GAIS lost 2-0 to Djurgårdens IF in the Allsvenskan at Tele2 Arena on Saturday. Bo Hegland was involved in both goals, creating one and scoring the other, in a match where GAIS were punished for a defensive error.
Hegland assisted Kristian Lien for the 1-0 goal in the 35th minute. That was his 15th assist of the season, tying him with Djurgården's club record for most assists in a single season. He then scored the 2-0 goal himself in the 63rd minute after capitalising on a GAIS defensive mistake, assisted by Lien. Hegland was later sent off with a red card for a challenge.
Bo Hegland said after the match that he is always a creator with the ball at his feet. Kristian Lien, who was also directly involved in both goals, described his work as having worked hard defensively and in the press early on.
For GAIS, the defeat means they remain in 10th place in the Allsvenskan with 27 points after 21 rounds. The team has now lost two of its last five matches, with recent form reading LDWLL. The next challenge comes this Sunday away to 12th-placed Mjallby AIF, a match important for maintaining distance from the relegation battle.
Player ratings from the match
Djurgården's goalkeeper Jacob Rinne and defender Piotr Johansson both received a rating of 3 for solid performances. Midfielder Christos Almyras, who was substituted on in the 68th minute, received the lowest rating of 1. For GAIS, it was a tough afternoon where few players managed to impose themselves on the game. The team's top scorer this season, S. Salter, has six goals in 18 appearances but was not on the scoresheet this time.
The numbers show GAIS have been relatively solid defensively this year with only 20 goals conceded, but the attack has struggled with just 25 scored. The match against Djurgården was the fourth game in a row where they failed to keep a clean sheet. To turn the trend around, the team needs to find more offensive power, something that can be studied in more detail in our stats.
The task against Mjallby now becomes extra important to break the negative form. A win would provide a vital boost ahead of the final rounds of the season. All current squad information and any injury updates are available on our squad page.
The report in full is at SvenskaFans.com
Djurgården IF's club director confirmed that Oskar Fallenius was the only player unavailable for the match squad ahead of the 2-0 win over GAIS. The club stated the team had a largely fit squad for the match. GAIS, however, were missing several key players, including Anas Cardaklija and Samuel Salter, according to Djurgården.
