Sam Johnson’s Djurgardens kicked off the 2016 Swedish Allsvenskan on a good note after three straight wins, in which Johnson scored four times. However, the team suffered three consecutive defeats to follow.
Djurgardens began the league season with a 2-0 victory away at Örebro. And then enjoyed a 5-0 home win over Falkenberg. They proved to be a formidable side in the league by grabbing an emphatic 2-1 win away at Gefle IF, the club of fellow Liberian international, Dioh Williams.
However, they were unable to continue winning when they were whipped 3-1 at home by Hammarby, the club of compatriot Amadaiya Rennie, who is yet to play a single league minute this season. Sam Johnson again was on target for Djurgardens. Following the loss to Hammarby, they were again defeated 1-0 by Swedish league giant, Malmo FF. Their woes continued in round six of the league after an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Elfsborg.
Following the numerous losses, Djurgardens put smiles back on the faces of their fans with a 3-0 win over Östersunds FK at the Tel 2 Arena on May 2.
South Korean striker Seon-Min Moon scored in the seventeenth minute before Johnson doubled Djurgardens’ lead a moment later. Swedish attacker, Mathias Ranégie scored Djurgardens’ third goal in the 69th minute to wrap up the score.
With the 3-0 win, Djurgardens moved up to second in the league table with twelve points from seven matches, while the goal scored against Östersunds FK was Sam Johnson’s six from seven games.
After the game, Sam Johnson told The Bush Chicken that his side was worried about the drop in form but were working harder to get back at their best. He expressed his excitement of getting on the score sheet again.
“We started well. We won our first three matches and were excited about our form,†he noted. “Unfortunately, we lost against Hammarby in round four, and we were unable to recover sooner. It was really a disappointing moment for us. It hurts to lose three games in a row, though it’s football and it’s normal. We were worried, but we’re working harder to get back at our best. Fortunately for us, through the help of God and our fans who are always behind us, we were able to win, and I was able to start scoring again. It’s always a joy to be on the score sheet. We will continue to work harder to get the best results.”
Djurgardens will be in search of its fifth league victory on May 9 when they travel away at IFK Göteborg.
Featured photo courtesy of Sam Johnson
