Ghanaian Right to Dream didn’t just dream about a victory – they pulled it off, maybe inspired by the big audience. The win marked their second consecutive Gothia Trophy, and fourth in total.
It was time for the first Gothia Trophy final, when home team IFK Göteborg squared off against Ghanaian Right to Dream, a team that has pleased many Gothia Cup viewers.
Right to Dream has a rich history in the tournament, winning three times. Last time was in 2017, when they beat Nigerian TikiTaka Academy with 1-0. Some of the players were a part of the team last year and one of them is Keanin Ayer.
– The squad is younger this year and the group was really though, says Keanin Ayer.
Both the home team and Right to Dream had great support, filling many seats at Gamla Ullevi – which is also the senior team’s home field.
IFK Göteborg also had the help of two former senior players, as they were coached by former IFK Göteborg players and fan favourites Hjalmar Jonsson and Daniel Stiller.
It was Right to Dream that started best and they had a flow to their attack. At times, IFK came forward, but were shut down by Right to Dream’s defense.
One player with especially smooth movements was Kelvin Ofori, causing trouble for both IFK Göteborg’s midfield and defense. Halfway through the first half, he had a shot that almost got cleared off the goal line – but instead the ball escaped the IFK defender’s leg and slowly rolled in to goal, meaning that Right to Dream took the lead.
IFK Göteborg had to answer, and started the second half with a bang. A whipped cross from Hugo Moldin on the right hand side set up Noah Alexandersson, who threw himself to the ball, kicking it into the crossbar.
A few minutes later Right to Dream’s player Solomon Adomako was unexpectedly sent off, following a situation where he tried to clear the ball and instead kicking IFK Göteborg’s Benjamin Nygren instead. Nygren stayed down for a while, but seemed OK as he entered the pitch in a new shirt.
The red card meant a switch for the game flow. IFK started to attack heavily, and forced Right to Dream’s goalkeeper Emmanuel Ogura to several good saves.
IFK had their big chance to score 1-1 when Lucas KÃ¥hed’s cross opened for Pontus Steffensen – but he finished wide, and missed the open goal.
Instead, Keanin Ayer added to the lead with one minute left, scoring on a return by IFK keeper Elliott Källander. The reward awaited – the club’s fourth Gothia Cup tournament victory.
– I’m so happy to score the last goal! It was a though game but we never gave up despite the face that we were one player short on the field. This is amazing and we’re going to celebrate with a big party tonight, says Keanin Ayer.
IFK GÖTEBORG – RIGHT TO DREAM 0–2 (0–1)
0–1 Kelvin Ofori, 0–2 Keanin Ayer Yellow card: Rasmus Wikström IFK Göteborg, Gideon Mensah, Gadafi Fuseini Right to Dream Red card: Solomon Adomako Right to Dream MVP: Emmanuel Ogura REFEREE: Ahmed Abid, Sweden
RIGHT TO DREAM'S ROAD TO VICTORY
Hammarby IF FF (SWE) 2–0 W Leeds United (ENG) 4–3 W IFK Göteborg (SWE) 1–0 W Audax (BRA) 1–0 W ASEX (CIV) 3–0 W