LjussevekaGround: Ljusseveka konstgräs Visits: 1 Date: 18th February 2024 Match: IFK Värnamo - Trelleborgs FF 2-0 (Svenska Cupen) Attendance: 300 The Swedish football season started for real this weekend with matchday 1 (of 3) in the group stage of the Swedish Cup. 32 teams are divided into 8 groups and the winners progress to the quarter-finals. Clubs who normally play on grass move their home games to their winter venue giving me an opportunity to visit a few new “grounds”. On Sunday afternoon IFK Värnamo hosted Trelleborgs FF at Ljusseveka, an artificial pitch some 300 metres south of Finnvedsvallen. For me it is around 2 hours by car to reach Värnamo and 35 minutes prior to kick-off I parked my car outside of Finnvesvallen. With the temperature being only just about the freezing point I put on several layers of clothes before heading to Ljusseveka. Apart from a small stand in the away section it was flat standing only and capacity must be just under 1,000. For this cup game the official attendance was given as 300, with 6 of those standing in the away section of the ground. In their only second season the Swedish top flight IFK Värnamo finished 5th in Allsvenskan last year. Trelleborg finished mid-table in Superettan and on paper this should be an easy victory for the hosts. Trelleborg had some possession early on but hitting the bar etc IFK Värnamo were unlucky it was goalless at half-time. In the last minutes of the first half Trelleborg had a player sent off and in the second half it was one-way traffic at Ljusseveka. I decided to stand behind the Trelleborg goal in the second half and with all the action being in their half this was to be a correct decision. IFK Värnamo took the lead from a corner and 10 minutes later they made it 2-0 from the penalty spot. With five minutes to go it started to snow but no more goals and my first competitive game of the season ended 2-0 to IFK Värnamo. ![]() View of Ljusseveka Entrance East side South End West side ![]() West Stand (for away fans) North End Kick-off View of play Penalty (scored, 2-0) North End East side East side View of play West side West side Away fans ![]() A snowy end to the match! |