Grebbestad

Ground: Siljevi

Visits: 1

Date: 18th May 2018

Match: Grebbestad - Tvååker 0-1 (Division 1 Södra)

Attendance: 570

Grebbestad is a village in northern Bohuslän with a population of around 2 000. As the crow flies it is only 25 km or so to the border with Norway. The local football club has been playing in Division 2 Norra Götaland since 2014. In 2017 Grebbestads IF managed to win this league though and 2018 is the first time ever for them in the third tier of Swedish football. In my ambition to have visited every ground in Division 1 Södra I have to visit Siljevi but being a 4h 40min drive it takes some planning to find an appropriate game. Friday 18th May was a great opportunity for me, I could leave work earlier than usual and Grebbestad were hosting Tvååker at 19.00. I decided to stay the night (Friday to Saturday) in Kungälv and shortly after 14.00 I was in my B&B. I rested for a while before setting off for Grebbestad. The weather was stunning and the views were at times magnificent. Arriving some 2,5 hours before kick-off I decided to head for the ground to take some pictures and then go somewhere to eat. The gates were open and I had no problems sneaking inside to have a look and take my pictures. The pitch looked perfect and in the nice weather I was by now really looking forward to the game at Siljevi. The actual ground has one proper stand, in the west side, but most of the fans sit/stand in the grass slope in the east side of the ground. Locals call this side the “Sun Stand”. If you look at my picture you will understand why! There were some club officials at the ground and once I had explained who the stranger taking so many pictures was I asked where to go to have something to eat. I also asked where I could go to take some nice pictures of Grebbestad and the harbor area. I was given some excellent advice and these parts of Sweden are quite beautiful.

I was back at the ground an hour before kick-off and there were already plenty of locals inside the ground. Today´s visitors, Tvååker, were unfortunately stuck in traffic and arrived late though. This meant kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes but in the nice weather that was nothing to get angry about. As the game started Tvååker, due to a clash in kit colors, had to play in Grebbestad´s old away shirts but they seemed to cope fine. It was 0-0 at half-time but early in the second half Grebbestad had a player sent off and after this incident it was Tvååker who completely dominated on the pitch. Seven minutes from the end they deservedly took the lead and despite Grebbestad having a good chance to equalize in stoppage time the gamed at Siljevi ended 0-1.

At 22.15 I was back at my B&B and I could look back on a great day out. Stunning weather as I once again completed Division 1 Södra. In Division 1 Norra I am missing two of the newly promoted clubs but hopefully I will be able to visit them later in the summer.