Back page The action kicked off on Wednesday night in Stockholm where Malmo and their new coach Daniel Andersson, travelled to the Tele2 Arena to face the unbeaten league leaders Hammarby in the only fixture of the night.
After taking the lead twice in the game Malmo were deducted to ten men, which opened the door for Hammarby to steal the 3-2 win, the fourth time they’ve come from behind to win in the league this season.
Soren Rieks opened the scoring for Malmo after 20 minutes when he blasted into an empty net before Nikola Djurdic levelled for Hammarby with a flicked header into the far post.
Malmo looked like a new team following the dismissal of Magnus Pehrsson last week, and were back in front immediately after the restart when 19-year-old Mattias Svanberg steamed into the box to put a low cross over the line.
But Djurdic headed home his sixth goal of the season just after the hour mark, when full-back Simon Sandberg picked out the towering Serb at the back post.
With 20 minutes remaining, Malmo’s Lasse Nielsen was shown a second yellow card and just two minutes after his dismissal, the leagues high scorer Pa Dibba was on hand to put Hammarby ahead for the first time in the game with a deft touch and finish.
Football at the Tele2 Arena was not away for long , as Djurgardens hosted Orebro there on Thursday night. Since the 3-0 Cup final hammering of Malmo last week, Djurgardens have found back-to-back wins and clean sheets, after they overcame an Orebro side that have alternatively lost two on the bounce after previously going unbeaten through the season.
It took Djurgardens an hour to finally break down Orebro, but it took a stroke of something special from their man in-form Tino Kadawere. The Zimbabwean who is attracting the interest of German Second Division outlet FC Union Berlin, finished a superb solo effort (1:19) for the lead and his fourth league goal of the season.
Orebro looked for a way back into the game but were finished off in injury time when Kerim Mrabti curled one into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec5TY0pR4oo
Brommapojkarna secured back-to-back home wins to lift them out of the relegation zone after beating the high-flying Kalmar 2-1 on Friday night – their first defeat in five games after four straight wins in the Allsvenskan.
Sirius kicked off the Saturday fixtures with a 1-1 draw against Trelleborgs in a battle at the lower end of the table, whilst Ostersunds and Norrkoping found wins against Sundsvall and Dalkurd respectively.
Ostersunds travelled to Sundsvall who have been this seasons surprise package, going six games unbeaten at the start of the season before a dramatic 4-3 loss at Hammarby at the start of the month.
Former Middlesbrough youth player Curtis Edwards scored Ostersunds first goal of the game when he side-footed a low cross past the keeper with ease.
Ostersunds doubled their lead after half an hour when a corner was hit deep and headed back towards the back post where Hosam Aiesh was lingering, and the Swedish Under-19 tapped in.
But Sundsvall striker and skipper Linus Hallenius kept up his good scoring form, and got his first of two when on-loan Spaniard David Batanero chipped a quick free kick into the box, deceiving every Sundsvall defender for Hallenius to turn and fire low past Aly Keita.
After the restart, Ostersunds lead and inevitable victory was soon sealed by Saman Ghoddos who was gifted space in the box for him to place the ball in the bottom corner. Hallenius’ second came on 81 minutes – nothing more than a consolation goal, but another goal of class at that.
A long ball over the Ostersunds defence was headed into the path of Hallenius, who found the far corner from a tight angle.
Norrkoping hosted the struggling Dalkurd in the other Saturday fixture, and the Kurds struggles continued as they failed to find their first away points of the season in a 4-2 loss to Norrkoping.
Surprisingly though, it was Dalkurd who took the lead when Rewan Amin picked out Fehrad Ayaz with a pin-point pass from inside his own half, and the striker finished the one-on-one confidently.
The equaliser for Norrkoping came from the spot, Karl Holmberg converting after a handball inside the box and after the restart they were ahead with a nice solo goal from David Mohberg Karlsson.
Dalkurd were back in the game on the hour through a Kebba Ceesey header, but Norrkoping’s lead was restored, and their win settled by goals from Gumundur Thorarinsson, and Simon Skrabb.
Hammarby and Malmo featured twice in Round Nine, and the two played on Sunday in the only two fixtures of the Round’s penultimate day.
The season is only ten games in and already we have a two-horse title race emerging. Stockholm giants Hammarby and AIK look to be in contention for this seasons Allesvenskan title, and for the first time this season, and the 90th time in the Allsvenskan they locked horns in this mid-season blockbuster.
The game was won by a single goal from AIK’s Tarik Elyounoussi in the 81st minute, the forward converting from the spot after captain Jiloan Hamad clumsily brought down Alexander Milosevic in the penalty box.
The points deservedly went to AIK who had the better chances throughout the game, and were unfortunate to not have taken the lead earlier only for a spectacular goal-line clearance from Hamad.
It comes after two draws for the still-unbeaten AIK in games they were expected to win, and it moves them to three points behind Hammarby, for whom it is their first defeat of the season and the first time they have failed to find the back of the net this season.
The final fixture of Round Nine was held at the Malmo Stadion, where Malmo hosted Hacken in Daniel Andersson’s first home game in charge. Soren Rieks opened the scoring for Malmo on 49, when the Dane was allowed to turn inside the box, and finish low past Peter Abrahamsson in the Hacken goal.
Malmo’s second came when they were awarded a penalty for handball, and former Swedish International Markus Rosenberg finished emphatically into the roof of the net.
The win moves Malmo into eighth place, level on points with Hacken and Djurgardens. Elsehwere in the league, Norrkoping are keeping the pressure on Hammarby and AIK as they battle for top spot.
Dalkurd hold up the table after six defeats from their last seven games, with Sirius joining them in the relegation zone.
With the World Cup in Russia fast-approaching, the fixtures are coming in thick and fast in the Allsvenskan, the league prepares for a mid-season break through June. Coming up this week, Hammarby and AIK face tough tests against Norrkoping and Kalmar, whilst Malmo host Dalkurd.
