The race for the Swedish Championship title is set to be a huge thrill for the rest of the autumn.
"I can't describe the feeling. You feel like things are going well. They've dropped a few points, and we've won a few games," says Abraham.
Even before the match against Hammarby, Sirius's lead in the league had shrunk considerably. In round 15, the Uppsala team led the table by 14 points. Before tonight's match, that gap had shrunk to six points.
The tension was already evident before kick-off. The start was delayed by almost 20 minutes after long queues meant supporters of both teams had not made it to the stadium in time.
Set the tone right away
Once the match started, Hammarby were in full control. The green and whites put enormous pressure on Sirius, who immediately dropped deep and had to defend.
The breakthrough came midway through the first half, after a controversial incident. A duel between Sirius centre-back Mohamed Soumah and Hammarby's Frank Junior Adjei ended with a penalty for the home team.
The Sirius players were furious and seemed unable to understand the decision. Replays also showed Junior Adjei going down very easily.
But Sirius couldn't change referee Glenn Nyberg's decision, and the penalty was taken by Dane Victor Lind, who coolly converted it. 1–0 to Hammarby and the winger's tenth goal of the season.
"Don't touch him"
Sirius coach Andreas Engelmark was visibly irritated by the decision.
"I can't understand the penalties we get. He doesn't touch him. You can't give a penalty for that," he says.
Hammarby then got off to a dream start in the second half.
A flowing team move ended with a completely unmarked Paulos Abraham, who rolled in his fifteenth goal of the season with tantalising ease.
After the 2-0 goal, Hammarby slowed down a bit and seemed very keen to protect their three vital points. Sirius never came closer than a couple of half-chances.
Hammarby coach Henrik Rydström admitted after the match that he had given up the title race after the derby loss to Djurgården four rounds ago.
"You're the ones who ask all the time. What the hell am I supposed to say? At that moment, it felt that way. Now we're in a position where it's just a wonderful feeling," he says.
With four rounds left in the Allsvenskan, Sirius still leads with 55 points but has now lost two in a row. Hammarby has 52 points and three straight wins.
The men's title race:
- Sirius, 55 points, +22 goal difference
Remaining matches: Halmstad (home 3/11), Kalmar (away 8/11), Djurgården (home 22/11), IFK Gothenburg (away 29/11).
- Hammarby, 52 points, +33
Remaining matches: Malmö FF (away 1/11), Elfsborg (home 6/11), IFK Göteborg (home 23/11), Västerås (away 29/11).
- Djurgården, 49 points, +29
Remaining matches: Degerfors (home 1/11), Halmstad (away 8/11), Sirius (away 22/11), Häcken (home 29/11).
