Ohtana/Pajala (Byavallen)Ground: Byavallen Visits: 2
Date: 26th June 2015 Match: Ohtana/Aapua - Hemmingsmark 1-2 (Division 3 Norra Norrland) Attendance: 100
Date: 26th June 2015 Match: Pajala Ohtana/Aapua 2 - Pol/Svanstein 1-3 (Division 5 Norra Norrbotten) Attendance: 50 In 2021 the club changed its name to Ohtana/Pajala
On Friday morning I woke up in Pajala in the very north of Sweden. Pajala is a town (village?) with a population of around 2 000. It is situated 220 km north of Luleå and 200 km southeast of Kiruna. From Kristianstad, where I live, it is 1 650 km to Pajala. As soon as the Piteå vs Luleå derby in Division 1 Norra was confirmed for Thursday evening I looked at other fixtures in northern Sweden. I wanted a match north of the Arctic Circle and I was more than pleased to find out Ohtana/Aapua vs Hemmingsmark would be played at Byavallen in Aapua. This "ground" is north of the Arctic Circle and is one of the most northern (natural) grass pitches in Sweden. The club Ohtana/Aapua was formed in 1998 as a merger between Ohtanajärvi and Aapua. The two villages have a combined population of less than 200 and most of the players live in Pajala. After a late breakfast one of Leif´s friend showed up for coffee, that was Per-Erik from Tärendö. Tärendö is a small village 40 km west of Pajala and is famous for being the place where Charlotte Kalla grew up. Charlotte has won five Olympic medals (2 golds and 3 silvers) as well as nine World Championship medals (2 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronze´s) in cross country skiing and is Sweden´s most celebrated female athlete at the moment. Per-Erik is Charlotte´s father. Later in the afternoon Leif drove me to Tärendö where we had a look at the (now closed) football ground as well as the statue of Charlotte Kalla before having coffee with some other friends.
Ohtana/Aapua played Hemmingsmark in Division 3 Norra Norrland at 19.30 this Friday evening and at 21.30 Pajala Ohtana/Aapua 2 played Pol/Svanstein in division 5 Norra Norrbotten. That meant two matches for me at Byavallen. Leif is manager of Pajala Ohtana/Aapua 2 and this is the first time I travel with the manager to a ground. Aapua is 80 km from Pajala so a long way for the players to this home game. Before this match Ohtana/Aapua were 5th and Hemmingsmark 9th in the table. 0-0 at half-time and despite several chances it was still 0-0 after 80 minutes. A missed cross turned out to be a perfect shot, 1-0 to Ohtana/Aapua in the 82nd minute. A minute later Hemmingsmark equalized and the visitors then scored again to win 2-1. Another winner this evening was actually myself. At half-time there was a penalty shoot-out between the two winners of the matchday programme draw. Three penalties each and I won 2-1. My prize was a set of tools (see picture below).
The second match of the day started at 21.30 and after 40 minutes the home team manager (Leif!) was sent to the stands (or more literally, into the forest) for standing on the pitch. First time this happened to him and without their manager Pajala Ohtana/Aapua 2 lost 3-1 against Pol/Svanstein. The match finished around 23.30 but still very bright outside. It had been cloudy for most of the evening but on our way back to Pajala the sun finally appeared. It really was fascinating to experience proper midnight sun and this alone was almost worth the money spent on this tour. The midnight sun is visible/possible for around 30 days in Pajala. Around 1am I went to bed. 2,5 hours later I was woke up in the most dramatic of circumstances. The house had been set on fire by a local gangster and this was to be the most dramatic moments of my life. More about this in the report from the Bergnäset vs Gällivare/Malmberget match.
Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle (pictures taken 23.51)
Pictures from Tärendö Statue of Charlotte Kalla
Kalix Älv
Kalix Älv
Kalix Älv
Tärendö bifurcation
Pictures from Byavallen in Aapua Welcome to Aapua
North End
East side
Clock
Dug-out
Old goals
South End
West side
Pictures from Ohtana/Aapua vs Hemmingsmark Referees
Camera man
Kick-off
View of Byavallen
View of play
View of play
View of play
View of play
West side
West side
West side
Windmills
My prize for winning the half-time penalty shoot-out!
Pano
Pano
Pictures from Pajala Ohtana/Aapua 2 vs Pol/Svanstein Strange looking dressing room
Kick-off
View of play
View of play
View of play
View of play
West side
After the match
Pano
Pano
Midnight sun
Midnight sun
The two pictures above were taken around midnight. It was however much brighter than it might seem looking at the pictures. |