After a narrow quarter against Kalmar on July 20, Djurgården fans saw Tokmac Nguen limp off injured. And after having quietly started again with some substitutions, he was finally back in Djurgården's starting eleven against Slovenian Maribor at home on Tele2 Arena.
And he seemed to be leaving goalless for a long time. The first of two playoff matches for the Conference League was goalless for a long time, but then it happened.
"Where we are dangerous"
In the 69th minute, the 30-year-old won the ball on the offensive half, got past his defender, and played a combination with Deniz Hümmet to 1–0.
It was nice play between me and Deniz. It's these situations we need to get into more often, inside the box. That's where we are dangerous. We need to get more chances like that, says Nguen to Sportbladet.
It was also almost the last thing Nguen did on the pitch. Just a few minutes later, he left the pitch. His goal would, however, remain the only one of the match, and Djurgården is thus in the driver's seat ahead of the return match in a week.
We need to go there and continue being offensive. Then we'll see what the result will be in the end, continues the match hero.
Tough for Häcken
It went much worse for Häcken, who lost at home to German Heidenheim. After having pressed on and having 1–1 with them after half-time, Leo Scienza struck with a well-placed shot that via the post found its way to 1–2.
It was also the final result, and thus Häcken faces an uphill battle ahead of their return match against last season's eighth-placed team in the Bundesliga. That match will also be played in a week, on August 29.
