Orgryte IS v Hammarby Monday 5th July 2010 Superettan

Monday night saw us visit the Gamla Ullevi to see Orgryte IS host Hammarby in the Superettan. We caught the tram just round the corner from our hotel and on way I spotted the Hammarby fans (known as the Bajen) being escorted to the ground. Very impressive it was too, with plenty of flags banners. We got off the tram with only a short walk to the ground and made our way to the ticket office. As with most of Gothenburg, the lady manning the kiosk spoke English and so we were able to buy our tickets with ease and we made our way into the ground.

The turnstiles are electronic and you put your ticket in the slot and once it has been read you are able to make your way in (although this proved difficult for Mrs Reynard!). Our seats were on the second level and after a couple of photos on the ground level we made our way upstairs. The two side stands are are identical as are the ends, although the end to our right is not finished on the lower level. Interestingly, both lower sections of the ends are terraced and the Bajen are already in position with their numerous flags and banners in position. The stadium is shared by two other Gothenburg clubs, GAIS & IFK Goteborg and all three Club badges are visible around the concourse.

To our right are the Orgryte hardcore who are only just putting their flags and banners out and they are jeered by the Bajen as they do this. I have to say that I am impressed by both sets of fans, adding some colour which I think is lacking at home.

The seats are good and I have plenty of leg room. The game is live on Swedish TV and I do not know if this affects the attendance tonight but there it does not appear to be a very big gate.

We kick off and Hammarby are the better side in the early stages and have several chances to open the scoring but some poor finishing saw the game remain goalless. OIS fought their way back into the game and started to have chances themselves and the game developed into an end to end affair. The best chance of the half fell to Hammarby when a cross from the left found a Hammarby striker with a clear shot on goal but a superb save from Abrahamsson keeps the score level and so we go to half time level at 0-0.

The turning point of the game comes at the beginning of the second half with the introduction of Isak Dahlin into the Hammarby defence wearing number 13! To say he had a mare would be an understatement, a fact backed by the reactions on the Bajen message boards I looked at when I got home. Orgryte come out fast and have Hammarby on the back foot from the kick off. Dahlin looks totally lost and Orgryte seem to sense this and attack him at every opportunity. A defensive clearance by Orgryte evades the whole of the Hammarby defence and Anklev latches onto the ball and narrowly puts it wide. He is not to be denied however and two minutes later he opens the scoring. Orgryte get a corner and the ball is knocked to the far post and headed back across goal. The resulting shot is charged down but the ball runs to Anklev inside the six yard box and he turns and hammers the ball into the net. Two minutes later Orgryte win a free kick on the left and it is swung into the near post where one OIS player misses his header but it it then hits Leinar on his body but hit’s the back of the net. 2-0, game over. Well not quite. On 55 minutes Hammarby attack and a shot from 20 yards out thumps against the OIS post. But six minutes later the points belong to OIS. They win the ball in the centre circle and a great pass out to the right wing sees Evrik latch onto the ball, beat his man and put in a great cross which is met in the middle of the goal by the head of Anklev who scores his second. He does have a chance to complete his hat trick on 85 minutes but he completely mishits his shot and Hopf has a comfortable save to make. The final whistle goes and the OIS faithful celebrate the victory.
I really enjoyed the game and I was impressed by the level of support from both sets of fans during the game. It was also nice to see the OIS players and staff celebrate the victory with their fans on the pitch reminiscent of scenes I’ve seen at the end of games in Germany.

More pictures of the Gamla Ullevi here.

Orgryte IS 3-0 Hammarby
Att: 3,492
Admission: 200Kr (approx. £17.80)
Programme: Free (Covers the whole season- had an insert for today’s game)
Badge: 25Kr (Approx. £2.22)