Twice in the space of a week the G and B Arena in Målilla has been the central focus for Swedish speedway.
On Saturday all eyes were on Fredrik Lindgren as he cruised around the outside line on the track to take first the semifinal and then the final of the Scandinavian GP against world class opposition.
And on Thursday night Dackarna would host Kumla Indianerna knowing that a win would secure the regular season championship.
But the team from Målilla kept everyone in suspense leaving it to the very last heat of the very last match of the season to win by the narrowest of margins, 47-43 to top the table before the playoffs start next week.
The match in detail
Dackarna had already thrashed their guests in Kumla, 37-51, so the bonus point was never in doubt.
That sat in second place just one point behind Elit Vetlanda, but with a far worse +/- difference, before the tapes were lifted. So the home team knew that nothing but an outright win would be enough to top the table.
Things started well for the Målilla club when they took a 5:1 in the first heat through Polish pair, Maciej Janowski and Kacper Gomolski who subdued Kumla's British superstar, Tai Woffinden, so he could only collect one point.
And things continued on the right track for Dackarna when they took their third 5:1 heat of the night. It was again Woffinden who picked up the single point for Indianerna, but surprisingly he was beaten by the Swedish duo of Oliver Berntzon and Jacob Thorssell whilst Kumla's Chris Holder came last in this heat.
The victory seemed certain as early as Heat 6 as the home team was already 14 points ahead, 25-11.
But as the crowd starting to get in the party mood, Kumla's riders had other ideas. With a 2:4 in Heat 9, and two 1:5s in a row in Heats 12 and 13, the momentum seemed to have shifted in the tie as the Indians tried to become the ultimate party-poopers.
After poor starts it was Kumla’s two English speaking world champions, Woffinden and Holder, who would mastermind the comeback for the visitors. The Brit finishing with 13 pts and the Australian with 15 pts by the time the match was over.
So that before the nomination heats started Kumla reduced the deficit to just four points, 41-37,
And the two world champions would also win heats 14 and 15 to terrify the home crowd and appear to spoil Dackarna's day.
That however did not account for the team spirit of the home squad, four of whom scored 8 points a piece and whom were lead out by Janowski who took 10 on the night.
And although Kumla's stars won the last two heats, it was hard fought riding from the Målilla team that meant both nomination heats actually finished 3:3, nullifying the visitors’ wins and securing the victory by 47-43.
With Dackarna and second place Vetlanda are through the semifinals but will need to wait to see who they meet. The quarterfinals start next week on 27 August.
