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!
Round 19 of the Damallsvenskan saw two Aussies hit the back of the net!
Amy Sayer played 82 minutes of Kristianstad DFF‘s impressive 4-2 home victory over fourth-placed Piteå IF. The win sees Kristianstads leapfrog FC Rosengård into sixth place on the ladder.
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Angie Beard‘s Linköping FC didn’t play a league game on the weekend due to Champions League commitments – in the club’s first Champions League action since 2018/19, a crowd of almost 8,000 watched as Arsenal defeated Linköping 3-0. It must have been a big moment for Beard as she was called into action as part of a five-player backline after just 20 minutes. For more details on the game, check out Mia Eriksson’s article for Linköping (translation recommended).
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Kyra Cooney-Cross returned to action for Hammarby on the weekend in their 1-0 home victory over Djurgården, playing a full game. The win leaves Hammarby second, with their opponents eleventh. Cooney-Cross also features in the official Hammarby podcast this week, revealing her thoughts about the Women’s World Cup and her return to the Damallsvenskan.
All three Vittsjö GIK-based Aussies – Clare Polkinghorne, Charli Grant, and Katrina Gorry – played full games in their home win over Vaxjö. Grant was rewarded for her attacking enterprise from left-back, scoring the game’s only goal, while Gorry picked up a yellow card.
Charlotte Grant! https://t.co/1XNpGVeZTa
— Vittsjö GIK (@vittsjogikofcl) September 10, 2023
Chelsie Dawber repaid the IFK Norrköping coaching team’s faith – she started and scored the winner in her team’s 2-1 home win over Uppsala. Dawber had a lively time during her 63 minutes of game time, contributing to a solid chance on goal in the first stanza as well. Dawber’s performance will give her confidence leading into the Australia Under-23 games against AC Milan and Scotland Under-23.
Australiensiskan vänder upp och placerar skickligt in sitt andra mål för säsongen
⚪️#ifknorrköping pic.twitter.com/OvzLs8KhPf
— IFK Norrköping (@ifknorrkoping) September 11, 2023
Finally, Aivi Luik wasn’t on the BK Häcken match card for their 0-0 home draw with seventh-placed FC Rosengård. The game attracted a record crowd of 3,820 spectators. Despite their second successive scoreless draw, Häcken remains on top of the league.
Results
Ladder
Our Danish-based Aussies (and Kiwis) have been busy with both Kvindeliga and Danish Cup 2nd Round action!
AGF earned their first points of the 2023-24 campaign after drawing 1-1 at home with FC Nordsjælland. Matilda McNamara and Ally Green played full games for AGF, while Winonah Heatley had a 90 minute run for Nordsjælland. Malia Steinmetz made her Nordsjælland debut and was subbed at half time.
AGF then knocked Thy ThistedQ out of the Cup, beating them 3-2 on penalties after the game had finished goalless. As usual, McNamara started in the Cup game, however Green was named on the bench.
Nordsjælland had an easier time in the Cup, travelling to second-tier side BSF and winning 3-0. Heatley and Steinmetz were starters in their Cup fixture.
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On the weekend, HB Køge defeated Faroese outfit KÍ 3-1 in the third-place playoff for their UEFA Champions League qualifying mini-tournament. Deborah-Anne de la Harpe logged a complete game, Claudia Bunge played the first half and Daisy Cleverley was an unused substitute.
In midweek action, de la Harpe scored her first goal for Køge as they beat NØFF 14-0.
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Champions League duties kept Brann Kvinner away from Toppserien Round 20 action on the weekend, and they are safely through to Round 2 of the UWCL qualifiers. Larissa Crummer came on in the second half of Brann’s 5-0 win over Bulgarian team Lokomotiv Stara Zagora, then played 88 minutes against Anderlecht (Belgium) three days later, scoring the second goal of a 3-0 win.
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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.
