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Five Swedish teams advance in European play

It was a clean sweep in European play for Sweden as all five Allsvenskan teams battling in UEFA leagues advanced to the next round.

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It was a clean sweep in European play for Sweden as all five Allsvenskan teams battling in UEFA leagues advanced to the next round.
Swedish champions Malmö FF shrugged off a disappointing first-leg draw at home to score a 1-0 win July 22 over Latvian champions FC Ventspils in Riga. Malmö moves into the third qualifying round where it faces FC Sparta Prague. The home-and-home series begins July 29 in Prague.
In the Europa League, AIK, Brommapojkarna, Elfsborg and IFK Göteborg all advanced, with AIK and Elfsborg rallying for crucial wins in the second leg. AIK overcame a 1-0 deficit to knock of Irish side FC Linfield 2-0 July 23 at Friends Arena in Solna. Elfsborg, 1-0 losers to Azerbaijan champions Inter Baku, traveled to Baku for the second leg and claimed a 1-0 win. The two teams went to penalties to determine who advanced an Elfsborg emerged with a 4-3 shootout win.
Brommapojkarna advanced following a 1-1 draw July 23 with Crusaders FC of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Bromma won the first leg 4-0.
IFK Göteborg was at home July 23 for its second-leg match with Hungarian champions Gyor and despite a listless 1-0 loss, advanced to the third round with a 3-1 aggregate win.

Malmö scrapes by
Malmö survived several scares to claim a 1-0 win (1-0) aggregate over Latvian champions FC Ventspils July 22 in Riga. Newly signed Isaac Kiese Thelin scored the all-important goal in the 19th minute when he tapped in the rebound of an Emil Forsberg shot. Markus Halsti started the play with a long cross to Mattias Concha, who found Forsberg inside the penalty area. Forsberg’s shot hit the crossbar and the ball caromed straight down. Thelin tapped the ball over the line for the goal.
The goal set off a flurry of counterattacks as the Riga side now had to score twice to advance. Usually sure-handed Malmo goalkeeper Robin Olsen twice fumbled shots, with one landing at the feet of Ventskils striker Danil Ulimasevs, who shot the ball over a wide-open net. Malmo also squandered several chances to put the match away but managed to hang on for the win. The Swedish champions now face Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round.
"I think that is a good draw for us," said Malmö general manager Niklas Carlnen. "They are a strong side but I think we should be able to beat them and move into the playoffs."
Teams that reach the playoffs receive a guaranteed pay day of $2.8 million, or around 20 million Swedish kronor.

AIK rallies
AIK moved into the third qualifying of the UEFA Europa League thanks to a 2-0 home win July 23 over Linfield of Northern Ireland. AIK entered the match with a 1-0 deficit after dropping the first leg in Belfast. Playing at home at Friends Arena, the Swedes got off to a slow start as Linfield attempted to protect its lead.
After a scoreless first half, AIK upped its tempo and it quickly paid off. In the 50th minute, Henok Goitom spotted Kennedy Igboananike lurking outside the penalty area and crossed the ball. Igboananike faked two defenders and the Linfield goalkeeper to give AIK a 1-0 lead. Goitom doubled the lead 22 minutes later.
AIK faces Astana of Kazakhstan in the third qualifying round. The Swedes are on the road for the first leg.

Brommapojkarna cruises
Despite hovering just above the basement in the Allsvenskan standings, Brommapojkarna keeps getting results in the Europa League.
Bromma cruised to a 1-1 draw with Crusaders FC in Belfast, Northern Ireland July 23 to claim a 5-1 aggregate win and advance to the third qualifying round. Colin Coates put the Crusaders in front after 17 minutes. Dardan Rexhepi tied the match for Bromma at the 27-minute mark. From then on, Bromma was content to simply defend its aggregate lead.
Bromma has a nightmare draw in the third round as it faces Italian Serie A club Torino. Bromma is at home for the first lead on July 29.

Elfsborg shootout
Sebastian Holmen was the hero of the day as he scored once in regulation and hit the winning penalty kick to send Elfsborg into the third qualifying round of the Europa League with a 1-0 win July 23 over Inter Baku in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Elfsborg entered the match trailing by a goal overall after losing at home 1-0 to Baku on July 17. The Baku goal, however, would count double in any tie-breaker as it was a road goal. In the second leg, Elfsborg had to score and maintain a clean sheet to have any hopes of advancing. Holmen made sure of the goal when he scored off a corner kick at the end of the first half. Elfsbortg made the goal stand up and played a scoreless 30 minutes of overtime before going to penalties.
Elfsborg goalkeeper Kevin Stuhr-Ellegard stopped two Baku penalties in the shootout while Holmen scored the winner.
Elfsborg faces FH Hafnarfjördur of Iceland in the third round.


Göteborg coasts
IFK Göteborg entered its second leg match with Hungarian side Gyor holding a 3-0 lead after a win July 17 in Budapest. The Hungarians gamely tried to make a match and scored in the 68th minute on a Nemanja Andrić but the guests never really threatened Göteborg.
Göteborg faces Portuguese side Rio Ave in the third round. The first leg is July 29 at Gamla Ullevi.

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