Kråkerøy IL (Norway)

Kråkerøy Idrettslag is sports club with a football section from the island of Kråkerøy,near to Fredrikstad in Norway’s Østfold; around fifty miles south of Oslo. The club was formed in 1937.

For most of their history Kråkerøy played in regional Østfold football, while playing home games at Kråkerøy Stadion, located at Kråkerøy Youth School. At the turn of the millennium the team competed at the sixth national level.

A trio of runners-up places ensued under coaches Roger Moen and then Svein Nilsen before the 5th Division Avdeling 2 title was collected in 2010, leading to promotion to the fifth tier under former Fredrikstad FK and Sarpsborg 08 player Bjørnar Johannessen.

The 2012 campaign saw Kråkerøy progress from 4th Division, Østfold to the national set up as Johannessen remained in charge. Promotion meant a move of venue as the team used Fredrikstad Stadion to comply with ground grading stipulations.

The club was placed in the fourth tier 3. Divisjon Regionsligaen Avdeling 1, where they finished in fourth position. The 2014 season ended in a runners-up berth; which was repeated the following year.

Jon Hermansen, formerly of Fredrikstad FK took over as head coach for the 2016 season, leading the team to the league title to secure their status, as the divisions were streamlined for 2017.

A fifth place finish in 2017 followed, with Kråkerøy being transferred to Avdeling 2 for the 2018 season under head coach Jan Tore Ophaug where the team finished in fifth place prior to being switched to Avdeling 1 in 2019 which ended in eighth place.

Kråkerøy were placed back in Avdeling 2 in readiness for the 2020 season.

Kråkerøy IL will play in Regionsligaen Avdeling 2 in the 2020 season.

My visit

Kråkerøy IL 1 Valdres FK 1 (Saturday 26^th May 2018) Regionsligaen Avdeling 2 (att: 136)

I’d arrived at Oslo Airport the previous evening on my first ever trip to Norway. After an eye watering confirmation as to the price of beer at the Best Western Airport Hotel and a good night’s sleep, I made sure I got full value for money at the breakfast buffet!

The shuttle bus took me back to the Airport in readiness for my journey south towards Fredrikstad. The Airport Express link was working fine, but I would require the dreaded Rail Replacement Bus Service on arriving at Oslo Sentralstasjon.

I’d scanned the fixtures from a few weeks earlier and had originally chosen the top flight local derby Eliteserien game between Vålerenga and Lillestrøm SK. However, that would have meant reaching my final destination far too late.

Although I was very eager to take in some football on my trip, the main reason for my visit was to visit my brother Paul, with Ragnhild and Andrea in Halden a couple of hours south of the capital.

I needed a Plan B and once again the excellent Groundhopper App came up trumps on my IPhone. The ‘Nearby Fixtures’ feature can be adjusted to anywhere in the world and it gave me the option of visiting Kråkerøy in residence at Fredrikstad Stadion.

The coach turned up outside Oslo station and I initially thought I’d be afforded some space. That was until a large woman plonked herself in the seat next to me and wedged me in. At least there was no chance of rattling around if we’d have had a crash.

Fortunately, she got out at Moss after around forty minutes. The bonus of being stuck was that I looked out of the window and enjoyed the stunning views as we left Oslo before having a little nod heading south.

The Google Maps App is also a huge help charting journeys and noting places of beauty. The construction on new roads on the approach to Fredrikstad meant we arrived a little later than scheduled, but I still had time for a quick adventure.

I couldn’t fathom out how the left luggage lockers worked so I took my stuff along with me. I’d read up and been given advice on what to see and how to travel around the small city by the free ferry service.

Initially I walked through the park down to the attractive waterfront and took the boat across from Ferjested to Gamlebyen. This is the old town and one of the oldest intact fortified towns in Europe. I walked along the wall before requiring a stop.

A refreshing beer was taken in Peppes Pizza where I took stock. I didn’t have too much spare time before the match, but I had a quick look at the pretty district, which attracted lots of tourists to its craft shops and cobbled streets.

The 1.30pm 602 ferry weaved its way up the Glomma and Skagerrak rivers, stopping at various points before depositing me at Værste. This area was once the home of shipbuilding in the city, but had been redeveloped with a college, retail units and the stadium in 2007.

I walked around the outside of the stadium, going down the unopened side, before finding the one open entrance. It became evident that the stadium had been built above ground level on top of a car park. This was such a simple, but brilliant idea.

Shops and a gym surrounded the parking, so that all available space was used sensibly. Open steps led up to the corner of the stadium at the west side. I was able to get a preview and a couple of photos before going inside.

