Back page A couple of top class goals from Imad Khalili helped Hammarby to victory over BP, and Graham Potter’s Östersunds get their first points of the season Göteborg.
It’s a 100% start to the season for Hammarby, who on Monday night hammered the leagues new boys Brommapojkarna 4-0 with a rampant second half performance at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, which Hammarby share with Djurgårdens.
It was a game which started with both teams on the attack but soon enough, it was the hosts dominating possession. Imad Khalili got his first of two goals on 25 minutes when he effortlessly glanced a header in the bottom corner from a Neto Borges cross.
His second came after the restart, and what a goal it was. The league’s leading goalscorer Jiloan Hamad turned provider when he sent a pinpoint ball over the BP defence from deep to Khalili, the Palestinian winger touch the ball down with his right from close range, and with the outside of his left volleyed it past the keeper.
But Hamad had already his fifth goal of the season soon after when he rounded the keeper for 3-0. The fourth was added when Pa Dibba deflected the ball rather fortunately over Nikola Petric in the BP goal, who sprinted out to meet the on rushing keeper.
Malmö have had a difficult start to the season, facing AIK last week and coming out of it with just a point. So the reigning Swedish champions would have been hoping to get back to winning ways against Joel Cedergren’s Sundsvall side.
Sundsvall were denied an early lead for a close offside call in the first half, and had to wait till the 75th minute to take the lead when a shot deflected off the back off Malmö defender Egzon Binaku, directing into the face of Behrang Safari where it ricocheted of the Malmö man and past his own keeper.
A nightmarish own goal that could only come on Friday the 13th, but the lead was short-lived as first Carlos Strandberg headed home a cross from wide to equalise, before substitute Christophe Jeremjeff sealed what looked to be the victory with a curling finish from outside the box.
With five minutes remaining, Malmö looked to shut-up-shop but there was a twist in the tail, when Maic Sema tapped home a late, scrappy equaliser for Sundsvall to deny Malmö the win.
Malmö already trail leaders Hammarby by four points, and so to do Örebro who featured in the other Friday night game.
Örebro had drawn their opening two games of the season, but found their first win after the long cross-country trip down to Trelleborgs Vångavallen Stadium.
The wind was causing both keepers issues on the day, and it led to the first goal of the game when a high, looping corner rebounded off the bar of the Örebro goal, and fell kindly to the feet of Deniz Hummet who tapped home to give Trelleborgs the lead.
The visitors didn’t want to lose their unbeaten start to the season, and on the cusp on half time were back level through a Nahir Besara penalty.
The Swede scored in the second half too to give Örebro the eventual lead when he shot from range, and the ball bounced just in front of Marko Johansson in the Trellebrogs goal, and rather unfortunately flicked up into the top corner.
Wins on Saturday came for IK Sirius and Häcken, who beat bottom team Elfsborg and Dalkurd respectively.
Moving onto Sunday and it was the first Stockholm derby of the season with Djurgårdens making the short journey to AIK’s Friends Arena.
It was a fiesty encounter with seven yellow cards and a red for Djurgårdens’ Yura Movsisyan. Two well-worked goals for AIK sealed the victory, the first coming from Rasmus Lindkvist after 15 minutes who finished low from the edge of the box, and then Tarik Elyounoussi who poked into an open goal after Henok Goitom squared the ball.
So AIK trail Hammarby by two points in the table, and trailing them on goal difference is Norrköping who found a Sunday win over Kalmar.
Kalmar skipper Viktor Elm headed home a corner to give the visitors an early lead, but it was soon cancelled out by an Alexander Jakobson goal, after the Egyptian forward was played through by a clever ball from David Mohberg Karlsson.
Karlsson was controlling the game from midfielder, and put Norrköping ahead after the restart, finishing cutely past the keeper in a one-on-one situation, and in extra time the twenty year old Jordan Larsson came off the bench to add a third, with a low curling finish from twenty yards out.
In what is his sixth season as Östersunds manager, Englishman Graham Potter had gotten off to a poor start to the 2018 campaign, but was back to winning ways on Sunday with a home win over Göteborg.
Potter’s Östersunds side has an English element to it and it was the English boys that were involved in the win. First, it was Darlington youth product Curtis Edwards that gave his side the lead, smashing home a rocket of a shot from 25 yards.
But I only say possibly as his team mate Samar Ghoddos, rifled home a swerving strike in the second half, after picking up the ball from Englishman Jamie Hopcutt.
Round Four of the Allsvenskan comes in midweek this week, with full fixtures bring played from Tuesday to Thursday before Round Five at the weekend.
In midweek though, Malmö travel to Stockholm to face Djurgårdens whilst Hammarby host third placed Norrköping.
Game Week Three Results
GIF Sundsvall 2-2 Malmö FF
Trelleborgs FF 1-2 Örebro SK
Elfsborg IF 0-1 IK Sirius
BK Häcken 3-0 Dalkurd FF
IFK Norrköping 3-1 Kalmar FF
AIK 2-0 Djurgårdens IF
Östersunds SK 2-1 IFK Göteborg
Hammarby IF 4-0 IF Brommapojkarna
