“The rose spikes should feel a sense of pride”

The blacksmiths made the process short and won the second semifinal against Rospiggarna. The final result was written to 48-41 in Eskilstuna team’s favor on Wednesday, and thus they won a total of 92-87.

There was never really any talk about it in semi-final two. The blacksmiths showed their class and grabbed the match immediately, including via a fifth in the first heat. In addition, it did not help, for Rospiggarna’s part, that both Kim Nilsson and Kai Huckenbeck were excluded from a heat before the first break. These are small mistakes that must not happen if you want to challenge the basic series winners for a Swedish Championship final place. After that, the away team never came back, even if they won a few heats here and there.

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Photo: Martin Lidholm

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Thus, the season is over for Rospiggarnas. At first, I think that Peter Jansson and his driver will be upset about the loss in the last two heats of the home match, which meant that they only had a two-point lead to Eskilstuna. Had they instead brought a ten-point lead to Wednesday’s match, it would probably have been a completely different nerve.

But all in all, Rospiggarna should feel a sense of pride over the season 2021. The drivers and team management have silenced the critics. First they went to the playoffs, which not many people thought they would succeed in. Then the red and whites also won their quarterfinals. There, Rospiggarna has really exceeded expectations.

And what’s impressive is that pretty much everyone has contributed. Patryk Dudek has been fantastic in many matches and has been one of Rospiggarna’s leading drivers. Kai Huckenbeck has been responsible for a breakthrough season and already in August, sports director Thomas Viktorsson said that the red and whites want to extend the German contract. Timo Lahti has always been reliable and has hardly made a bad match. In addition, he has had some real hits. Kim Nilsson has been the security himself and combined strong driving with doing everything to help his teammates. At the same time, Daniel Henderson has toiled like an animal. Before the nasty crash, it really felt like he was on his way. And Anders Mellgren stepped in at short notice and gave everything for Rospiggarna.

Then of course you have to mention Peter Jansson himself. You get the feeling that the team leader never stresses himself out and it seems to spread to the drivers. In addition, Jansson continues to lead Rospiggarna forward. His first full season with Hallstavikklubben, 2020, he took the team to the quarterfinals. This year it was the semifinals. Next year, maybe the final is a reasonable goal? Or why not a Swedish Championship gold?

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