When Hammarby's starting eleven for the meeting with Häcken was announced, several eyebrows were raised. Oscar Johansson Schellhas, who usually holds out on the right flank or further down the pitch, benched Jusef Erabi and started as the lone striker.
It would prove to be a stroke of genius by Hammarby's coach Kim Hellberg.
The 29-year-old, who had only scored two goals in 23 matches prior, became the match hero when he scored a double and earned all three points for "Bajen".
Two returns
But they were not two of the harder goals in his career. At 1–0, after about half an hour of play, he scored a return from close range, after a real dream shot from Nahir Besara.
It was really nice to just see it bounce down in front of my feet and be able to put it in an open goal, he says to Max about the goal.
Even the 2–0 goal in the 49th minute was a return in an open goal. Häcken players waved at the linesman and wanted an offside call, but referee Ladebäck cleared it.
Eighth consecutive without a win
The win means that Hammarby reclaims third place, which means European Championship qualification next season, from AIK. The two teams meet already on Sunday in a hot Stockholm derby.
For Häcken, on the other hand, it was the eighth consecutive match without a win, including the European qualification.
The club fired their head coach, Pål Arne Johansen, earlier in the week, and instead, it is now Joop Oosterveld who has been given the responsibility for the rest of the season. Despite this, it was still a loss for the Hisings team, which now lies ninth in Allsvenskan.
