Instead, Leo Östman ensured Elfsborg remained in the group of teams clustered as potential contenders and as Sirius' main competitors at the top of the Allsvenskan table.
It wasn't entirely unexpected that Östman secured the 1-1 draw. The 20-year-old has now scored four goals in as many matches.
Häcken dominated much of the first half in the West Swedish meeting in Borås before the break. Silas Andersson headed Amor Layouni's inbound cross into the far corner from a tight angle, but what looked like three points ended up being just one.
Hammarby, Häcken and Elfsborg all have 17 points, eight fewer than Sirius.
Mjällby rise
The result was 1–1 for the evening. Despite plenty of chances on both sides in the second half, IFK Göteborg and Mjällby played to a draw. The Swedish champions, who were hit by injuries and suspensions, recovered from their deficit at Gamla Ullevi and managed a point.
Sebastian Clemmensen used an acrobatic finish to tap in Filip Ottosson's right-wing cross shortly after the break. That joy didn't last long. Rockson Yeboah brought down Axel Norén. Jacob Bergström scored the penalty, well-taken.
Before that cavalcade of goals, Ottosson, who replaced Felix Eriksson in the starting eleven at short notice, had a golden opportunity to give IFK Göteborg an early lead.
"I'll be free and I'll put it in. It's too bad, of course," he told TV4 after the miss, having lost his balance.
Good goalkeeper saves
Elis Bishesari kept the home team in the game with some great saves late on. At the same time, IFK Göteborg came extremely close to scoring the winning goal on a few occasions.
"There was a lot of back and forth, certainly a fun match to watch," Bergström told TV4.
Home captain August Erlingmark received a warning after a clash with Jacob Bergström. He is therefore suspended for the next match, away to Västerås SK.
