by Chipp Reid

Goals were in short supply on the opening day of the 2010 Allsvenskan for everyone but Tobias Hysén and IFK Göteborg.
Hysén scored twice to lead Göteborg to a 3-0 drubbing of Kalmar March 13 in the first match of the new season. Hysén scored 18 goals last year and despite strong interest from several teams in Europe, the 28-year-old former Sunderland midfielder decided to remain in Sweden. IFK is certainly happy about that.
”Tobias had a great game for us,” said IFK manager Jonas Olsson. “The match was difficult as we thought it would be. Kalmar is a very good team and we had problems during periods of the match. We received psychological lifts from our goals and made a tactically good match.”
Hysén and Stefan Selakovic teamed to cause all sorts of problems for Kalmar, at least when they were able to connect. Selakovic set up both goals for Hysén, with the first coming at the 29-minute mark. Hysén moved in from the right of the penalty area while Selakovic sent him a perfectly timed pass. Hysén struck the ball on a volley and sent it past Kalmar net minder Peter Wastå.
The IFK duo combined again in the 49th minute. Selakovic led Hysén with a pass and Hysen deked right around Kalmar defender Paulus Arajuuri before beating Wasta for a 2-0 lead. Hjalmar Jonsson made it 3-0 at the 67-minute mark.
“It’s great to open with a big win.” Selakovic said. “We got three goals and three points. We really can’t start the season any better than that.”
IFK goalkeeper Kim Christensen was just as important as he stopped a Daniel Sobrelense penalty kick just nine minutes into the match. Christensen also made a pair of crucial saves in the second half as Kalmar pressed its attack looking for a goal.
“He really saved us,” said Hysén. “There were long periods in the match when we just didn’t play well. Of course I’m happy that I scored, but the most important thing is that we won the game.”
Göteborg was one of just five teams to find the net on the opening weekend as half of the matches ended in scoreless draws. Orebro and Häcken were the next biggest winners as each score twice in their victories. Örebro beat newcomers Åtvidaberg 2-0 while Hacken knocked off Djurgården 2-1.
Helsingborg scored the only other goal in the round as it beat Brommapojkarna 1-0. Gefle-Elfsborg, GAIS-Malmö, AIK-Mjällby and Halmstad-Trelleborg all ended in scoreless draws.

IFK Göteborg 3, Kalmar 0
KALMAR – Tobias Hysén notched a brace to lead IFK Göteborg to a 3-0 win over Kalmar. Hysén scored in the 29th minute and the 49th minute as Göteborg opened its season with a road victory. IFK had just three wins on the road all of last season. Hjalmar Jonsson scored for Göteborg in the 67th minute. IFK goalkeeper Kim Christensen stopped a penalty kick from Daniel Sobrelense in the ninth minute.

Örebro 2, Åtvidaberg 0
ÖREBRO – Two goals in seven minutes made a winner out of Örebro on the opening day of the 2010 Allsvenskan. Markus Astvald scored in the 32nd minute to put Örebro in front. Kim Olsen made it 2-0 seven minutes later.

BK Häcken 2, Djurgården 1
GÖTEBORG – BK Häcken claimed an opening day win over Djurgården in a clash of two new-look clubs. Both teams completely revamped their lineups over the winter, with Häcken fielding a side with just four returning players from year while DIF had just three. Häcken’s newcomers claimed bragging rights as Brazilian import Paolo Jose de Oliveira scored once and set up a goal to lead Häcken to the win. Oliveira scored in the 21st minute then set up Mattias Östberg at the 62-minute mark to give Häcken the win. Kennedy Igboananike scored in the 55th minute to briefly pull DIF level. The match was played at Borås Arena after the league ruled Häcken’s home field Rambergsvallen unplayable.

Helsingborg 1, Brommapojkarna 0
HELSINGBORG – Mattias Lindström scored in the final minute of play to lead Helsingborg to a 1-0 victory in its Allsvenskan opener. Helsingborg held a man advantage for 62 minutes after Kristoffer Norfeldt received a red card for a second bookable offense.