Conditions were dry and bright (if a little windy) and the Blues were looking forward to their first match of the season with an awesome 17 players turning out to represent the team and coach Dylan O’Keefe on the sidelines calling the shots. Söder were not the only team who had come prepared and ready to play with Malmö fielding a team comprised almost entirely of Australians!

As the game got under way Söder were fastest out of the gates moving the ball up field and drawing first blood with a goal from the boot of Tanka. However the Maulers kept right up with them coming back immediately to snag a goal from close range. With some early jitters and scrappy play in the midfield the two sides continued to exchange blows in this fashion for much of the first quarter.

However after quarter time the Blues came out like a team that had been playing together forever, with good ruck work from Rob Njoku and some smooth skills from the surrounding midfielders Söder moved the ball efficiently and the result was them setting up camp in the Maulers half. This pressure provided no rest for the visitors and allowed Söder to rack up 40 unanswered points at the half time whistle, special mention going to the fiery Fin Kaj Karlsson for a great run from the right resulting in a sweet left foot goal.

Going into the third quarter buoyed by their exploits pre half time Söder once again took the game to the visitors who, with the wind picking up, must have been questioning the decision to come North. To their credit the Maulers made this anything but easy for the boys from Södermalm and played some stout defense and moving the ball nicely out from the back all day through their midfielders.

As the final leg of the contest got under way both sides were feeling the effects of their efforts in the past three quarters and there were some weary legs on the park. Port Malmö moved the ball very well and continued to provide a threat to the Blues defense. The highlight of the quarter has to be Chris Tancredi’s strong mark in a contest in which he took a punch to the face for his troubles, fortunately no serious remodeling occured. If there was ever any question as to whether or not he would be ok to take the shot at goal Tanka rose to his feet to slot nicely through the uprights. Toward the end of the quarter the Blues backline experienced more action than they had for most of the game as legs began to tire and skills started to slip, although Port’s resurgence would be cut short by the final whistle.

End Scores:

Södermalm Blues 13.10.88

Port Malmö Maulers 6.5.41

It was a good game played in good spirits by a group of players who Södermalm will look forward to meeting again in the away leg when they travel to play Port on their home turf later in the year.

Congratulations to Co-captain, Club Champion and League Hagberg Medalist, Michael Larsson who reached the milestone of 50 club games!

Södermalm will now look to this Sunday the 3rd of May where they will turn their attention to the SAFF regional contest taking on the Solna Axemen in a replay of the Grand Final from last year.

Hope to see you all there! C’mon the Blues!