After the victory against Häcken in the last round, Djurgården had the opportunity to consolidate their European place and at the same time take the chance to create some contact with Malmö FF at the top of the table on Sunday.
When the starting eleven were presented, it was clear that Kim Bergstrand chose to abandon the 3-4-3 formation that the team played with in the match against Häcken this week. Instead, the Blue Stripes lined up with the 4-2-3-1 formation that the team has patterned for large parts of the season.
Worth noting from the starting eleven is that Tobias Gulliksen was back in the starting eleven in the Allsvenskan for the first time since the derby against AIK just over a month ago. In addition to this, it was Jacob Une Larsson and Marcus Danielson who form the middle lock, while Miro Tenho started on the bench.
It only took about five minutes before Gais got the ball into the goal. Axel Henriksson raked in a goalkeeper rebound after Gustav Lundgren pushed off – but the 22-year-old was in an offside position. Baljan was thus sentenced to death.
But in minute 18, a little over a quarter of an hour after the disallowed goal, Axel Henriksson got to celebrate. Gustav Lundgren came loose on the right flank and played boldly to Henriksson, who from a tight angle pounded the lead goal between Jacob Rinne’s legs.
In the closing stages of the first half, ugly scenes unfolded. Goal scorer Axel Henriksson and Jacob Une Larsson collided during a height duel – and both players were lying down for a while. Henriksson got up first, but Une Larsson stayed the longer.
This was the last thing that happened in the first half.
Djurgården’s Rasmus Schüller was disappointed with the effort at halftime.
– It doesn’t feel so good. Every time we are active and play around Gais, the quality is not sufficient in the final third. It’s not good enough, he said in Max, elaborating:
– We find some rhythm in the game during the last quarter. But we knew they would come up under pressure and get in behind the backline. We don’t have anyone going there, so we play on their terms. They overload and pick up a lot of balls on other balls.
Gai’s Gustav Lundgren, who was responsible for the assist, was all the happier:
– It feels good, we are going out strong with the same intensity as against Malmö, he said in Max, and went on to talk about the goal:
– It’s a bit of a typical Gais goal, we know that Axel gets there every time. So when the defender follows me down, it’s just a matter of dropping down on Axel.
The 29-year-old concluded:
– The defensive game feels good, even if we get low sometimes. But we have to be part of the changes and that they have skilled players who can create. We will continue as we do with the ball and tire them out.
It was Gais who would get off to a dream start in the second half. This despite Djurgården making a triple substitution at halftime.
Who did it?
Gustav Lundgren, 29.
After a long ball, he came free – and lobbed the ball behind Jacob Rinne.
And a few minutes later the third came through Alexander Ahl Holmström. He caught the ball at midfield and advanced forward – surrounded by Djurgården’s slopes. He then unleashed just outside the penalty area – and the ball sailed in via a Dif defender.
With about ten minutes left, Djurgården started to push hard for a reduction. Deniz Hümmet nodded, Tokmac Nguen went for the rebound. Santeri Haarala came in the same position as Axel Henriksson at the 1-0 goal – but they couldn’t get the ball in.
But Gais held off – and even had a “hang” on a fourth goal. Towards the end of the match, they received a standing ovation from the home crowd.
A result that many probably did not see ahead when the Allsvenskan season started could thus be reduced.
Gais-Djurgården, 3-0.
Djurgården is thus eight points behind leading Malmö FF. Gais steps up to fourth place which could mean games in Europe.
In the next round, Djurgården meets BP at home. Gais will face Blåvitt away in their next match.
Djurgården was also booed by the away supporters after the final whistle.
– Just lie flat, they are better than us. We start energetically, but then we are too bad with the ball and concede a goal on what we prepared for. We knew what was coming, but we couldn’t handle it, Thomas Lagerlöf told Max after the match.
He continued:
– A rather weak first half. Then I think we come together in the second half and create good attacks, but we are too blurry to score. Then they score two goals… and sure, they have good players, but it’s a little too bad from us. It wasn’t advanced stuff. Far too bad in the decisive moments. But on the whole, Gais is significantly better.
– The supporters suffer, the players suffer, leaders suffer, the whole club suffers, concluded Lagerlöf.
Gais Fredrik Holmberg cheered:
– It’s a combination of those you hear singing out there, the supporters. The energy they bring and great players. It turned out well, he told Max about why they clearly won against a top team in the Allsvenskan.
He continued:
– We come out well in the match and get a good start and a good flow, we take the tempo from the Malmö match with us. It felt good, and our confidence grew. We find that we can measure up against most teams when we get up to our level, and that gives us confidence.
He also gave his view on key player Gustav Lundgren:
– He is fantastic both on and off the field, a wonderful leader who always dares to show the way. He is calm in himself and confident, he dares to play his game. Then he has an ability for the whole game, not just situations but the whole game. An incredibly wonderful player.
Lundgren himself:
– I think we built on what we did against Malmö last time and took another step. We show that we are not only here to defend ourselves, but we can really challenge against the teams that should be the best in the series. We take incredible steps with the ball and dominate the match. It never feels threatened, he said in Max.
Regarding his goal, he said the following:
– It feels good, I got it on my chest. Everything was well timed, he (Rinne) came up with an intermediary. It’s nice when you can just lift it instead of trying to do something difficult.
With the result, they are now, to the surprise of many, fourth in the table with seven games to go.
– We are absolutely not satisfied with anything, we have the future ahead of us, Lundgren concluded.
Startelvor:
Application: Krasniqi – Wängberg, Norén, Beckman, Ibrahim – Henriksson, Åberg, Milovanovic – Lundgren, Ahl Holmström, Amatkarijo.
Djurgården: Rinne – Therkildsen, Danielson, Une Larsson Kosugi – Sabovic, Schüller – Radetinac, Nguyen, Gulliksen – Hummet.
