Sarpsborg

Ground: Sarpsborg Stadion

Visits: 1

Date: 16th May 2015

Match: Sarpsborg - Lillestrøm 1-3 (Tippeligaen)

Attendance: 4 933

The main match on this tour was the Tippeligaen encounter between Sarpsborg and Lillestrøm. The city of Sarpsborg is situated only some 30 km from the border with Sweden and as we passed Sarpsborg on our way to Ski, where we watched Follo vs Sandnes Ulf at 3pm, we left the motorway in order to visit Sarpsborg Stadion. One of the reasons to visit Sarpsborg Stadion was to find out where we could park later in the afternoon. Arriving 20-25 minutes before kick-off it could be tricky to find a good parking place. Another reason was of course the chance to sneak in and have a look at Sarpsborg Stadion while taking some pictures of the empty stands. We parked outside the main entrance and had no problems getting inside. A friendly club official showed us around and told us where we could park. He was a bit curious why we had come from Sweden and asked if we were part of any (official) delegation. Anyway, after a while we left Sarpsborg and went to Ski for the first game of the day.

When the match finished at Ski Stadion we rushed to the car and 17.35 (Kick-off: 18.00) we had once again parked the car in Sarpsborg. A 10-12 minute walk later we were inside Sarpsborg Stadion. 16 May is the biggest day of the year in Norwegian league football and this game was sold-out. Sarpsborg Stadion is, for a top division ground, quite basic. The main (south) stand has been gradually expanded and has around 3000 seats. We had bought tickets for this stand and had a great view of the action. Visiting fans from Lillestrøm had the stand to our left and as usual the fans in yellow and black gave their side a good vocal support throughout the match. There is no roof covering the away end but that didn´t seem to bother the Lillestrøm fans. On the pitch Lillestrøm were by far the better team and they were 1-0 up at half-time. In the second half they scored twice and especially the third goal was a really good one. With the last kick of the game Sarpsborg pulled a goal back but Lillestrøm could celebrate the three points. After the match we had no problems getting out to the motorway and around 22.30 I was back at my hotel in Gothenburg. Tomorrow I go back home but on the way I will make a stop in Gnosjö for a Division 3 match.

sarpsborg stadion