My first visit to Vänersvallen Nord Konstgräs was to see a biggie. Vanersborg FK were taking on FC Trollhattan, a side whose grounds are just ten miles apart.
Also the sides sat third and fourth in the Swedish Division Two Norra Goteland Section, meaning their was more than just local pride at stake in this one.
I contacted the club prior to the game to ask about ticket prices and whether I could pay on the gate, as I was expecting a fairly big crowd for this derby game.
The response I got was 100kr (about a tenner) but if they could use my blog report on their website I could come in for free which was a great gesture. Also I was handed a free club scarf too which was unexpected but gleefully accepted.
After obtaining my programme with both squads in I took my place in the large wooden stand overlooking the artificial surface and dugouts. I sat on the half way line and had a perfect view of the action. A large crowd gathered in anticipation of a close tight battle but what was to happen next was extraordinary.
The visitors flew out of the blocks and were three goals up inside the first quarter hour mark. It began in the fifth minute when a long ball forward saw keeper and attacker colide with the loose ball falling into the path of Pelle Odlund who duly side footed into the empty net.
Then in the tenth minute the visitors lead was doubled when a ball laid off into the path of Arlind Beqiri who fired a terrific effort across the keeper and in off the post, before it was three only three minutes later when Fredrik Soderqvist shrugged off a defender and fired across the keeper and in.
The hosts looked shell shocked but almost responded immediately after the visitors third goal, forcing a decent save from keeper Filippos Sachsanidis, and we're applying more pressure on the visitors back line although the FCT defence was holding firm.
After the visitors had weathered this brief storm from the hosts they began to threaten themselves again and a minute before the break added a fourth goal when Andreas Schmidt struck a wonderful dipping free kick from way out beyond keeper Nino Sahinovic and the stunned hosts went into the break four goals behind and with only pride left to play for it seemed.
With no doubt a flea ringing in the ears of the hosts players after that terrible debacle in the first half they almost fell further behind inside a minute of the restart when the visitors somehow hit the post from close range rather then scoring, but after this scare the hosts looked threatening without any joy as they looked for a route back into this contest.
And then came a five minute spell that got the home side right back in the game. In the 62nd minute the hosts grabbed a goal back as a chest down into the path of Ismael Fonjah saw the VFK forward fire past keeper Sachsanidis and then three minutes later got a second when Fonjah headed home a corner and it was very much game on.
The hosts began to look like they could score every time they came forward and Fonjah had a golden chance to net his hat-trick and make it 3-4 when he got in behind the visitors defence, but Sachsanidis beat away his effort.
The hosts spent a lot of their time inside the visitors final third but could not find another breakthrough which would of made the now slightly nervous visitors very shaky indeed.
But then in a rare break out attack the hosts made a mistake and allowed Odlund into the box and as the defender tried to recover his error he wiped out the forward and gave away a penalty. Odlund picked himself up and converted the spot kick and finally end VFK's comeback hopes.
The final ten minutes or so saw the hosts continue to pluck away and create two good chances but were unable to convert either chance. Odlund almost completed his hat-trick in stoppage time but his two goals helped his side to the three points and see them go level with their opponents and above them on goal difference.
The hosts gave it a good go in the second half but were left with too much to do ultimately after what had been a disastrous first half. No doubt they will fight back in their next game but I would again like to thank them for their wonderful hospitality which made my visit very enjoyable.
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