As per tradition, the SAFF season round one commences each year in conjunction with a Anzac Day commemoration. Like last year, all teams gathered at Årsta Field in bright, sunny spring weather and a nice crowd of 150 or so were present to enjoy the ceremony, the footy and the day.
Rivalries in the SAFF don’t get much bigger than Solna v Södermalm matches, dating back from the nail-biting 2008 SAFF Grand Final where the underdogs Solna won at the death.
For both teams, the first quarter would be “rusty” after a long Scandinavian winter though Södermalm managed to start best and post a few goals against the wind to take the well-deserved lead into quarter time. Solna didn’t help itself by kicking 3 points that should have all been majors.
The second quarter was much more even and the score was close coming into half-time. Solna started to find its straps against the win while Södermalm were taking their opportunities and kicking a number of goals on the run in the area 30-40 metres out from goal.
The third quarter is commonly known as the premiership quarter, as tight matches are often decided during this period. Both teams were trading goals and Solna managed to get even with a few minutes to go. The final 5 minutes would end up being the major difference the two teams and would decide the outcome of this match as Solna fired 4 unanswered goals to take a handy 15 point lead into the final term. But could they hold onto it while Södermalm had the breeze in the final term, or would Söder come home with a wet sail?
The fourth quarter opened up brightly with a couple of quick goals by Södermalm and it was truly game on. However, Solna managed to find some composure in the midfield and replied with a couple of steadying goals from Joel Tjernlund and Sligo-man Brendan Egan, who pushed up 50 metres from half-back to finish. From this point, the teams traded goals until the final siren and which point Solna found itself 10 points up to take the match.
In summary, there wasn’t much difference between the teams except for that last 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter where Solna managed to get the upperhand and enough of a lead to defend in the final quarter. Both teams were evenly balanced across the park which saw a number of exciting and close one-on-one contests.
Influential players for Söder included Joel Burnell who dominated from the half-back line and instigated a number of rebounds that resulted in scores. First-gamer John Murphy and Petter Eek had solid games while Sean Hargreaves had a good first half but went a touch quiet after that. Max Larsson battled hard all day in the midfield and put a number of fine touches together that resulted in majors. The ever-dangerous goal sneak and Eurosport commentator Jonathon “Brissles” Briscoe came on at Full Forward for a cameo 10 minutes at the end, but one has to wonder why the Söder coaching staff didn’t get him on much earlier in the game.
For Solna, first-gamer Mat Wright found his stride and got better as the game wore on. He partnered well with tireless “hard ball get” specialist Jake Richards and ruck-juggernaut, Mats “Matzilla” Wurmbach. Björn “Jesus” Sundqvist and Sean “El Presidente” Donnelly were strong off the half-back line, laying in a number of turnover tackles. Also first time in an Axeman jumper, Adrian “Dickie” Knee, was enterprising across the half-forward line taking a number of contested marks but failing convert often enough. Joel “Belly” Tjernlund had a good day at the office but could have kicked atleast another 2 or 3 goals on top of the 3 that he did slot through. Philip Porublev, surprising many by being selected at full back, did “ok” according to a number of impartial observers up until he let in a wobbly bouncing goal from Austrian star import from the Vienna Kangaroos, Sebastian Dorda. claiming at the time “I lost it in the sun.. seriously”.
Linköping based Field Umpire Jay Siermans had a good game and let the match flow. Special thanks also to the goal umpires, Peter and Jay, and to those came to support all teams on the day.
Next week it will be the Axemens bogey team, the Årsta Swans, for the Friday evening blockbuster at Årsta field. The Axemen were winless against the Swans during the regular season last year and will be looking to reverse the trend. First-up winners Bromma take on Södermalm at home at Bromma Airport in a repeat of last years SAFF Grand Final. No doubt, Bromma will be looking to kick much straighter than they did last time… and restore order in the universe by reversing the result. Bromma by 2 goals and Solna by less than a kick.