team is the highest level they have played at and today they have two men's teams, a women's team and several teams for boys and girls.The club is very active in the community, arranging festivals and dances every year. They play in yellow and black and have a wasp as their emblem. 

Kristianopel are in 8th position in a league of 11 clubs (one has dropped out of the league) with 13 points from 13 games whilst Rödeby are on 11 points and in the relegation play-off place. Both teams need points to pull themselves out of the relegation battle in the autumn.

The ground

The focal point of the ground is the beautiful yellow clubhouse/pavillion perched on a natural slope on the north side of the ground with terracing of wooden benches below it. This is where all the spectators gather and this evening it was well filled. Many people had brought their own chairs with them and there were plenty of families there enjoying the evening sunshine. The catering kiosk is also attractive and spacious with the counter inside. The opposite side of the ground has two wooden shelters for the substitutes and trainers with the paintwork matching that of the pavilion and kiosk. In between them is the electronic scoreboard. The entrance gateway is also painted in yellow so the whole ground is nicely colour-coordinated.

The game

This was a tense and tight encounter and you could sense that both teams wanted to avoid a defeat that would put them further into the danger zone at the bottom of the table. Sadly for the large home crowd it was Rödeby who stole the points with a goal six minutes before time. It was a hard-fought game with solid defences and chances were few. The hosts had most of the play in the first half and had probably the best chance after 42 minutes when a header from Jörgensen was just off target after a long free kick had been headed onto the bar. 

The second followed the same pattern with the hosts having most of the possession but the Rödeby defence dealt well with the pressure.. The visitors had some dangerous breakaways and in the 54th minute Carl Antonsson broke away on the right and squared to Svensson on the edge of the box but the shot was well saved by home keeper Jesper Jönsson Erlandsson who had an excellent game. Then just as the game looked to be heading for a goalless draw, Rödeby scored. After some messy play in the box the ball broke to an unmarked Philip Digbo who slotted home from a few metres. Kristianopel battled hard to force an equaliser but it was not to be.

Rödeby now leapfrogged over Kristianopel in the table and although the two bottom teams look doomed there will be a batle to avoid that relegation play-off spot.

More than football

If you ever come this way on the E22 road between Karlskrona and Kalmar you should definitely turn off and visit Kristianopel. It was founded at the start of the 17th century by Danish King Kristian IV as a fortified town on what was then the border between Denmark and Sweden. It was then in the centre of the bitter wars between the two nations in the 17th century and in 1658 it became Swedish. The conflicts continued and by the end of the century most of it had been demolished and when Sweden took over all of the south its strategic importance disappeared and it became a sleepy village till tourism brought it back to life in the last 100 years. The town ramparts and walls survive as does the fine church. The streets are full of idyllic old cottages and there is a popular campsite and caravan park as well as a harbour for visiting yachts. 

Tourist information.