HALMSTAD, Sweden – Kalmar FF won its first-ever Allsvenskan championship Nov. 9 after playing Halmstad to a 2-2 draw at Örjans vall stadium in Halmstad.
Kalmar trailed with just three minutes left to play when Allsvenskan leading scorer Patrik Ingelsten struck to tie the match. The goal, Ingelsten’s 19th of the season, was all Kalmar needed to clinch the title.
Kalmar went into the match with a three-point, eight-goal lead over second-place Elfsborg. Daniel Lopes Silva Sobralense gave Kalmar the lead in the 13th minute after receiving a pass from Ingelsten. Emir Kujovic equalized in the 50th and Andreas Johansson put Halmstad 2-1 up in the 65th.
It set the stage for Ingelsten’s goal in the 87th minute. When he struck, the team that plays in the smallest stadium in the league was suddenly the biggest winner of the year.
"There is a lot of joy and pride," Kalmar coach Nanne Bergstrand said. "Especially during the last week, we have been longing for this a lot. It has been many years' work to come to this point."
Elfsborg also won, beating Gefle 2+1 to finish one point behind Kalmar. Even if Kalmar had lost to Halmstad, Elfsborg’s one-goal win would not have been enough to wrest the Lennart Johansson from Kalmar, which led the league for most of the season.
"It cannot be described," Kalmar goalkeeper Petter Wasta said. "It was a big thing to move up to the top league a couple of years ago, but this is absolutely fantastic."
