Degerfors had secured a dream position to play their way back to the top division, at home and, to make matters worse, against their big arch-rival.
A win would be enough against the 12th 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 saw the long-since sold-out 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, the next blow came 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.
We get 1-0 in a part of the match where I think we're pretty good. We come out and get the pressure and the goal we needed. Then it gets a bit rocky in our substitutions, and I think we lose a bit of the match plan we had, says Degerfors coach William Lundin to Max, and continues:
Fucking annoying to concede two late goals in the way we do, but now it's just about breaking down and coming again on Sunday.
Degerfors IF had its finest days around the middle of the last century, with second places in 1941 and 1963 as peaks. But after relegation in 1966, the team from the small industrial town – there are barely 10,000 inhabitants in the municipality – has mostly held on to 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 the 1-2 loss to Örebro was a major disappointment, much suggests that the stay in Superettan will only be one year this time.
Down to Öster and Landskrona, who are chasing closest under the promotion line, there is still an eight-point difference with only three rounds left to play.
Degerfors meets Varberg away on Sunday next. Then Landskrona (away) and Öster (home) await in the last two rounds.
