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Question: Who was runner-up in the Svenska Mästerskapet of 1905?

Clue: The winners were Örgryte IS, which according to the English version of Wikipedia is “a Swedish sports club that consists of four departments, namely bowling, football, athletics and wrestling” (but please note that Wikipedia has no explanation of why on earth these four sports are grouped together in some kind of sadistic Frankenstein quadrathlon).

The answer is, of course, IFK Stockholm.

And so it was that the day began with a little less travelling(and perhaps a little longer in bed) for the Blue Team as we welcomed IFK Stockholm to ‘The Home of Green Dale’. And spoiler alert! What a fantastic match!!

Gröndal warmed up with a few more players than last week, but with no less confidence (and none of that ridiculous self-induced shirt-changing). Yet it seemed that IFK were also in a positive frame of mind. It was great to see both teams get together before the match and welcome each other with high-fives and fist-pumps.

Then the match began with an IFK kick-off, and we had the best of starts, pressing their players with the ball and then even better, scoring an early goal. Riding a wave, the first half continued. We played a lot of positive football, looking for passes when we had the ball, and interceptions when we didn’t. As the whistle blew for half-time, it seemed like IFK had barely visited our half.

So, we went into the second half feeling confident, and it stayed like this for a little while longer (the calm before the storm). Then something clicked. IFK woke up. We had a game on our hands. They scored two quick goals and the momentum shifted. We were the ones who were struggling to leave our half. They were threading together some fantastic passes and it looked like the storm was here to stay.

In the break after the second half, our kids looked exhausted. They seemed as though they were trying to work out what had just happened. At this point, some spectators may have worried that we had run out of energy…and that Gröndal would fall apart. But hang on a minute! This isn’t Ikeafurniture we’re talking about… “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,”

And so began Act III, with every member of Blue Team throwing themselves into the effort. Suddenly we grew a bit tougher, stretched a little further, and played with a lot more intent. It is hard to communicate the satisfaction of watching this effort, not least because our children did it themselves. We held our tongues, willing our children on with silent thoughts, and trusting the process. Until, at some point, Gröndal took a well-deserved lead. We were ahead for quite a long time until IFK snuck a goal and made the score 4-4 just before the end.

Some may say that the referee’s whistle was broken, and we expect there will be some aches and pains tomorrow from all those blocks and tackles. However, we supported the referee and his development, and we learnt to play the whistle, or the absence of a whistle that you hope might come. The post-match atmosphere said it all, with both teams sharing the joy of a wonderful match, and IFK even reminding us to thank everyone who turned out to support the game!

/Ben