Tipshallen

Ground: Tipshallen

Visits: 1

Date: 25th January 2015

Match: Öster - Helsingborg 2-4 (Friendly)

Attendance: 1 564

Tipshallen in Växjö was built in 1989 and was part of an arena project to improve conditions for football in Sweden during the winter months. Similar "grounds" were built in Jönköping and Sundsvall. Tipshallen in Växjö is one of only five indoor arenas in Sweden with a full-size football pitch. There are two seated stands and the total capacity is around 2 000. Tipshallen offer excellent conditions for football during the Swedish winter and because of this Öster play a number of friendlies every year against Allsvenskan teams. They also play some of their cup games at Tipshallen. With Växjö being only a 90-minute drive for me I have had an eye on fixtures and was delighted to find out the first match of 2015 was to be a friendly against Helsingborg. This was to be Henrik Larsson´s first match in charge of Helsingborg and I was hoping for an attendance of around 1 000 for this match.

Kick-off this Sunday afternoon was 14.00 and at 13.00 I parked my car outside Myresjöhus Arena. Myresjöhus Arena is of course where Öster normally play nowadays. Tipshallen is situated next to both Värendsvallen (Öster´s old ground) and Myresjöhus Arena. Once inside I was quite impressed with the facilities and this is a great asset for Öster and Swedish football. Helsingborg brought a decent number of fans to this match and for most of the 90 minutes they were singing and chanting. With the match being played indoors the acoustics were of course excellent. In total 1 564 turned up for this match and we could watch Jordan Larsson, the son of Henrik, score the first goal in the 2nd minute. Helsingborg then made it 2-0 before Öster pulled a goal back, 1-2 at half-time. Three more goals in the second half and the match ended 2-4. A great start for Henrik Larsson as manager for Helsingborg. A great start to my domestic football season as well. This was my first ever domestic match in January and to start the season with a new (Swedish)ground this early is a new experience for me!

tipshallen