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Stable first half of Djurgården
Djurgården were weak against Europa FC in the final qualifying round, but when the opponents now maintained a much better level, spirits also rose. The local team started aggressively and decisively. Sure, Cluj got into some good positions, but overall, Djurgården didn’t let go far behind for the first 45 minutes. And while he seemed a bit idealistic at times in the last third of the offense, the men of Kim Bergstrand and Thomas Lagerlöf found some interesting situations. Djurgården had a lot of ball, seemed confident in the passing game and reached many posts.
“LAY DOWN!”
When I asked Djurgården coach Kim Bergstrand about cynicism in European matches at the press conference leading up to this match, he asked me and wanted to know what the word means. My photo: which is a ploy like reinforcing in duels, shouting loudly in close matches and similar things to pressure the referee. And so Cluj performed throughout the match. They were thrown in for verdicts and the leaders / substitutes on the bench were constantly out loud to overturn verdicts in their favor. Referee Bartosz Frankowski went on a lot and hit a series of cheap free throws. Including the one that led to Cluj 1-0. Djurgården? They did not act in the same way as their opponent. When Edward Chilufya was forced into a running duel down the long side that stopped him from a good position, he decided to stand up. The referee didn’t give him the free kick he should have gotten and then Kim Bergstrand yelled, “Lie down!” to Chiluyfa. Cluj was cynical and “piggy”, Djurgården not so much. As the referee could not see through the actions of the guests, the Romanian team also won a lot. It became costly for Djurgården, who had to “learn” the hard way how some teams perform in Europe.
Honorable losses hurt
Second half otherwise? Djurgården was stable but not strong enough on offense. There really isn’t much to complain about in terms of performance, especially on defense, but in the European qualifiers it is the result that really counts and honorable losses of course hurt a lot in this case. Cluj was a tough group for Djurgården, and a favorite before kick-off, and it is by no means a failure that there was no breakthrough for last year’s Allsvenskan champions. Djurgården made Cluj look like a pretty limited team and it’s well done, but very little consolation when it ended the way it did.
The forward issue should be a concern
It is very clear that Djurgården lacks a very sharp forward. They have failed to fill the void left by last year’s shooter king, Mohamed Buya Turay. That kind of hot striker had meant a lot to this team. In fact, none of the options that have been used this season feel good in the long run. Emir Kujovic doesn’t get it, Edward Chilufya has exciting qualities to play up front, but he hasn’t been flawless either, and Kalle Holmberg / Magnus Eriksson feels like a player who can do more good elsewhere on the pitch. The issue of the lead should concern Djurgården and sporting director Bosse Andersson.
Djurgården missed a dream opportunity
KuPS beat Lithuanian Süduva and that means it is the reigning Finnish champions who are waiting for Cluj in the play-off round, the last hurdle before the group stage. And that at home. You can hardly get a much better batch in the last round. This was a dream opportunity for Djurgården to go all the way that went up in smoke. Especially considering that the Swedish teams (in addition to the champion team) will enter the new Europa Conference League tournament (one notch below the Europa League) as of next season. So many chances of reaching a great European group match will not appear in the future.
