Mjällby and Áki Samuelsen suffered a tough defeat in the Champions League qualifying round against Slovan Bratislava. The match on Strandvallen was full of unfairness and low quality during the first half, but heated up significantly in the second half.
Long VAR Review
The first half was characterized by slow tempo and poor quality. The match took off in the second half with Slovan Bratislava attacking with large parts of their team without creating any real threats.
Instead, it was Mjällby who were penalized. In the 58th minute, Jacob Bergström was fouled inside the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot-kick. The penalty taker Elliot Stroud experienced international football when a VAR review left him standing for over two minutes before he could take the shot, which resulted in Mjällby taking the lead 1-0.
But 15 minutes later, unfairness struck Stroud's face. Slovan Bratislava's Suleiman Camara scored from outside the penalty area, the ball was deflected towards Stroud and Robin Wallinder of Mjällby's goal, making it 1-1 a fact.
“It Feels So Certain”
I can't believe what is happening; it felt so certain at 1-0, we were going for two. It really felt like we had control over this match, says coach Karl Marius Aksum in Aftonbladet's broadcast.
In the final minutes and extra time, both teams seemed to be waiting for the final whistle and an uncertain result, but then guests came back with a flying header from Manasse Kianga that surely placed the final score 2-1 with only two minutes left of added time.
It is brutal to get 1-2 at the end, it's really heavy on the boys who played well for 70 minutes, says Karl Marius Aksum.
The return leg of the third Champions League qualifying round will be played in Bratislava on August 11.
