Hammarby came to Hisingen with a center back shortage when national team player Edvin Kurtulus was suspended and Shaquille Pinas and Pavle Vagic were also missing.
20-year-old Nathaniel Adjei therefore had to make his Allsvenskan debut next to Loret Sadiku, who is normally a midfielder but has a centre-back routine from, among other things, his time in Helsingborg.
How did the brand new inner back pair fare against the Allsvenskan’s most dangerous team?
Well, both they and the rest of the team were adept at defending their own penalty area.
Adjei was clear of defensive mistakes until the 90th minute when Hammarby still led 1-0. Then Häcken’s Blair Turgott nodded in the penalty area. Nathaniel Adjei was going to steer the ball away with his forehead, but accidentally placed it past own goalkeeper Davor Blazevic.
Bajen pressed back
Hammarby needed a win to close the gap at the top, but now the margin to Häcken is still five points. And on Sunday, Djurgården has the chance to take over the series lead.
During most of the first half, Hammarby was very much pushed back by a mobile, running and skilfully combining Häcken.
A moment early in the match was an exception. The visitors had a period of attacking play in front of a couple of thousand chanting white-green supporters in a packed Bravida Arena, 6,316 spectators.
Then came Bajen’s 1–0 goal in the tenth minute. Hecken was careless with the press game. Joel Nilsson had time to aim properly with the post from the right. Gustav Ludwigson bravely put his head in front of the Häcken goalkeeper and ended a streak of seven games without scoring.
— I saw that Abrahamsson came out and thought that if I only get the forehead on it, he has sold himself. For myself, it was damn nice to have a goal now, says Ludwigson to Discovery+.
Three frame hits
Then it was about an ambitious and intense Häckenhunt for an equaliser. In the final quarter of the first half, it was really close several times. For example, both Ibrahim Sadiq and Simon Gustafson shot into the crossbar, and Even Hovland nodded into the outside of the post.
After the break, Hammarby moved their positions forward. They started the defensive game higher up and also managed to gain more possession with a more accurate passing game.
Nahir Besara came close to increasing Stockholm’s lead at the start of the second half, but Peter Abrahamsson got his right foot out. Joel Nilsson also had a sharp shot. The right winger made his first start in the Allsvenskan since July and was one of Hammarby’s best players.
The fence became increasingly untidy towards the end of the match. And in the end, the team was helped by an opponent to get the equaliser.