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 23 of the Damallsvenskan saw all teams containing Aussies take points, bar one.
A big game for Amy Sayer helped Kristianstad DFF into fifth place – she played 90 minutes and scored in their 2-0 home win over KIF Örebro.
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Chelsie Dawber played the first half of IFK Norrköping‘s away 1-1 draw with Djurgården, a result which sees both sides retain their respective eighth and ninth places in the Damallsvenskan. A midweek Svenska Cup qualification loss on penalties to second-tier leader AIK, however, sees Norrköping miss out on group games in the Cup this spring.
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Aivi Luik was selected but didn’t see time off the bench in BK Häcken‘s 4-0 home win over IF Brommapojkarna. The win keeps Häcken perched at the competition summit. (Luik also features in this week’s Beyond 90 podcast.)
Katrina Gorry sat out Vittsjö GIK‘s 1-0 away loss to Piteå IF, a result that dropped Vittsjö two places down to sixth and allowed their opponents to take their fourth place. Clare Polkinghorne and Charli Grant both played full matches for the away team.
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Angie Beard played a full game in Linköping FC‘s comprehensive 6-2 home victory over Växjö, keeping her team in the top three.
Results
Ladder
We’re pretty much at the halfway point of the Danish campaign’s first phase. For the uninitiated, the eight Kvindeliga teams play each other twice. The competition then splits into two, with the top six playing another double round robin competition for the league title and Champions League spots, while the bottom two have a double round robin promotion/relegation playoff with the top four teams from the second tier. The top two teams at the end of this playoff earn Kvindeliga places for 2024-25.
AGF were unable to win on their travels, losing 2-0 against Fortuna Hjørring. Matilda McNamara was on the field for the whole game, while Ally Green started and played 71 minutes.
In off-field news, McNamara and Green revealed themselves to be fans of espresso martinis.
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FC Nordsjælland were also on the road, and unfortunately relinquished top spot to their opponents on the weekend – Kolding are the new league leaders after beating Nordsjælland 2-0. With the coaching staff perhaps mindful of the short turnaround from last week’s Danish Cup adventures, Winonah Heatley and Malia Steinmetz were named on the bench. Heatley came on for the second half and Steinmetz played the final quarter of an hour. The result sees Nordsjælland drop to third place.
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HB Køge took advantage of Nordsjælland dropping points and moved into second place with a 1-0 away triumph against Aalborg BK. Claudia Bunge played the full 90 minutes (and earned a bonus for helping the team keep a clean sheet), Daisy Cleverley played the second half, and Deborah-Anne de la Harpe was an 84th minute substitute.
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Round 23 of the Toppserien saw Brann Kvinner dispatch Arna-Bjørnar 4-0 away from home, leaving Brann fourth. Larissa Crummer entered the game for the visitors in the 67th minute.
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.
