The yellow-black team from Borås has a tough program right now. Sunday's match was Elfsborg's tenth in just over a month, with Allsvenskan and qualifying for the European Championship.
How do you train in such a situation?
As little as possible, almost, says Oscar Hiljemark with a smile.
On Thursday, Elfsborg played 1–1 away against Croatian Rijeka in the European Championship qualifying. Strongly done, especially considering that goal-scorer Jalal Abdullai was sent off in the beginning of the second half.
Hiljemark impressed
Against Gais, it happened again. This time, Ahmed Qasem received two warnings in three minutes in the middle of the second half, when Elfsborg led 2–1.
Running around with one man less for 30 minutes is something that wears you out. But the guys do it incredibly well. I'm very, very impressed, says Hiljemark.
The sent-off Ahmed Qasem does not want to protest against the yellow cards.
I trust the referee, says Qasem about Kristoffer Karlsson's decision.
He is not upset about the tough game schedule either.
We have a big, good squad. We trust what Oscar does. He is not afraid to rotate, says Qasem praising Elfsborg coach Hiljemark.
Own goal decided
It was an intense, dramatic Allsvenskan match at Borås Arena. The teams scored each other's goal in the first quarter.
In the 30th minute, Elfsborg took the lead for the second time – with the help of a Gais player, who steered a pass into his own goal. It became the winning goal.
In the final stage, Gais pushed for an equalizer, with one man more. But the home team defended successfully.
In stoppage time, Gais goalkeeper Kees Sims also received a red card, when he was far out on the field and got the ball on his hand. After that, center-back Axel Norén had to substitute as goalkeeper for Gais, since the team had made all its substitutions.
"Good basic level"
Gais was not satisfied with their performance before the break.
What's positive is that we still make a match out of it. We grow into the match, says coach Fredrik Holmberg.
We have a good basic level now, he adds.
Gais lacked several players due to injuries, including first-choice goalkeeper Mergim Krasniqi.
Elfsborg's return match against Rijeka in the third qualifying round of the European Championship will be played in Borås on Thursday.
