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Degerfors IF has so far impressed in the Swedish cup. The national team has defeated IFK Luleå and Skövde AIK, and thus has six points ahead of Sunday’s decisive meeting with Malmö FF, who have the same number of points, away from home in the last round of group play.
Degerfors forward Dijan Vukojevic, who lowered Skövde, thinks it looked good in the cup.
– We have won, which is the most important thing. Luleå went down very low, which meant we had to play around, around all the time, while Skövde was a little higher up the court. Then we kept the ball well and moved them on. Maybe we should have scored a few more goals, but we did what we had to and now we can move on with a cross, says the goalscorer to Fotbollskanalen.
The 27-year-old thinks that “Degen” goes into the meeting with MFF with a good feeling.
– It is of course a fun match and we have everything to win. We went down last time and got points when we needed to, so in our heads we can do it again.
For Degerfors, a tick will be enough for advancement to the quarter-finals.
The reason is that Degerfors and MFF have the same goal difference (3-0) and have scored the same number of goals (3), which means that the Värmland team tops the group with fewer yellow and red cards. Degerfors has received one yellow card so far, while MFF collected three “straight” yellow cards, plus two more yellow cards and one red card, when Sergio Pena received two warnings against Luleå and was subsequently sent off in the away match.
– I haven’t thought about it much, I’ve just adapted to the rules. I’d rather it be decided by cards than ranking or lottery. With so few matches, it is not surprising that two teams are on the same points and goal difference. Then I think this is the best option, says Vukojevic and continues:
– It’s good, and nicer to feel that we don’t have to go for the win, as crosses are enough – if we don’t take so many yellows. It’s just nice to have an extra option.
Have you thought anything in advance about it being this situation?
– No, that’s not something we talked about. We haven’t talked much about cards, and we don’t take very many cards. We have the ball, and there haven’t really been that many opportunities. We’ve been quick back on counterattacks, so there haven’t been that many opportunities for unnecessary yellows.
How is it going into the match mentally with enough crosses?
– It’s just nice to know that we don’t have to go for profit. If we have crosses after 70-80 minutes, we don’t have to go for a win, as we can keep the result. It’s nice to have two options to fall back on.
How do you think Malmö looked in the Swedish Cup?
– I haven’t seen much, just highlights and the goals, but Malmö is always Malmö. It feels like they rotated a bit and they won’t have all the players against us, as Pena (Sergio) is suspended, so we’ll see. But Malmö is Malmö, and it doesn’t matter which team they come out with. It is still a strong team, concludes Vukojevic.
Degerfors’ meeting with Malmö starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday and will be streamed on cmore.se.
