Djurgården's derby record against AIK in the Swedish Football League has been poor. They had only two wins in 15 years, and there were constant questions about the derby curse against their archrival.
Djurgården have had a particularly tough time away from home in Solna. Since 2011, they have managed only five goals in away derbies.
Shock start
However, the nightmare statistics seemed to be completely forgotten when the teams marched onto the Strawberry Arena's pitch.
After a short period where AIK started strongly, Djurgården took control and created pressure. The reward for the visitors came in the tenth minute, to the disappointment of the majority of the more than 48,000 spectators.
Djurgården came forward on the right wing through Patric Åslund. Åslund's pass was deflected away but fell straight into the path of Hampus Finndell, who scored the opening goal.
And Djurgården weren't done there.
Just seven minutes later, centre-back Miro Tenho reached the top of a corner and headed home to make it 2–0.
“The referees need to be tougher”
However, AIK quickly recovered from the nightmare start and immediately reduced the deficit through 17-year-old Kevin Filling, set up by Zadok Yohanna.
An equalizer would also come - most people thought - when Filling knocked in a 2–2 goal after a rebound from the post. However, the talent was ruled offside, which was incorrect.
It's so sick. It happens every match. The referees have to be tougher now, says AIK's Bersant Celina to TV4 Play.
Instead, Djurgården were awarded a free kick just before half-time. Mikael Marques, completely unmarked, headed it in.
The half-time score of 3–1 to Djurgården was the highest-scoring half between the teams since 2014.
The wait is over.
AIK created some nerves in the second half. Dino Besirovic headed in from a corner with just over half an hour left. But "Gnaget" never came closer than that, and one of the best players on the pitch, Bo Hegland, punctuated the derby with five minutes left.
A long-awaited triumph for Djurgården. The gloomy derby streak is broken and for the first time in 15 years, Djurgården's supporters got to celebrate an Allsvenskan away victory against AIK in person.
I'm so happy. It's so fucking beautiful, damn how nice, says goalkeeper Jacob Rinne and continues:
We were effective in the first half, we were solid and scored goals from set pieces.
With the victory, Djurgården climbs to fourth place in the table. AIK is ninth and has four straight matches without a win.
