Aussies in Nordic football has been a recurring theme over the years and 2023 is no different. Read on to see how Aussies in the Nordic leagues (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland) fared during the past week!
The Damallsvenskan recommenced on the weekend with Round 18 (of 26), and the exciting news is that we have two more Aussies to add to our league coverage.
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Amy Sayer played a full game in her first league appearance for mid-table team Kristianstads DFF in their 1-1 away draw against Djurgården.
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Angie Beard joined second-placed Linköping FC during the Damallsvenskan summer break, but neither she nor opponent Aivi Luik was on the match card for their top-of-the-table home 0-0 draw with BK Häcken. Häcken has a three-point break on Linköping, with Kyra Cooney-Cross‘s Hammarby two further points back.
We can confirm that Angie Beard has completed a permanent transfer to Swedish heavyweight Linköping FC.
We wish Angie all the very best and will be watching on from afar 💚🖤
— Western United FC (@wufcofficial) August 29, 2023
Cooney-Cross did not take part in Hammarby’s 3-0 away win against Vaxjö but has resumed training with the team.
Vittsjö GIK came out firing in a 6-0 away demolition of bottom side Kalmar. Clare Polkinghorne scored and played a full match, while Charli Grant entered the fray at halftime. Katrina Gorry wasn’t in the Vittsjö matchday squad.
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Teagan Micah signed with Liverpool just prior to the Women’s World Cup, ending her two-year stint with FC Rosengård. Rosengård fell 1-0 away to fourth-placed Piteå IF on the weekend.
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Finally, Chelsie Dawber played the last half-hour of IFK Norrköping‘s disappointing 1-0 home loss against Örebro. The visitors are three points below Norrköping on the ladder following this result. Dawber has just been selected in Australia’s Under 23 squad to play two games in Europe later this month.
Results
Ladder
We’re two rounds into the 2023-24 Kvindeliga season and the Danish league has plenty of representation from both sides of the Tasman Sea! Matilda McNamara and Ally Green have returned to AGF, Winonah Heatley has been joined at FC Nordsjælland by Malia Steinmetz, while defending league champions HB Køge have signed former Young Matilda Deborah-Anne de la Harpe (now an Irish international), Claudia Bunge & Daisy Cleverley.
AGF started the campaign with an 8-0 away triumph over third-tier Team Viborg in the opening round of the Cup. McNamara started and Green was named as one of the substitutes.
Unfortunately, AGF then lost both of their opening league games (4-0 away to Kolding and 2-0 at home to Brøndby), with McNamara playing the full 90 minutes in both games. Green played the first half against Kolding and came on for the last 15 minutes against Brøndby.
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After winning the Danish Cup in 2022-23, Nordsjælland have started this season with four points from their opening two games – a 2-0 opening day win over Fortuna Hjørring at home was followed by a 0-0 draw at home against Køge, putting Nordsjælland in third place after two rounds. Heatley was on the field for every minute of both fixtures, but Steinmetz is yet to appear in a matchday squad for her new club.
Heatley’s form was recognised by Australia U-23 head coach Mel Andreatta: the defender has been called up for games against AC Milan and Scotland U-23, which will be played on September 22 and 26 respectively.
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Køge also have four points after two rounds. Cleverley and de la Harpe were starters in a 1-0 victory away to Thy ThistedQ on the opening day (84 minutes for de la Harpe and 62 minutes for Cleverley), while Bunge wasn’t named on the team sheet. This was followed by the aforementioned scoreless draw against Nordsjælland – Bunge played the full game, Cleverley played the final half hour, and de la Harpe was an unused substitute.
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Sadly, Køge then fell at the first hurdle of their quest to qualify for the Champions League group stage. They took the lead against Finnish side KuPS, before losing 2-1 as a 93rd minute goal broke Køge hearts. Bunge and Cleverley played a full game against KuPS, but de la Harpe wasn’t called from the bench.
The Toppserien has had two rounds since the completion of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Larissa Crummer took part in a friendly against Danish team Brøndby IF but did not figure in Brann Kvinner‘s Round 18 1-0 home win over seventh-placed Lyn which followed.
On the weekend, however, Crummer played 66 minutes – picking up a yellow card along the way – in her team’s 1-0 Round 19 away win against Åsane. Brann remains steady in fourth place after these two results.
Crummer also shared some significant personal news in the last month.
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Tameka Yallop has not taken part in a Brann game for quite some time, noting her recent multi-year signing with the Brisbane Roar.
Results
Ladder
Although the 2023 Besta Deild Kvenna competition (rebadged last season from the Úrvalsdeild) kicked off on April 26th, as yet no Aussies have signed up to compete. If the situation changes, the Aussies in Nordic Football wrap will be sure to cover it!
Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here, and read more of our Nordic coverage here.
