Hammarby, the second-placed team in the Swedish women’s league, would have had to drop points against Djurgården for Häcken to clinch a second consecutive Swedish Championship gold medal in football on Saturday.
Häcken’s squad watched the Stockholm derby on a big screen at a spa hotel in Hisingen, but they were able to put the champagne back on ice relatively early.
“Far away”
"Bajen" won 3-0 at home after leading 2-0 at half-time, but Sofia Reidy doesn’t care much that the team spoiled Häcken’s chance to celebrate the title early.
We don’t put much importance on it, the Hammarby player tells SVT.
With nine points left to play for, Häcken top the table on 64 points - eight ahead of Hammarby. The SM gold could be secured as early as next Sunday, but “Bajen” would then have to unexpectedly lose away to bottom-placed Uppsala, who have won only one match this season.
The most likely outcome is that Häcken will get the chance to decide the title themselves at home against Kristianstad next Monday.
We will continue to play our game and be proud that we still represent Hammarby, even though the gold we were aiming for may be too far away right now, says Sofia Reidy.
“Get revenge”
The title race was effectively decided last weekend when Häcken beat Hammarby 3-0 at home in the top-of-the-table clash.
"We talked a lot about getting revenge for that match, but also giving back to the fans. It’s a derby and it means everything to win them in Stockholm," says Sofia Reidy.
There was never really an exciting Stockholm derby for the Häcken players to watch.
In the 28th minute, Ída Hermannsdóttir scored the opening goal from distance, and in the 40th minute, the Djurgården midfielder headed the ball into her own net to make it 2-0. With just under 20 minutes left to play, Hermannsdóttir also scored to make it 3-0.
The top of the Swedish women’s league with three rounds left to play:
- Häcken, 64 points (+61 goal difference)
Fixtures: 2/11 Kristianstad (home), 6/11 Djurgården (away), 15/11 Piteå (h).
- Hammarby, 56 points (+41)
Fixtures: 1/11 Uppsala (a), 7/11 Rosengård (a), 15/11 Kristianstad (h).
