Hammarby overcomes Sirius in penalty shootout to secure Svenska Cupen final against Mjallby

In Stockholm, the away team Sirius struck first during the middle of the opening period, as Neo Ozzy Jonsson fired the ball past the keeper and into the lower corner.

The score remained unchanged until ten minutes past the break, when Noah Perssons driven pass from the left flank was guided goalwards by Markus Karlsson to level things for Hammarby.

Only six minutes after that, the home side turned the match around completely, with Montader Madjed drifting inside from the right touchline and delivering a superb curling shot beyond David Celics grasp.

Yet, determined to reach their first ever cup final, the team from Uppsala refused to surrender quietly, and with twelve minutes left, a corner kick was redirected towards the far post, allowing Robbie Ure to head it in and force extra time.

Early in the additional half hour, just six minutes in, Sirius regained the advantage when Isak Bjerkebos run into the penalty area sparked chaos, before the ball broke favourably for Joakim Persson to slot it into an unguarded goal.

However, the away sides advantage was short lived once more, and right at the end of the first period of extra time, a delivery aimed at Paulos Abrahams instead found Nahir Besara, who spun and volleyed from close range to take the game to penalties.

Sirius opening spot kick by Mohamed Soumah was weakly struck and stopped by Warner Hahn, and with Hammarby converting their initial four attempts, Marcus Lindberg needed to find the net, but Hahn anticipated correctly once again to claim a 4-2 shootout victory and propel the 2021 champions HIF into their sixth final overall.

The action at Strandvallen was far less tense, as the league title holders Mjallby maintained their bid for a domestic double by defeating GAIS 3-0 to advance to the final for just the second occasion, after losing to Hacken back in 2023.

After thirty minutes, Viktor Gustafsson picked out Tom Pettersson just outside the box, and the defender unleashed a classy first time curl that any forward would admire to give MAIF the lead.

Towards the end of the first half, Jeppe Kjaer was fouled by a rough tackle from Matteo de Brienne within the area, leaving Elliot Stroud to calmly convert from twelve yards.

Mjallbys progression was sealed ten minutes into the second half, when GAIS could not deal with a free kick sent into their defensive third, enabling Jacob Bergstrom to control with his chest and volley from ten yards into the bottom corner.

The Mackerels missed out on the final for the first time since 1987, while Mjallby heads to 3Arena in the capital to meet Hammarby on 14th May.