Once I located the only open entrance I climbed the steps and paid 100 KON admission; around £10. No bag checks were operating; which was as well as I had a bottle of duty free Jameson’s inside my backpack. Only the Main Stand was open, and you could sit anywhere.

I was really impressed with Fredrikstad Stadion. It was one of the better new builds I’d come across with barrel type roofs down either side which I later found out were defunct mechanical workshops. There were sections for seats and terracing in the identical stands behind either goal.

Opposite me was a single tiered seated stand while the main side had a lower section separated by a wide aisle with more seating backed with corporate boxes topped in the centre by media facilities. It had everything for a small city club.

My only complain was that it was too big for Norsk Tipping-ligaen fourth tier football and Kråkerøy, but the artificial pitch allowed all the community to use it, which had to be a good thing. I settled down with a coke and a pølse Norwegian sausage for 55 KON.

It was as well that I did take my seat in decent time as the match started in dramatic style. Kråkerøy put together a smart move and progressed towards the Valdres goal. The defenders were somewhat static as the ball was laid across goal for Joacim Olsen to tap home.

Both sides were around mid table going into the match, but the hosts looked the far better outfit in the early stages. It was as though some of the Valdres players were still recovering from their journey from north of Oslo.

Their scattering of supporters were also taken aback but started to get behind their side on a hot afternoon. It looked like it was going to a long afternoon for them; especially as one of their defenders sliced narrowly past his own post on fifteen minutes.

Kråkerøy were playing a short incisive passing game on the deck and weren’t afraid to shoot. Valdres young English midfielder Ryan Nelson was having a fine game as his side looked to get back into the game. He looked an excellent ball player.

Nelson was joined by other young Englishmen Dominic McGiveron and Kyle Spence in the visitors starting line up. They nearly headed down the tunnel 2-0 down when an awful clearance didn’t go out of the box. A shot just missed going in at the far post.

The match was more even with midfielders on top as the game headed towards the interval. It was lovely to be in such a relaxed atmosphere as kids and parents had a kick about on the pitch at half time, and fans were able to enter other stands without heavy handed stewarding.

Special mention must be made to referee Shkodran Dinaj who controlled the game well, allowed drinks breaks at the mid way point of each half, but still had the second half kicking off at bang on 4pm.

Valdres looked a better outfit after the restart, with skipper Thomas Brekke having a free kick saved by Kråkerøy custodian Marius Svendsen. On fifty eight minutes Markus Engebretsen embarked on a great run for the locals but Herman Blystad side footed wide when well placed.

Olsen was having a fine game to add to his goal as he pulled the strings just behind the forwards. However, Valdres were having a fair share of the play and equalised on seventy three minutes when Jose Maria Cruz Marin glanced home a header from a set piece.

With eleven minutes remaining, substitute Andreas Nygaard wasted a good chance for Kråkerøy to regain the lead. He side footed wide after being put in by Blystad. The same pair joined together in a one two with Rafael Veloso saving from Nygaard.

The game was wide open in the heat. Half chances were coming at each end. Elias Huth came close to winning it for the hosts in the closing stages, before home full back Karolis Jarmalavicius was sent off for a second yellow card offence.

At full time it was good to see another set of veteran matches were to take place in the stadium, giving it full usage. It certainly explained why the attendance had grown during the match!

I headed off along Kobberslagerstredet. I was tempted to sit down at O’Learys Sports Bar on Gamle Beddingvei but continued over the bridge across the water. I’d been given a tip that Havnelageret Gastropub was nice, but it was packed.

Indeed, most places on Bryggepromenaden were doing good trade on a beautiful afternoon. I headed inland, before deciding to try again further towards the station. I had around fifty minutes to kill before my bus to Halden.

O.M.G Bar was packed outside with locals wearing Liverpool shirts ahead of that evening’s Champions League Final against Real Madrid. The music inside was also in support of the club, who were extremely popular in Norway.

Local side Fredrikstad FK were being shown on TV in their live match against Frem in the third tier. Several FKF fans watched and cheered on their side. You can read about the travails of FKF here.

I had time for a couple of beers. It wasn’t cheap, but it was most enjoyable before taking

in a bit more of the very nice area on my way back to the station. The bus was running late, and I was getting tired. It was a real relief when an empty service turned up and took me to Halden via Sapsborg.

It was great to see Paul; especially as he was doing well in such a lovely place. Ragnhild and Andrea came to meet us at the station before we went home for a barbecue and drinks. It was fantastic to catch up and see everything for myself.

We relaxed and stayed in to watch the final. It had been a long but most enjoyable day in some really nice places around good people.