GOOD BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH, VÄRNAMO
AIK had difficulty handling IFK Värnamo at first. The visitors defended in a compact 4-4-2 system and as soon as they won the ball, they tried to put grills in the home team’s head through positional movements. But suddenly it was 1-0 to AIK instead, a bit out of nowhere. No, it wasn’t that Värnamo outplayed AIK before the goal, but the away team had a lot of the ball and some established play in the offensive half of the pitch, which Gnaget could not boast of. The Smålands also continued to have a lot of the ball after 1-0, but AIK defended well and lurked in a way that punished Värnamo, who were not skilled enough to avoid losing the ball in dangerous situations. Close to the break, AIK also increased to 2-0 after a corner. Henning Berg’s men would certainly have liked to control more of the match with the ball in their possession but they had enough quality to hurt the visitors and showed that possession does not always lead to an end product.
TIEDEMANN HANSEN IMPRESSES
It’s time to start talking more about Benjamin Tiedemann Hansen. Not only because he scored his first AIK goal in this match. Or well, not really at all because he scored. After an autumn where he played a little from time to time, the Dane has grown into a natural leader and key player in this year’s AIK. The 30-year-old is already one of the team’s vice-captains and in the game he is very reliable. Tiedemann Hansen has the experience, the physique, the work capacity and the defensive ability. A centre-back who is easy to appreciate, quite simply. He doesn’t do the flashy stuff but the feeling is that he was very useful for AIK to bring in.
THE EVENT OF THE MATCH
In the absence of delights or chatter from this match, it has to be the AIK cheer after the final whistle, which was not the biggest I have witnessed at Friends Arena. Rather, it was a “thanks for doing the job and not getting a derby hangover” cheer. For AIK, which is doing everything to get back to the top of the Allsvenskan, this type of victory is of course extremely important. That you can line up several in a row and be stable enough to take home three points even when things aren’t bursting offensively. Now a tough away game against Malmö FF awaits on Sunday and considering the derby victory on Sunday, they have now given themselves good opportunities to get out of this tough week with a very good grade. In the second half, they played the match against Värnamo in a controlled manner and they should also have increased to 3-0 on a few occasions when counterattacks gave large areas.
THE QUESTION MARK
There is a lot to like about IFK Värnamo. A club with a clear strategy and a game of its own that you stick to. But a match like this, when you are good between the boxes but still don’t get anything out, it is easy to ask yourself the question: is there enough quality in the team? The loss of players such as Oscar Johansson Schellhas, Victor Eriksson and Albion Ademi – and above all the coaches Kim Hellberg and David Selini – is heavy. No one expects a thunderous season like last year, but if Värnamo can once again secure a new Allsvenskan contract, the club should be proud of its effort. I think they will work it out, but that the road there may be long.
BEST PLAYER OF THE MATCH
3: Benjamin Tiedemann Hansen. A new stable defensive effort from the AIK centre-back. Goal forward.
2: Kristoffer Nordfeldt. The AIK goalkeeper kept a clean sheet and was responsible for some sharp interventions. In a game where few players stood out, he deserves a place here.
1: Ajdin Zeljkovic. The Värnamo forward is cunning and the one who came closest to hurting AIK. Several finishes were narrowly missed.
