League Play-Off

STRAND IF
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) STRAND IF's Henning Rydberg started the match with a crisp pass. The crowd had been anticipating this game for weeks and the excitement in the stadium was easily visible. Henning Rydberg fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 5th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Niklas Dahlqvist having to interfere. An unexpectedly hard shot by Walter Ranger in the 7th minute of play forced STRAND IF's goalkeeper Michael Hedvall to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Vydas Tamošauskas fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 8th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Michael Hedvall having to interfere. After a defensive mix-up in STRAND IF's zone, Walter Ranger stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Michael Hedvall came out of the goal and Walter Ranger tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. In the 12th minute Walter Ranger shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Michael Hedvall saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. 17 minutes into the match, STRAND IF's goal looked a bit too open when Walter Ranger came free, but Michael Hedvall reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Michael Hedvall made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Walter Ranger in the 23rd minute of play. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Walter Ranger in the 25th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Michael Hedvall saved STRAND IF from getting behind. In the 26th minute, Emiliano Prejun hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. After some careless play in the STRAND IF defense, Olov Delin kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Michael Hedvall. The STRAND IF fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Michael Hedvall should have stopped the shot. When Rasmus Hägg fell near the penalty area in the 36th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored STRAND IF's protests and gave Rasmus Hägg a yellow card for diving instead. Walter Ranger shot the penalty kick by force right in the crossbar. No goal. Olov Delin sent away a hard shot on goal in the 47th minute, but the ball hit the crossbar and went out. A very good chance for a goal. Even after changing tactics the home team jogged off the field with a 0-1 deficit. They would have to work harder if they wanted to turn things around in the second half.

The wind increased when Walter Ranger made the kick off in the second half. The audience thought a goal was coming when Walter Ranger got free with Michael Hedvall in the 53rd minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Niklas Dahlqvist took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Ingvar Finman, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Niklas Dahlqvist made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Henning Rydberg in the 62nd minute of play. Walter Ranger sent away a hard shot on goal in the 65th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ingvar Finman fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 67th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Niklas Dahlqvist having to interfere. In the 70th minute the ball was on its way in behind Ducks IF's goalkeeper Niklas Dahlqvist, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. Rasmus Hägg was shown his second yellow card after 72 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. After 72 played minutes STRAND IF got a freekick which was hit by Rasmus Hägg. The audience thought a goal was coming when Walter Ranger got free with Michael Hedvall in the 80th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. With a little luck, STRAND IF's Michael Hedvall got control of the ball when Walter Ranger tried to sneak it across the goal line. Michael Hedvall showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Vydas Tamošauskas in the 87th minute of the match. After having played for 90 minutes, Vydas Tamošauskas managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Ducks IF's supporters crossed their fingers, but Vydas Tamošauskas was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Ingvar Mikaelsson received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 91st minute. Niklas Dahlqvist tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. 94 minutes into the match, STRAND IF's goal looked a bit too open when Vydas Tamošauskas came free, but Michael Hedvall reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Despite being the better team, Ducks IF failed to find the winning goal and were forced to settle for a single point.