Kalmar beat Malmö Redhawks 2-1 in a club friendly match on Wednesday, 20 August 2026. The result came as a surprise given both sides had been struggling for consistency in their recent fixtures. And here's the thing — friendlies like this rarely tell you much about what's coming, but the scoreline at least showed some grit from the hosts.
Kalmar had been through a mixed spell over their last five games, picking up two wins against three losses. Their most recent outing saw them fall 5-2 to Karlskrona on 18 August, while Malmö had lost 2-1 to Växjö Lakers on 14 August. To be fair, neither side was at their peak form going into this encounter.
The match itself lacked the minute-by-minute detail that would have given us more to work with. What we do know is that Kalmar found the back of the net twice while Malmö managed a consolation goal. By then, the game had settled into something predictable — a friendly where both teams were feeling things out rather than pushing for anything concrete.
Looking at Malmö's recent record, they had been particularly vulnerable against Skellefteå AIK, losing three of four meetings this season. Kalmar, meanwhile, had shown flashes of promise against Södertälje in March, winning one and losing two. These patterns don't transfer neatly to friendlies, but they give context to the performance levels we might expect.
There are no standings to update here — this was a friendly, not a competitive fixture. The two points Kalmar earned mean nothing in any league table, and Malmö's loss won't affect their position anywhere. What it might do is give both coaching staffs something to discuss over the coming weeks.
One mistake ends it in competitive matches, but in friendlies the margin for error is wider. Kalmar held their nerve enough to secure the win, while Malmö will need to find more consistency before their next outing. The heat took the sting out of it — this was August, after all, and the intensity never quite built.