In an entertaining Allsvenskan encounter in which both teams had periods of dominance and chances in front of goal, it is perhaps no surprise that players from both teams saw the 1-1 draw as a missed opportunity for three points against their city rivals.
It was Djurgarden who made the better start, and fittingly it was the ninth minute when their number nine Kristian Lien scored his third of the season. But back came Hammarby, equalising through Nahir Besara soon after the hour mark to deny Djurgarden a first derby win in nine attempts.
Read Flashscore's full report of Djurgarden 1-1 Hammarby from 3Arena here.
Norwegian forward Lien was playing in his first Stockholm derby since moving to Sweden and he told Flashscore that he used his striker's instinct to read the unfolding attack and get in the right position.
Talk us through your goal, it rounded off a great start to the game for Djurgarden.
"Yeah, I think we went out at 100% and we had a lot of good chances to score, and the goal was beautiful with the little backheel from Hampus (Finndell), then a good finish. It’s about reading where the ball is going to go, and I saw that Hampus is not going to try to go himself. I think he noticed that I was coming in behind and, yeah, a really beautiful attack."
You scored a couple against Kalmar, you’ve scored again today, are you primed and ready to go on a good run in front of goal?
"I try to score every game! And the games are different, especially when we play against teams that lay very low. Now, when it’s a more open game it suits us and me more, so I try to score as much as possible."
After your goal, Hammarby came back into the game, was today a bit of a missed opportunity against a good team?
"I think that’s the feeling we’re sitting with. I think how we started the game was top and then I think we were losing it a little bit. A lost opportunity? I don’t know, but we wanted to get more out of this."
On the Hammarby side, Markus Karlsson helped to control the tempo of the game in midfield. He told Flashscore about the unique challenge of playing an away derby on home turf, and what Bajen need to do if they are to challenge for the title they are favourites for.
When you come to such a familiar place, but you’re the away side and the crowd is against you, how does it feel to play in that particular kind of derby?
"It feels a little bit different but it’s our stadium also and we know the pitch and everything around it. We have only one end with our fans, so it’s kind of different, but the biggest thing is we know the pitch."
You went behind early on, you were under a bit of pressure, but for around one hour of the game you were more or less on top. Was today a missed opportunity in terms of getting the win?
"Yes, I feel like that. We just didn’t start the game so well but after the first 20 minutes we played our part, and then the second half was pretty good from our side and we got one goal. It’s tough, one point is one point but of course we wanted three points."
What was the reason for the slow start?
"I don’t know! We have had some slow starts in the beginning of the season so I don’t know what the thing is. That’s something we need to look at and do better in the upcoming games - not be so nervous at the start and be calm and play our style."
You had the 3-0 win against Mjallby, the 8-1 win against Orgryte, but there’s also been a couple of disappointing results and today, as you said, was a bit of a missed opportunity, how can you find that consistency you need if you’re going to challenge for the title?
"We need to play like we did in the first game (against Mjallby) because we were really good there and we need to play up and use our playing style in our upcoming games. We need to have more players in the box and some good quality in the last third. I think that is the thing with us - even though we scored eight goals in that game, I don’t think we create enough opportunities to score and that’s where we need to improve."
Hammarby not creating enough was good news for Djurgarden full-back Piotr Johansson, who relished the derby atmosphere on what he said was an easy day, given the circumstances.
You started the game really brightly but weren’t able to keep the intensity for the whole game, what was the reason?
"Of course, we started really well. As always when you get these great starts, you score one goal against top opponents in the top half, it’s really hard to keep up with that intensity, you come down a little bit. I don’t think it was on purpose, but I feel we still felt pretty secure at the back. They didn’t create so much, they had a little bit more ball after our start, but yeah, in the end it was pretty chilled. Like I said, they didn’t create so much."
They have a lot of attacking talent - Nahir Besara who scored, Paulos Abraham, Montader Madjed - as someone who plays at the back, how do you deal with the threat they pose?
"They are a team that plays very much with the ball at their feet, so for me at the back it’s pretty nice to play against those opponents. The worst thing is when you have to turn and run behind, against your own goal all the time. But they play pretty much on the feet, feet, feet, out wide. They didn’t play so much on my side, so today, defensively, I had a pretty light, easy day!"
The atmosphere is really intense, how does it feel to play in a derby like this? Does it galvanise you and was that maybe a reason for your strong start?
"Of course, that’s why you play football, for those big games especially with our home crowd - they always make such a great atmosphere here at the stadium and it’s even better when it’s derby day, so yeah, that really, really helps very much. Those are the best games, I love those games and I always play my best football."
A lot of people have Hammarby as their favourites for the title, you’ve just gone level with them on the pitch. What does that mean for your team and what you can achieve this season?
"A draw against a good team, yeah, we take it but we wanted the three points! But I think, in the end, we have a lot of things to take away from here. Before this we played two good games, two dominant games against Malmo and Elfsborg, and we got zero points, so, we take one point from here and we move on. We have a really good team and I think we can achieve good things this season, but yeah, a good point today and we move on. Next week we play Goteborg, I hope we can get on a winning streak again and go from there. In the end I think 1-1 was the deserved result, and not much more to say."