Defending Allsvenskan champions Malmö and 2014 title hopefuls IFK Göteborg, Helsingborg and Elfsborg are the top contenders as the 2014 Swedish Cup enters the quarterfinal stage.
The draw March 17 pitted Malmö against Brommapojkarna and Helsingborg against GAIS on March 22. Elfsborg plays BK Häcken and IFK Göteborg faces Sirius on March 23. The Superettan side knocked off Djurgården and Halmstad on its road to the quarters.
Malmö moved forward after beating Hammarby 3-2 on March 15 to win Group 1. The two teams went into the match level on points, each needing a win to advance. Malmö set the early tone as Emil Forsberg scored on a half-volley 10 minutes into the match. Newly signed striker Markus Rosenberg made the score 2-0 just before the interval and upped the lead to 3-0 with a second-half penalty. Hammarby staged a late comeback as Andreas Haddad scored in the 75th minute and Lars Fuhres struck in the 90th minute.
IFK Göteborg defeated Sundsvall 4-2 to win Group 2 and advance to the quarters. Lasse Vibe had a pair of goals to lead IFK to the win. The Dane opened the scoring in the third minute. Mattias Bjärsmyr knocked the ball past John Alvbåge for an own goal to the tie the game. Kjetil Waehler put IFK back in front before the interval. Vibe and Sam Larsson scored early the second half to put the game away. Pa Dibba scored a late goal for Sundsvall.
Elfsborg beat Östers 2-0 to win Group 4 and move into the quarters. Simon Hedlund put Elfsborg in front after 38 minutes. New signing Mikkel Beckmann made the score 2-0 with 15 minutes left to play. Elfsborg went through group play unbeaten and did not allow a goal.
Brommapojkarna upset Åtvidaberg 1-0 to win Group 6 and seal its spot in the quarterfinals. Jesper Karlström scored his first career goal to lead BP to the win. The 19-year-old striker scored in the 24th minute of the match.
BK Häcken joined the ranks of the quarterfinalist when it beat Mjällby 3-0 to win Group 8. Simon Gustafsson scored just after the interval to break open a scoreless match. Moestafa El Kabir then scored twice to give Häcken the win.
On March 16, Helsingborg squeaked into the quarterfinals with a 5-1 win over Syrianska. Despite the lopsided, win, HIF needed a 2-0 Ljungskile win over Division 2 side Torslanda to advance. Against Syrianska, David Accam had a pair of goals while Abdul Khalili, Mattias Lindström and Anton Kinnander each had one.
Superettan side Sirius moved into the quarters with a 2-0 win Assyriska. Sirius won Group 5 with a perfect 3-0 record. Stefan Silva and Kerim Mrabti scored three minutes apart in the first half to give Sirius the win.
GAIS beat Athletic FC United to win Group 7 and join Sirius as the only non-Allsvenskan teams in the quarterfinals. Andreas Drugge scored from the penalty spot to give GAIS the win.