League Play-Off

Enstaberga Stadion
Spectators: 33 (Terracing: 26, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) Dark clouds were building up when the players entered the field. None of the them looked very eager to play. Kurt Åkerman started the match with the kick off. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Kurt Åkerman in the 9th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Viggo Strömqvist prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Kent Bark showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Conny Tidén in the 17th minute of the match. After 19 minutes, Melker Västberg mouthed his way into the referee's book. The tension between the Hjo and the Enstaberga IFK players grew even worse after the yellow card. In the 19th match minute, Hjo was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Melker Västberg to maneuver through the defense. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Martin Haraldsson in the 23rd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Viggo Strömqvist saved Enstaberga IFK from getting behind. After a defensive mix-up in Enstaberga IFK's zone, Kurt Åkerman stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Viggo Strömqvist came out of the goal and Kurt Åkerman tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Conny Tidén in the 27th minute of play forced Hjo's goalkeeper Kent Bark to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With a little luck, Hjo's Kent Bark got control of the ball when Aaron Frisck tried to sneak it across the goal line. Aaron Frisck sent away a hard shot on goal in the 34th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Kent Bark made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Conny Tidén in the 36th minute of play. With an all-out effort, Enstaberga IFK's Kent Bark threw himself towards the right post 38 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Conny Tidén, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. 40 minutes into the match, Kurt Åkerman notched a goal, 0-1, to the right of Enstaberga IFK's Viggo Strömqvist. Viggo Strömqvist was clearly disgusted with the effort of the defense and let the defenders know about it. Kurt Åkerman recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 45th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal.

The hometeam waved at the audience when it was time for Conny Tidén to strike the kick off in the second half. After some fancy dribbling in the 52nd minute, Eskil Lundgren managed to get in a good position for a shot. Hjo's supporters rose to their feet, but Eskil Lundgren was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Viggo Strömqvist breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. Emanuel Salqvist charged in rather forcefully in the 56th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Emanuel Salqvist the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Emanuel Salqvist kicked well hit freekick during the 56th minute of the match. Enstaberga IFK's Aaron Frisck managed to work through Hjo's defense and was going for an easy goal, but he hit the shot with his toe and the ball flew outside the goal. Aaron Frisck dejectedly held out his arms as if to ask why the ball hadn't gone in. Conny Tidén struck a weak shot in the 63rd minute. Kent Bark didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Enstaberga IFK. In the 69th minute Conny Tidén shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Kent Bark saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Joacim Olsson kicked well hit freekick during the 70th minute of the match. Kent Bark took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ingmar Gallin, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Conny Tidén in the 78th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Kent Bark saved Hjo from getting behind. After having played for 83 minutes, Kurt Åkerman managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Hjo's supporters crossed their fingers, but Kurt Åkerman was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Emanuel Salqvist was shown his second yellow card after 84 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. After 85 played minutes Enstaberga IFK got a freekick which was hit by Emanuel Salqvist. During the 88th minute of the match Melker Västberg completely mistimed his tackle and brought down his opponent. The referee gave Melker Västberg a yellow card, his second in the match, which meant he could no longer take part in the game. After a rather tough play, Hjo's Melker Västberg got a free kick in the 89th minute. Enstaberga IFK's Aaron Frisck got a good chance for a goal in the 92nd minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. When Martin Haraldsson came up free with the goalie in the 95th minute, the Hjo fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Martin Haraldsson couldn't finish the play.