GrorudGround: Grorud Matchbane Visits: 1 Date: 10th April 2022 Match: Grorud - Fredrikstad 2-2 (OBOS-ligaen) Attendance: 880 As I woke up on Sunday morning I knew I had a glorious day ahead of me. The weather forecast said +12 C and sunshine but above all I was going to two football matches. The match of the day was at 15.00 in Grorud and I would then go by metro to Ökern (5 stops) from where I would make it by foot to Intility Aren, the home of Vålerenga. From Ökern metro station it takes around 20 minutes to walk and since I was going to be in a hurry later on I decided to start the day with a trip to Ökern. I wanted to make sure I knew the fastest way from Ökern to the ground and it was not a straightforward walk. Once at Intility Arena I took a few pictures of the exterior of the ground before going back to central Oslo for some sightseeing. In 2019 Grorud were, for the first time in their history, promoted to 1. divisjon (OBOS-ligaen). 2022 will be their 3rd consecutive season in the Norwegian 2nd tier and for a club of their size that is a great achievement. Most games in OBOS-ligaen are played on Monday evenings but Grorud v Fredrikstad was at 15.00 on Sunday afternoon. I was outside the ground an hour prior to kick-off and at the nearby café there were plenty of Fredrikstad fans. I estimate 2-300 away fans turned up for this game. The ground at Grorud is, at least for this level, very basic. There is a small end stand designated for away fans and a main stand with six rows and around 900 seats. The official attendance was given as 880, for Grorud a very good number. The first half was quite even but Grorud scored the only goal, 1-0 at half-time. In the 2nd half Fredrikstad were clearly the better team and after 63 minutes it was 1-2 on the score-board. Grorud managed to equalize though and the game ended 2-2- That means Grorud has started the season with two draws and I am sure they are pleased with that start. After the final whistle I hurried to the nearby metro station and with 30 minutes to spare I was outside Intility Arena. Grorud IL Grorud Matchbane Flags West End West End South Stand Grorud fans Fans eager to enter Drummer ![]() Players and officials entering Kick-off Fredrikstad fans Fredrikstad fans Fredrikstad fans View of play East End South Stand South Stand Pano |