Game 2 vs. the Ekeby Greys

The usual: a week late.  This blog covers Easter Sunday through our game against the Ekeby Greys on Saturday, April 30.

Easter Sunday was pretty quiet for me.  It was nice to follow the anxious week leading up to the first game with a day of relaxation.  Sarah Johnsson provided me with her recipe for Swedish pancakes the night before, so I thought I'd make some for a delicious Easter fika.

For those of you who are curious: mix 3 deciliters (1.25 cups) milk, 3 deciliters flour, and 1/2 a teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl.  Then mix in 3 eggs.  You can grease the pan with butter.

They turned out pretty good for my first shot, and were delicious with strawberry jam and whipped cream.  This recipe makes 10 pancakes, so I had plenty of batter left over for another day.

On Monday, Ben Hörnquist was nice enough, despite his initial aversion to women's soccer, to come with me to the Damallsvenksan (top division of women's soccer in Sweden) match between LdB FC Malmö and Kristianstads DFF at Vilan IP, about a few minutes by bike from my apartment.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day and many fans had come out to enjoy the weather and the match.  I know very little about women's soccer, particularly attendance, but I suspect that the crowd might also have been a little larger because the visiting team, LdB FC Malmö, is the reigning Damallsvenskan champions.  LdB FC finished last season without a loss in the division (although they did have a few ties).  The crowd could also have been large because although it was Monday on the calendar, the day after a holiday is treated like a Sunday, so most shops and businesses were closed.

In any case, finding a good place to view the game was tough.  Ben and Kim Torstensson, above, had no qualms about going up to the handicapped platform to check out the action...at least for a little while.  We were finally able to settle in behind some short kids to get a good view.

Longtime followers of the blog (if they exist) may recall that I had the privilege to meet Nilla Fischer, LdB FC Malmö and Swedish National team center midfielder, at the Malmö Festival last summer through Lucas Grip, who grew up with Nilla.  Unfortunately, Nilla left midway through the second half with cramps, but LdB FC prevailed after a scoreless first half 1-0.

Speaking of Malmö, on Tuesday I took the train down to Sweden's third largest city to meet with Johan Vajnlie to exchange films.  Johan treated me to lunch in Malmö where we talked Swedish American football before going to Limhamn's home field to trade films.  Malmö is, like the other larger cities I've seen in Europe, an interesting mix of old and new as very old structures and statues stand next to brand new modern complexes.  Malmö also had Easter egg decor out this time of year.

Wednesday I was greeted by the flu.  Well, now I've been sick on two continents.  I guess that's an accomplishment?

Thursday, though, relief came in the form of an Easter package from my mom.  It included an Easter card, some homemade spiced, sweetened, and roasted walnuts and almonds, and Hershey's chocolates.  Perhaps most welcome, given that I was sick, was the tea she included.  It was scheduled to be delivered the Friday before, but apparently got held up in Germany for a few days, perhaps because of the holiday weekend.

Our Thursday practice was pretty good and I felt much more calm entering the Ekeby match than I had before our first game against Hässleholm, despite only being able to have the one practice that week due to field use issues.  It was to be Ekeby's first game, since they had a bye last week.  Hopefully, we could continue our early success and improve to 2 - 0.

Ekeby presented a slightly more multidimensional attack than Hässleholm, as they spread the field a little more and weren't afraid to throw the ball.  Our defense rose to the challenge and provided good pressure on the strong armed and athletic QB.

This pressure and good coverage led to an interception for a TD by Robert Wilhelmsson (SS), below.  Robert is one of the players that came to us from the Carlshamn Oakleaves, who had a senior team last year but have decided to focus on rebuilding their junior program this year.  Carlshamn and Ekeby were rivals, so this was surely a great feeling for Robert to get the pick six against Ekeby.  The defense produced 14 points total in the game, with two INTs for TDs (the second by Max Kelley) and a safety.

Another Carlshamn refugee, Niklas Petersson (RB), got a lot of opportunities to carry the ball, although he sometimes took punishment even when he didn't have the ball.  His sacrifice in the play below led to a long TD run by Hampus Linde.

No, I'm not winking.  It was a beautiful day for football with lots of sun!

Nik, below, with some tough rushing yards.

Alex Nilsson (WR/DB) had a big game for the Predators.  He caught a number of passes, including two for scores, kicked the ball well for PATs and FGs, and had this interception on a deep ball.

Disappointingly, we gave up a TD on Ekeby's opening drive of the second half to spoil the second shutout of the season.  Nevertheless, the Predators rolled to a 56-8 victory and improved to 2-0 heading into a Bye week.  Ekeby (0-1) would face Ystad the following week.

After two dominating performances, it is CRITICAL that the Predators continue to work hard and focus on improving as individuals and as a team to avoid getting surprised, particularly as the upcoming schedule includes the two teams favored to finish at the top of Div. I Södra in the Ystad Rockets and Limhamn Griffins.