Before the start of the match, there was a minute’s silence at the Estadio Algarve to remember the victims of the terrible school shooting in Ørebro in Sweden. Right from kick-off, the blue and whites from Gothenburg were the best team and they created several great chances, but they had to score an own goal two minutes before the end of the half for them to take a deserved lead. It didn’t last long because in the final seconds of the half, Iwan Morgan hammered home the equaliser, so that it was 1-1 at half-time.

As usual, the teams made many changes throughout the half, and the young Brentford players really stood up to a more experienced Gothenburg team regardless of who was on the field. Manager Neil MacFarlane told the Atlantic Cup how uneasily proud he was of the team’s performance, effort and attitude and captain Ethan Brierley stressed the importance of playing games against tough senior players. He could also say that the atmosphere in the dressing room was very good after the match thanks to Caelan Avenell’s winner fifteen minutes from time. IFK’s Tobias Heintz felt that it was a good run through and that the team created enough chances to score more goals. At the same time, he was aware of how important it was to be able to train under top conditions and play matches in a proper stadium.