Allsvenskan 2018
Djurgården - IF Elfsborg (2 - 2)
Match in Allsvenskan 2018
Match start: 2018-08-26 at 17:30
Venue: Tele2 Arena
Attendance: 7,608
Djurgården welcomed IF Elfsborg to Tele2 Arena on Sunday afternoon. The home team, sitting in seventh place in the standings, knew they needed a win to stay in touch with the top teams. IF Elfsborg, in thirteenth place, was searching for their first away victory since May. However, when referee Stefan Johannesson blew the whistle to start the match, it was the guests who took control.
Per Frick and his teammates created most of the scoring chances during the first thirty minutes of the match. Djurgården's defense repeatedly managed to clear away dangerous balls. Instead, it was the home team that received the first yellow card in the match when Jacob Une Larsson was fouled by an opposing player in the thirtieth minute.
The yellow cards continued to come in at Tele2 Arena. Niklas Gunnarsson, Djurgården's center-back, was booked just before halftime, followed by Stefan Ishizaki from IF Elfsborg, right before the break.
Immediately after halftime, IF Elfsborg came alive and put pressure on Djurgården's defense. Substitute Alex Dyer was virtually unchallenged as he entered the penalty area and slotted the ball behind a helpless Andreas Isaksson. 0-1 to Elfsborg and Djurgården had lost all the momentum they had built up in the first half.
It wouldn’t get any better for the Stockholm side. Just over an hour into the match, Simon Lundevall doubled the lead to 0-2 following a nice assist from Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi. Things looked bleak for Djurgården.
But suddenly, the home team found a way to get back into the match. After Aliou Badji was cautioned for a late tackle, Djurgården was awarded a penalty. Fredrik Ulvestad calmly converted the spot-kick to reduce the deficit to 1-2.
Djurgården gained new hope, and the substitutions would prove decisive. Dzenis Kozica, who had come on just a few minutes earlier, equalized with less than ten minutes left to play. The guests had held a two-goal lead, but Djurgården had managed to fight their way back.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning Djurgården missed the chance to climb the table. IF Elfsborg, on the other hand, were satisfied to take a point away from Tele2 Arena.
GK = Goalkeeper, D = Defender, M = Midfielder, F = Forward, C = Captain, Off = Substituted off, In = Substituted in, YC = Booked (Yellow card), RC = Sent off (Red card)