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!
Third hosted second in Damallsvenskan Round 24 as Linköping FC were at home against Hammarby. Angie Beard played a full game and Linköping equalised in the 93rd minute to earn a valuable point.
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The Swedish weather is cooling down at this time of year, but there was another hot contest between Vittsjö GIK (6th) and FC Rosengård (7th).
Going into this clash, Vittsjö hadn’t defeated Rosengård in 23 previous meetings. Despite home ground advantage for Vittsjö, Rosengård was the hungrier side and would claim all three points.
With Rosengård 1-0 up in second half stoppage time, the entire Vittsjö team went up for a corner. The ball was cleared to Rosengård’s Mai Kadowaki, who raced towards an open goal from her own half. No prizes for guessing who managed to catch her … but in doing so Charli Grant brought Kadowaki down in the box, leading to a red card and a 2-0 Rosengård win.
Katrina Gorry and Clare Polkinghorne both played full games for the home side.
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Amy Sayer played a full game for Kristianstad DFF in their uneventful 0-0 away draw with tenth-placed Växjö. Like many of the Aussies playing in Sweden, Sayer had to board a plane not long after the game to join her fellow Matildas in Perth for Round 2 of the Olympic qualifiers.
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Chelsie Dawber played the first half of IFK Norrköping‘s home 1-0 loss to fourth-placed Piteå IF. It was a frustrating outing for the home side, who were unable to get back into the game after conceding in the first half. Norrköping’s presence in the 2024 top flight is assured as there are seven points between them and the bottom three with only two games remaining, but they will want to end the season on a strong note.
In her first league appearance since the World Cup, Aivi Luik played out the full 90 minutes of BK Häcken‘s away 1-0 win over Uppsala, a result which keeps Häcken at the top of the ladder.
Luik can be seen in these images taken after Häcken’s midweek Champions League win over Dutch side Twente. With that victory, Häcken ensured their passage to the group stage, where they have been drawn with Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris FC.
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Results
Ladder
AGF welcomed Kvindeliga leaders Kolding to Ceres Park and then beat them 2-0 with a goal in each half. Matilda McNamara and Ally Green both played full games, with McNamara earning selection in the Kvindeliga Team of the Week and being named as AGF’s Player of the Match. The result saw Kolding drop to third.
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Kolding’s defeat meant FC Nordsjælland‘s 2-1 away triumph over Fortuna Hjørring took the Tigers into second place. Winonah Heatley and Malia Steinmetz were on the field for the whole game.
We were glad to see that Steinmetz was able to spend time with her mother Paula (scroll through the photos in the below Instagram post).
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HB Køge are the new league leaders after beating Thy ThistedQ 3-1 at home. Claudia Bunge played a complete game, while Daisy Cleverley started but had to be subbed after 25 minutes. Deborah-Anne de la Harpe was an unused substitute.
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Round 24 of the Toppserien saw an excellent 2-0 Brann Kvinner home triumph over leaders Rosenborg. Larissa Crummer played 88 minutes of what was her team’s best result of the campaign and a perfect reply to Rosenborg’s win by the same scoreline back in June.
Defeat for Rosenborg means Vålerenga have overtaken them at the top, while Brann remains in fourth with three rounds remaining.
This result came hot on the heels of a Champions League win over Glasgow City, which sees Brann into the group stages of the competition. Brann have been drawn with Lyon, Slavia Prague and St. Pölten.
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.
