Djurgården Pulls Off Stunning Comeback to Secure Spot in Quarter-Finals

Djurgården triumphed over Pafos with a convincing 3-0 victory, turning around their deficit from the first leg of their UEFA Conference League (UECL) Round of 16 encounter. This remarkable win marks the first time the Jarnkaminerna have advanced to the quarter-finals of a European competition since the 1955/56 European Cup.

Early on, Pafos faced two significant threats within the first six minutes. Bruno Felipe halted his run, believing he had been fouled by Oskar Fallenius; however, the referee chose to play on, and Felipe’s subsequent weak shot was easily saved.

Then, Tokmac Nguen looked set to score but had his effort disallowed due to a handball after being pressured by Jonathan Silva.

Nguen’s frustrations continued as Vlad Dragomir made an impressive block from his shot, which came after Jacob Une had nodded the ball into his path.

Following these early scares, the visitors enjoyed a brief spell of momentum, but Derrick Luckassen failed to convert a precise cross from Ken Sema. Moments later, Ivica Ivušić dove in to prevent a fortunate bounce from allowing Nguen to score, amid growing discontent from the home supporters at 3Arena.

However, jubilation erupted in the 35th minute when Fallenius made an excellent connection with Nguen, skillfully poking the ball past Ivušić for his first-ever goal in European competition.

Keita Kosugi then delivered a dangerous cross, but Adam Ståhl’s header fell to Miro Tenho, who was unable to direct it towards the goal.

Six minutes after the break, Tobias Gulliksen thought he had given Djurgården the lead for the first time in the tie with a powerful strike, only for his goal to be disallowed for a foul on Silva leading up to the effort.

The match’s intensity ramped up, resulting in four yellow cards being issued within 12 minutes—each card carrying the risk of suspension for the quarter-finals, should either team progress. Anderson Silva had a chance with a header that went astray, while Fallenius found the side netting at the other end.

In the 69th minute, Daniel Stensson delivered a sensational strike to put his team in front. Shortly thereafter, a setback occurred as goalkeeper Malkolm Nilsson Säfqvist suffered a serious injury.

After Fallenius’ shot was tipped onto the crossbar, Nguen headed in to ensure that Djurgården’s first victory in four competitive outings was by a significant margin, setting up a UECL quarter-final clash against either Rapid Vienna or Borac Banja Luka. In doing so, they also brought Pafos’ historic debut European campaign to an end.