Degerfors had secured a dream position to play their way back to the top division, at home and to top it all off against their big arch-rival.
A win would be enough against the twelfth-placed team in Superettan.
And the situation didn't get any worse when Gustav Lindgren sprinted through Örebro's defense and scored 1–0 in the 53rd minute.
Sold out
5,616 spectators had been waiting for weeks to see the local derby and after the lead goal, the red and white stands at Stora Valla were boiling – for about half an hour.
Then came the cold shower.
Erik McCue reached the highest on a free kick and headed in 1–1 in the 83rd minute, in a situation where the top division was only minutes away for Degerfors.
Degerfors tried to recover from the shock and chased 2–1, but instead came the next blow from Örebro in the 90th minute. McCue headed again, Rasmus Forsell saved – but not well enough to prevent Jesper Modig from forcing in the winning goal when the ball was on the goal line.
I think we had control until they scored 1–1. And then 2–1 came right after too. It's crap. I think we all had a dream of doing it today. A terrible feeling, says Sebastian Ohlsson.
Degerfors IF had its finest days around the middle of the last century, with second places in 1941 and 1963 as highlights. But after being relegated in 1966, the team from the small industrial town – there are barely 10,000 inhabitants in the municipality – has mostly played in lower divisions.
It took 26 long seasons without top division football before the comeback in 1993. Later, another period of more than two decades – 1998–2020 – when "The Red and White" didn't play in the top division.
Varberg next
Even though 1–2 against Örebro was a major disappointment, much suggests that the stay in Superettan will only be one year this time.
After all, there are eight points down to third-place Öster and fourth-place Landskrona with only three rounds left to play.
We still have everything in our own hands and a good position, even though it's hard to think about anything else than this match right now, says Sebastian Ohlsson.
He and his teammates were afterwards out among the fans, who tried to pep up the players for the continuation.
They're incredible, traveling to all the matches, and I think the interest has almost become greater this year – despite us being relegated from the top division last year, says Ohlsson.
The next trip goes to Varberg on Sunday. Then Degerfors will face Landskrona (away) and Öster (home) in the last two rounds.
