With five straight losses in their baggage, a crisis-ridden IFK Norrköping managed to turn the trend around and defeat Halmstad at home.
It has been a couple of tough months for IFK Norrköping, who, before the meeting with Halmstad, were parked in last place in the Allsvenskan table.
Despite this, the home team took control of the match early on by dominating ball possession and creating the most scoring opportunities in the first half. Striker Christoffer Nyman had several half-decent chances but didn't quite get his first shots on goal.
In the 27th minute, the home team broke the deadlock, and it was, of course, "Totte" Nyman who came forward on a corner and headed in 1–0.
After the match, Norrköping's coach Andreas Alm praised his team captain for his play with his head.
Regardless of whether they play with two or three center backs, he continues to find space for his headed play, says Andreas Alm after the match in Max's broadcast.
Approaching Nordahl
The goal was Nyman's fifth for the season, and he now stands at a total of 92 goals in the Norrköping jersey. That's just one goal behind legend Gunnar Nordahl, who, incidentally, has a clearly better goal average with 93 goals in 92 matches in the white and blue jersey.
In the second half, it was a more withdrawn "Peking" that seemed to be trying to play for the result. Captain Nyman was substituted out after an hour of play, but it was reportedly due to cramp rather than any injury, according to coach Andreas Alm.
Halmstad came closest to equalizing when Birnir Ingasson hit the post in the 91st minute.
With the win, Norrköping left the relegation zone in the table and climbed past Västerås.
Halmstad is currently in 12th place in the table with 18 points after half a season played.
Goal after 22 seconds
Higher up in the table, Elfsborg and Mjällby clashed.
The Borås team struck lightning-fast. After just 22 seconds, Wolji Jalal Abdullai made it 1–0 for the home team after sprinting in behind Mjällby's defense on a deep pass.
Mjällby's Elliot Stroud equalized to 1–1 in the 27th minute, but Elfsborg would take back the lead before halftime. Again, it was Wolji Jalal Abdullai who ran in behind Mjällby's defense on a through ball and again was clinical.
In the second half, Sebastian Holmén extended the home team's lead to 3–1, which also became the final result.
In the meeting between IFK Göteborg and Västerås, the Gothenburg team looked set to win 1–0 for a long time. But in the ninth minute of added time, Abdelrahman Boudah equalized for Västerås on a half-volley after the ball bounced down to him following a header duel in the penalty area.
