Eric Martinson was half a centimeter away from becoming a champion in HV71.
After 30 seconds, the defender became a scapegoat when he lost the wound with the disc.
After many negative comments online, supporters stopped, collected money, and bought flowers and chocolates.
jumbo table HV71 It was a rough start in the SHL without three pointers in its first seven games.
At home against rival Linkoping on Saturday night, the newcomers were clearly the better team.
A little more than a minute before in normal time with a 1-1 draw, Eric Martinson shot inside the post. Spotlights flashed and more cheered, including Eric Martinson himself.
The game turned, when Eric Martinson collected the disc under control with his own aim, he suddenly lost the pieces due to a crack in the rail. Broc Little grabbed the disc and was served by Markus Ljungh, who was able to decide 1-2 with 44 seconds left.
It hurts in the depths of the soul. Saturday night I devastated the entire hockey town. Sure, going out with HV71 two seasons ago was the worst, but that’s number two on the job list. In a way, the little difference between heaven and hell is the magic of this sport. I thought and just felt like hell at the fault line, I just wanted to disappear. “I don’t usually fall on my skis unless it’s an intense fight,” says Eric Martinson.
“I never participated”
On Monday’s training, a person with a large bouquet of flowers appeared to him.
In a community forum, supporters raised money to buy flowers and chocolates to support Eric Martinson. With the hashtags #64, #martinsson and #tillsammansärvistarka, people were invited to pass 100 kroner.
After 20-30 minutes it reached 3600 SEK and the group closed at 4200 SEK. The money left after the bouquet of flowers and the chocolate candy will go toward a large tifo banner for the game against Brenas on Saturday afternoon.
– It was a nice gesture that I appreciate, it is very kind of them and warms me. I have never received gifts like this before. Shows how many people care. There were two fixed packages and the boys loved the chocolate. In a way, it gets a little weird and special. After all, we really have gifts because we did something good and not something bad, as now, says Eric Martinson.
“to bear the loss”
It was clear on the ice what a nightmarish situation the 29-year-old had found. His eyes were blank and dark.
Before everyone on the team had time to enter the locker room, Eric Martinson was showered and changed and was on his way home. Head coach Tommy Samuelson ran and stopped him to offer his support.
– Perhaps there are coaches who are not supportive in the same way. Then I returned home to the apartment safely before the spectators could leave the arena. I would lie if it was a fun Saturday. Eric Martinson says I take the loss to myself.
After two days, he understood the situation and felt that it was important to prepare in the best possible way for the upcoming matches.
– I have to go ahead and go ahead. Neither me nor my teammates nor the coaches nor the fans want people to dwell on what happened, it is not possible to lie and think. If you look at the team’s results, it’s a tough feeling, but we have to look at performance in this case, says Eric Martinson.
“Area in Jönköping”
At the same time, there were satirical and threatening posts against Eric Martinson on Twitter and the HV71 Facebook page.
I have not received any particularly hateful message directly to me. I understand it’s written online, but it’s not something I read. Hockey is Jönköping’s religion, and it influences when you do good things and influences when you do less good things. I understand that what happened on Saturday night has affected many, I hope the fans and our team together can create a good direction going forward. You’d rather play for a team that has such ardent supporters, Eric Martinson says, than not at all.
Closest Thursday evening, a match awaits you in the former hometown of Angelholm, between Rogel in 13th and HV71 in 14th in the table.
