Photo: Bildbyrån
Another painful collapse for HV71 means that the team now shares the jumbo spot with Modo, who won last time.
Now the coach Anton Blomqvist goes out and apologizes to all the supporters.
– You feel that you are letting down people who care a lot about the club, he says to Expressen.
Modo surprised most people last Saturday when they beat Frölunda away with a clear 3-0. This means that they got up to the same number of points (15) as HV71, although the Småland team had then played one less game. They were in turn beaten by Luleå with the somewhat embarrassing numbers 2-6.
Anton Blomqvist’s self-criticism
After the match there was a concern Anton Blomqvist who met the press. The coach, who came to the club from Allsvenskan AIK before the season, is stressed given that the team is second last in the table, with a slightly better goal difference than Modo. That’s ten points up to safe ground.
– The club has been through hell in recent years. The idea was to come in and make it better. Nothing has changed from my side. I’m self-critical when it looks like it does. That there is criticism and dissatisfaction is perfectly reasonable given how it looks. You want to make it better, he tells Expressen.
READ MORE: HV71 has found its replacement for Chris Abbott
He is of course aware that the team is at a very bad level right now. He therefore apologizes to all the fans in Jönköping and around the country, he says he suffers with them.
– We sell out every single match, and if we are at the bottom of the table, the supporters suffer. We have people who are up here at our practices. It’s not free. You feel that you are letting down people who care a lot about the club. And you want to make it better.
Crisis meeting with Chris Abbott afterwards
Immediately after the final whistle, Blomqvist, the assistant coaches, gathered Johan Davidsson and Frederick Stillman as well as the general manager Chris Abbott in the catacombs of the arena. It was a small crisis call that took place after another tough loss.
– We have a good dialogue, me and Chris. It’s not weird. He looks at it with the same eyes as I do. He knows what we are looking for as a team and individually. He always comes down after so there were no strange things. You want to say something, but it’s quite rare that something meaningful comes right after. Lots of emotions right after, an extremely big disappointment. You can land in it and start digging from there, says Anton Blomqvist.
The next game for HV71 is on Thursday. Then the newcomer, also third in the series, Brynäs awaits at home. Then the team has to do without Oliver Kaskithe 29-year-old Finnish defender who has not played since the premiere against Växjö. He will need surgery and will likely miss the entire season.
– We have tried to rehabilitate the upper body injury, but for some time now it has been clear that he needs to undergo surgery. Something that will be implemented in the next few days, says the team doctor Jonas Kalman to Sportbladet.
READ MORE: Sanny Lindström saws HV71 for the handling of Chris Abbott
How would you describe HV71’s season so far? Feel free to write a comment on Sportbibeln’s Facebook page.
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