Mjallby's dream start in European qualifiers with a win against Gibraltar. Hasse Larsson was in tears before the match. Aki Samuelsen became a historic goal-scorer for Mjallby when he scored 1–0 in the 18th minute. The Faroe Islands player then scored his second goal of the day just six minutes later, when he expertly finished a fine attack.
What happened?
Mjallby took over the game and after about half an hour, Jacob Bergström scored the third goal. In the second half, Aki Samuelsen got the chance to complete his hat-trick from 11 meters, but Jaylan Hankins in the away team saved the penalty.
Why is it important for Mjallby?
Mjallby won with 3–0, but coach Karl Marius Aksum was not satisfied with the result. – We started the second half well until the penalty situation and if we had scored there, it would have felt like we were winning 5–0 or 6–0, says the Norwegian.
What happens next?
In a potential third qualifying round for the Champions League, Mjallby will likely face Slovakian Slovan Bratislava. Mjallby is currently first in Allsvenskan with 75 points after 30 matches, 13 points ahead of Hammarby FF. They have scored 57 goals and conceded 18, and have a positive goal difference of +39. Timo Stavitski is currently injured.
Comment from Hasse Larsson
This is what Hasse Larsson himself says about the emotional experience during the evening. – It was a dream come true to play a match in Europe and I hope it will happen again. It was a wonderful feeling in front of a burning Strandvallen. Aksum mentioned that you were in tears before the match? – Yes, I got a bit emotional actually. Then when you see the fans and the work they put in, it's big. Is it rare for Hasse Larsson to cry? – I've become a bit more emotional over the years, but these kinds of occasions I don't think it makes a difference if you get a bit emotional. It's an incredible feeling.
