Sirius continue to surge as Malmo claim convincing win in first match since Ramirez's departure
AIK 0-3 Sirius
At least for the next day, Sirius maintain a ten-point advantage at the summit of the standings after their impressive run persisted at Strawberry Arena. They dominated AIK from the start, and Victor Svensson threaded a pass for Robbie Ure, who broke through and applied a composed finish in the 19th minute.
The Scottish striker then doubled his tally within the last ten minutes of the opening period. Oscar Krusnell pulled the ball back to him on the edge of the box, and a heavy deflection guided Ure's effort beyond the keeper for his seventh goal of the campaign.
The match might have taken a different turn had Yannick Geiger's powerful strike against the crossbar dipped a few inches lower early in the second half. However, Sirius preserved their clean sheet and capped the performance with a late flourish in stoppage time, when Henrik Castegren's free kick curled into the top corner.
AIK could not capitalise on their away victory at Hammarby in their previous fixture and now occupy 11th place after their two-match unbeaten streak was emphatically halted.
Malmo 5-2 Halmstad
Malmo's choice to dismiss Miguel Angel Ramirez during the week is already yielding results, as Himmelsblatt snapped a four-match losing streak with a convincing victory over relegation-threatened Halmstad.
Inside four minutes, the deadlock was broken when Adrian Skogmar volleyed home after Oscar Sjostrand's initial attempt was blocked, yet Halmstad demonstrated that more would be needed to reverse the home side's fortunes.
Three minutes later, a low cross from the left was flicked on by Rami Kaib to Omar Faraj, whose shot took a massive deflection on its way in for the equaliser. Twenty minutes after that, HBK took the lead as Marvin Illary's header seemed destined for the side netting, only for Faraj to control the ball and turn it into the net, silencing Eleda Stadion.
Nevertheless, the team under the interim management of Guillermo Molins and Mario Chavez drew level again after half an hour. A deep cross was headed back across goal by Jens Stryger Larsen, and following a few deflections, the ball sat up for Kenan Busuladzic to volley home from six yards.
Following the rollercoaster first half, the second half was dominated by Malmo, especially by Erik Botheim, who netted a hat-trick in eight minutes to secure the win for MFF. His first arrived on the hour mark, glancing a Sead Haksabanovic free kick past the keeper with his head.
Two minutes later, a poor clearance by goalkeeper Tim Ronning was intercepted by Busuladzic, enabling Botheim to chip the ball over the retreating goalkeeper. He completed his treble when Sjostrand's shot was saved and the striker reacted quickest to the rebound.
Malmo rise to ninth place for now after collecting their first points since 27th April, whilst Halmstad stay above the relegation zone only due to a superior goal difference over Orgryte.
GAIS 3-0 Kalmar
GAIS have returned to winning form and climbed to fifth in the table, requiring late goals to secure the victory at home against Kalmar, who are still without an away point this campaign.
Further difficulties on the road for Kalmar seemed inevitable after just six minutes. Goalkeeper Samuel Brolin came to collect a cross from William Milovanovic but failed to secure it, allowing Samuel Salter to steer the ball home at the far post.
The visitors then created good opportunities both before and after half-time, but their inability to convert proved costly in the last ten minutes. Oscar Pettersson's cross was inadvertently headed into his own net by Melker Hallberg, and then Jonas Lindberg's corner was nodded in by Anes Cardaklija.
This result means The Mackerels have suffered only one league defeat in their last eight matches. Meanwhile, Kalmar occupy 12th place, three points above the relegation zone.