Rögle lost an even match in Växjö on Boxing Day. It was 2–1 to Växjö after Eric Martinsson from Klippan settled the match with barely six minutes left to play.
The old cliché that “the family is the worst” may be brought up again this evening. Because it was former Rögle defender Eric Martinsson who decided the match for Angel Islander Jörgen Jönsson’s Växjö.
– I’ll keep myself quite short – my voice is quite raspy, maybe it’s the Christmas ham…, Jönsson begins press conference after the match.
Top team Växjö got revenge on Rögle, who won the team’s meeting in the last SHL round after penalties, also in Växjö.
– I am very happy about the victory. A packed Vida Arena. Fantastic atmosphere, nice away fans and nice home fans, he continues.
The match was generally even. In a scoreless first period, the shots and scoring chances were fairly evenly distributed. A hot Martinsson was close even then – with a rebound shot from the blue line that was well saved by goalkeeper Christoffer Rifalk. The Rögle keeper was hot and also saved a free position for Robert Rosén. For the away team, Anton Bengtsson had a good chance on a direct shot, which Adam Åhman saved.
– The first period was even. It waved back and forth. In others, I think Växjö will come out strong in the top ten, we are a bit on our heels and have a bit of a problem with how we play the puck ourselves, says Rögle’s coach Roger Hansson.
Here, Växjö also scored the first goal of the match. The sharp Tobias Rieder threw in a sharp puck towards the goal from a tight angle. Rifalk released the rebound straight out and on it Danish Joachim Blichfeld stayed in front.
– Then we even it out in the last half of the second and put ourselves in a good position away from home, says Hansson.
The fourth chain accounted for the equalizer. Henry Bowlby went nicely into the offensive zone, held the puck, passed Albin Sundsvik who in turn served Linus Sjödin, who equalized with his first goal of the season.
In a friendly game, the first dismissal did not come until the end of the second period. Rögle held up well when Daniel Zaar sat in the booth for a slash in the face against Brian Cooper. RBK then had several good chances when Martin Lundberg was sent off, but the score remained 1-1 well into the final period.
It was when Rögle lost the puck in his own zone that the decision came – lightning fast. Martinsson got the puck at the blue line and splashed it there, high up in the net behind Rifalk.
– Once again, it will be the game with the puck that gets us down. But also the decisions we make – we could have done it in a better way. Overall, I still think that we will come up in a good way away from home against Växjö. Looking at the two goals we conceded, they are in something that we ourselves can influence in the future, says Hansson.
The loss was RBK’s first since he took over the helm of the club.
– Sour, but still an OK away game, he sums up his second game as Rögle coach.
The leaders of the opponents were of course happier.
– I am incredibly satisfied that we took three points, says Jörgen Jönsson.
The match in general was quite friendly, but after Rögle’s forced finish and the final whistle, there was a fight on the ice. Cooper and Rögle’s Lukas Ekeståhl-Jonsson were in the center and both were awarded match penalties after the end of the match.
Rögle is now twelfth in the SHL. Malmö passed in the table after beating Luleå.
Bottom of the table, SHL:
8. Luleå, 40 days.
9. Örebro, 38p.
10. Malmö, 36p.
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11. MoDo, 36p.
12. Rögle, 34p.
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13. HV71, 29p.
14. Oskarshamn, 22p.
Photo: Bildbyrån
Contact details:
Gustav.lundblad@skanesport.se
2023-12-26 21:55:39
#Klippansonen #lowered #Rögle #Roger #Hansson #Jörgen #Jönssons #comments #Skånesport
