The Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland) have long been a viable destination for Aussie footballers, and 2021 looks to be no different with over a dozen players choosing the Nordic countries as their playground.
All three of the remaining Nordic leagues featuring Aussies are now in the run home to the end of their seasons. Read on to see how all our Aussies fared!
Last weekend was all about the NM Cup Final.
League leaders Sandviken were favoured to lift the trophy at home but defending champions Vålerenga had other ideas. Vålerenga currently sit fourth in the Toppserien and have lifted their game in the last month, defeating third-placed LSK Kvinner at home and dispatching second-placed Rosenborg 4-0 in the Cup semi-final.
Vålerenga arguably had more to play for – the Cup was their sole remaining chance of silverware for 2021 – and this spurred them to a two goal halftime lead. They withstood a more determined Sandviken in the second half, conceding a goal but hanging on to take the honours.
Legger denne her vi!
Norgesmester 2021💙 pic.twitter.com/J9h3sWRODA
— Vålerenga Fotball Kvinner (@VIFDamer) October 31, 2021
Fans of the Newcastle A-League Women‘s team will be pleased to hear that Marie Markussen, scorer of the first Vålerenga goal and formerly of German giants Vfl Wolfsburg, will be joining the Jets until the end of February 2022.
The Toppserien resumes next weekend and more time on the park for LSK Kvinner’s Karly Roestbakken is keenly anticipated. However, judging by the last few months it does not appear as if Nikola Orgill will be turning out for Klepp.
Round 17 games
Ladder
FC Rosengård celebrated their Swedish Damallsvenskan championship win in front of their fans and won 3-1 against fourth-placed Eskilstuna United.
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Teagan Micah sat this game out, while Charli Grant came onto the field as an 84th-minute substitute. Rosengård plays their final game of the season this week, away to 9th-placed Djurgårdens IF.
Dylan Holmes may not have seen action off the bench in BK Häcken‘s final home game of the competition, but she witnessed her second-placed team comprehensively defeat Djurgårdens 4-0. National team striker Stina Blackstenius scored her fourth hat-trick of the year to send their home fans off in style.
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Häcken’s final game of the league campaign is away to Eskilstuna United, however Holmes and crew have several Champions League games after the Damallsvenskan concludes.
Recent good form saw sixth-placed Vittsjö GIK move within a win of the coveted top three, so last week’s away match against tenth-placed AIK was an important one as the third Champions League slot is on the line. Vittsjö came closest to UWCL qualification in 2019 when they finished third, but Sweden was not granted a third Champions League place until the following season.
Vittsjö unfortunately fluffed their lines by losing 1-0 against their hot-and-cold opposition. Clare Polkinghorne did well to play 90 minutes after Tuesday’s Matildas-Brazil game and a 30-hour trip back to Sweden.
The result leaves Vittsjö in sixth place. Vittsjö’s last game of the season is at home against KIF Örebro, who stole a march on the three teams above them, jumping to fifth place after winning 2-1 at home against 11th-placed Piteå IF.
Elise Kellond-Knight‘s Hammarby IF currently find themselves in eighth place following their last home game of the season, a disappointing 1-3 loss to Linköpings FC. The loss continues a recent slide for Hammarby, who not so long ago were ensconced in the top four.
The sight of a capacity home crowd thanking the team for their season would no doubt have helped warm the team’s hearts after the game:
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Hammarby’s final game is away to Winonah Heatley‘s Växjö DFF. Växjö may be holding up the ladder, but they pulled off the upset of the season by defeating third-placed Kristianstads 1-0 away, just their second win in 2021. Heatley was an unused substitute in this watershed moment for the team, however the victory won’t be enough to prevent relegation.
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Round 21 results
Round 22 games
Ladder
In Round 11 of the Danish Elitedivisionen, undefeated HB Køge maintained their seven point lead and with three rounds left look set for their second successive title.
Two Champions League spots are up for grabs, and the five point break to third-placed Brøndby means Fortuna Hjørring is close to guaranteeing the second berth.
At the end of the season, clubs ranked seventh and eighth – Jenna McCormick‘s AGF is currently seventh – play qualifiers against the top four teams from Division 1. The two top teams at the end of these playoffs will earn Elitedivisionen places for 2022.
A 30 hour trip back to Denmark from Tuesday’s Matildas-Brazil game awaited Fortuna’s Angie Beard and Clare Wheeler, but that didn’t stop Wheeler from starting alongside Alex Huynh for their away game against winless AaB (Aalborg). A 0-5 win ensued, with the team looking better than in their last drawn outing. Beard replaced Huynh at halftime (the latter managed to pick up a yellow card in her 45 minutes), while Indiah-Paige Riley was an unused substitute.
Wheeler’s remarkable week was capped off by scoring Fortuna’s second goal in the 29th minute – her first goal for the club. She was also named in the league’s team of the round, and as a deserved Queen of the Week in the latest Beyond 90 podcast episode.
Finally, one of the many reasons so many Aussies are drawn to Fortuna Hjørring became evident this week: the club is handing out a free beer or other beverage to all spectators at this weekend’s match against fourth-placed Thy-ThistedQ.
A 93rd minute goal wasn’t enough for McCormick’s AGF side to earn a result away to KoldingQ. McCormick (pictured below) once again played the full game as AGF lost 2-1.
The result was vital to Kolding’s prospects of staying in the top flight and they are now six points clear of AGF, who look more and more like they will be participating in the relegation playoffs.
AGF is at home to third-placed Brøndby this weekend.
Round 11 results
Round 12 games
Ladder
The Úrvalsdeild Kvenna 2021 season is over!
Urvalsdeild Ladder
1.deild Ladder
Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here, and Aussies in Nordic football here.
