The Icelander Kolbeinn Thordarson seemed to rescue "Blåvitt" with his 1–0 goal in the first half. But IFK Göteborg has had major problems with late conceded goals this autumn.
Now another one came. Despite massive home pressure, Melker Hallberg equalized with a free kick in the end of the second half.
1–1 means that IFK Göteborg, ahead of the final round, has four points down to IFK Värnamo on the Allsvenskan qualifying spot. Värnamo, on the other hand, still has two matches left to play.
I don't know how many leads or points we've lost because we concede goals fairly late, says IFK Göteborg's Adam Carlén to Max.
Kalmar FF, in turn, goes up to the same number of points as IFK Värnamo – but has a significantly worse goal difference (ten goals).
A point is good, but three would have been better. I don't think we played a great game today, says Kalmar's goal scorer Melker Hallberg.
Thordarson with the first goal
There was talk beforehand about a nervous meeting at Gamla Ullevi.
About a "Blåvitt" that needed to take points to avoid a qualifying spot after two straight away losses to AIK and Malmö FF. About a Kalmar that risked being relegated from Allsvenskan with a loss.
Already after one minute, Oscar Pettersson fired off a heavy shot that Kalmar goalkeeper Samuel Brolin was forced to stretch out to save.
IFK Göteborg then continued to control much of the ball possession in the first half and eventually took the lead through Kolbeinn Thordarson.
With a late run, the Icelander caught up with an incoming pass from Oscar Pettersson and headed in the redeeming 1–0 goal.
Nervous wait
Kalmar FF's Robert Gojani was, in turn, dissatisfied with his team's performance and called for greater risk-taking in the second half.
Instead, it was IFK Göteborg that continued to threaten, and the Göteborg team had several excellent chances to extend their lead. Among them, a shot off the crossbar by August Erlingmark.
Despite this, it was Kalmar's Melker Hallberg who scored 1–1 with over ten minutes left to play. Despite an intense finish, there were no more goals.
Ridiculously disappointed. The feeling is that they don't create anything, then he whips in a fine free kick. Extremely disappointed that we don't win, says Adam Carlén.
The rest of the weekend will now be a nervous wait for bottom contenders like Halmstad, IFK Värnamo, and IFK Norrköping to play their matches before the next-to-last round of Allsvenskan is summed up.
Robin Salomonsson/TT
Facts: The Bottom Struggle
TT
- IFK Göteborg, 31 points, –9.
Matches left: Mjällby (away).
- IFK Norrköping, 31 points, –20 in goal difference.
Matches left: AIK (home), Djurgården (away).
- Halmstad: 30 points, –15.
Matches left: Djurgården (home), AIK (away)
- IFK Värnamo, 27 points, –11.
Matches left: Brommapojkarna (away), Elfsborg (home).
- Kalmar FF, 27 points, –21.
Matches left: Häcken (home).
- Västerås, 20 points, –18.
Matches left: Hammarby (home).
14th place means a qualifying match against the third-place team in Superettan in a two-legged match (home and away). 15th-16th place means relegation.
