FK Älmeboda/Linneryd v Kristianopels GoIF, play-off to regional division 3

 

FK Älmeboda/Linneryd 3-2 Kristianopels GoIF
Play-off to Swedish regional division 3
Saturday 10 October 2026, 13:00 kick-off
Kullbergsplan, Rävemåla
Crowd: 108

Arriving at the ground for today's match I discovered to my horror that I had left my mobile at home. So no photos from me in this report but a guy sitting near me kindly accepted my request and took the photos you see here. Normal service will resume for the next game I cover. It was also lucky that I actually had some cash on me otherwise I wouldn't have got into the ground - most people pay by mobile here.

Me in red!

Today's match is about a one hour's drive for me and a new ground to tick off.  The lower leagues of Swedish football have all been concluded and now it's time for the promotion and relegation play-offs.The play-offs take the shape of a four team group where each team plays three games and the winner takes a place in next season's regional division 3. The home team today, another merged club, FK Älmeboda/Linneryd, came second in their division 4 whilst the visitors, Kristianopels GoIF, were third bottom of their division 3 and therefore are fighting to avoid the drop.

FK Älmeboda/Linneryd is the result of a merger in 1994, brought about as usual by a shortage of players in this rural area. They alternate their matches between two grounds: one in Linneryd, a village of around 450 souls and the other, not in Älmeboda but in the nearby village of Rävemåla and the venue for today's game. They played in division 2 as recently as 2020, an admirable achievement for a village team. One half of the partnership, Älmeboda IF, rose to the same level in the late 1970s and I saw evidence of that, curiously enough, in the toilet at half time. Hanging on the toilet wall was a framed poster announcing the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup between Älmeboda IF and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium (pay entrance at gate!). We can all dream, as they obviouly did back then, but it was an amusing detail. I would have taken a photo but of course I couldn't! 

I saw Kristianopel at home a few weeks ago and you can read more about them on that post: Kristianopels GoIF v Rödeby AIF (21 August). 

The ground

Another fairly typical little ground for this region with the entrance at the east end beside the main road out of the village. At the entrance is a small wooden kiosk outside of which there was the obligatory barbeque for the sausages. They also have an old-school match clock and manual scoreboard. Up on an embankment is the wooden clubhouse and changing rooms plus the main kiosk.

The south side of the ground has benches along the pitch and a small scaffolding stand where I encamped. The north side has benches all along plus the two dugouts. 

The game

The game started with ominous dark clouds gathering and a stiff breeze blowing from the west. We had rain in the first half, then blue sky and sunshine in the second but with dark clouds again threatening at the end. The hosts played in orange and black whilst the visitors played in yellow and black kits.

This was an entertaining game with chances at both ends but in the end the hosts just about deserved their 3-2 win that puts them in a strong position for the promotion place. There were plenty of robust tackles and honest effort from both teams, as befits a play-off match. Älmeboda/Linneryd took the lead after 12 minutes when the lively forward Ibrahim Haddar took a shot from the right of the box and past the diving keeper. The game moved from one end to the other with several decent chances before Kristianopel got their equaliser when a cross from the left by Jörgensson (I think) took a deflection from a defender into the net.

The visitors put on more pressure and forced home keeper Brickarp into two saves in a row. Then at the other end Moustafa Azizi was sent clear on goal but was brought down from behind by defender Christoffer Svensson who got a straight red card. Älmeboda/Linneryd quickly made their advantage pay when a free kick from the left by Liam Boe Presteng found the gap between the keeper and the near post and so the hosts went in at the break with a 2-1 lead.

After the break Kristianopel pushed to level the score and had several corners in a row without really putting the home keeper under pressure. Instead, as so often happens, the hosts extended their lead in the 69th minute with a lovely lob by Presteng over the onrushing keeper. The hosts tried to slow down the game after that and succeeded for 10 minutes or so but then Kristianopel made a final push and pulled a goal back when Hilding Åkesson beat a defender on the edge of the box and fired home. But the hosts held on to their slender lead and grabbed three invaluable points. For Kristianopel this must have been a great disappointment and they'll need to win both their remaining matches to have a chance of retaining their division 3 status.