Hammarby were only top of the league - by virtue of a better goal difference - for just over two days. On Tuesday evening, Sirius completed the 27th round of the Swedish Football League with a win over Halmstad and now top the table with 58 points, three ahead of “Bajen” with three games left to play.
We know there are important points at stake, but we’re not focusing on that. We’re focusing on our task, Persson tells TV4.
“Fighting for their lives”
Next up, Sirius travel to bottom side Kalmar on Sunday. After that comes an international break before Sirius host third-placed Djurgården on November 22. In the final round on November 29, they travel to face IFK Göteborg.
Kalmar away next. Tough match. They’re fighting for their lives and we’re fighting at the top, Persson says.
Striker Isak Bjerkebo played a crucial role in the win over Halmstad at home at Studenternas in front of 9,564 spectators.
Just over 20 minutes into the match, he won a penalty after hitting the ball against a Halmstad defender’s hand. The 23-year-old stepped up and coolly put the ball past visiting goalkeeper Tim Rönning to give Sirius the lead.
Of course it’s nerve-racking, but I like those situations, Bjerkebo tells TV4 about taking penalties as the club chase their first Swedish championship gold.
The goal was Bjerkebo’s 15th of the season, matching the tally Robbie Ure managed before Sirius sold the striker to La Liga club Sevilla this summer. Djurgården’s Kristian Lie leads the Allsvenskan scoring chart with 17 goals.
"Nice goal"
A few seconds before half-time, Bjerkebo turned provider. He made a perfectly timed run into space and found Joakim Persson arriving in the penalty area to make it 2-0.
It was nice to see “Jocke” get on the outside. A nice goal, says Bjerkebo.
Halmstad came out stronger in the second half, but never managed to beat Sirius goalkeeper David Celic. The closest they came was when Hussein Carneil hit the crossbar after 60 minutes.
Bottom side Halmstad are three points ahead of Degerfors in the relegation play-off place and six points clear of Kalmar in the safety zone.
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