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!
Matilda McNamara was back in the AGF starting lineup for Kvindeliga Round 12 and she helped them earn a crucial victory! AGF defeated HB Køge 1-0 in Køge, thanks to Brianna Visalli’s first half strike, and the result means that the Aarhus side can avoid the bottom two spots and the promotion / relegation playoffs by winning either of their next two games.
Both McNamara and Ally Green played full games for AGF, with McNamara getting booked in the 77th minute. For HB Køge, Daisy Cleverley entered play in the 65th minute, while Deborah-Anne de la Harpe and Claudia Bunge were unused substitutes.
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Unfortunately, FC Nordsjælland lost both the weekend’s game (2-1) and first place to Brøndby. Malia Steinmetz played the first hour of the game for Nordsjælland.
As Winonah Heatley continues to rehab after injury, it’s nice to see that the club involved her in this article about their collaboration with Common Goal, an organisation that seeks to use football as a vehicle for social change (please use the translation options on your browser).
❝Jo ældre man bliver, jo sværere bliver fravalgene, og derfor skal fodbold også blive mere og mere vigtig, for at det kan forsvares.❞
Igen i aften spiller vi med @commongoalorg på ryggen, og her kan du læse, hvorfor samarbejdet giver ekstra meget mening for Winonah Heatley 🙏
— FC Nordsjælland 🐯 (@FCNordsjaelland) November 30, 2023
The league now pauses for the December international window. Green, Steinmetz and Cleverley have been selected for New Zealand’s two games against Colombia.
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The 2023 Toppserien campaign is done and dusted, with Vålerenga taking the gold medal. Larissa Crummer started in 19 of 27 Brann Kvinner league games and came off the bench four times. She scored three goals and assisted in a further three.
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Crummer and company still have plenty of Champions League action to look forward to in the next few months.
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Ladder
Hammarby – the team that Kyra Cooney-Cross called home for much of 2023 before departing for the WSL – won this year’s Damallsvenskan competition by the narrowest of margins. They finished on the same points total as Aivi Luik‘s BK Häcken, prevailing with a goal difference of +44 (as opposed to Häcken’s +43).
Häcken will be rueing a run of average post-Women’s World Cup results which saw them squander a comfortable lead at the top of the ladder. They now look ahead to the remainder of their Champions League campaign.
Luik started in 19 league games for her club (in a season of 26) and came off the bench once. Her team was also runner-up to Hammarby in the Svenska Cup final.
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Chelsie Dawber scored two goals along the way to 24 appearances for 9th-placed IFK Norrköping this season. More than half of those games were off the bench, with a full second half the coaching team’s favoured tactic in employing Dawber’s talents.
This effort from the touchline is one that Dawber will always remember.
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The final game of the 2023 competition marked a period of transition for the three Aussies who have spent 2023 in Vittsjö GIK colours as their team finished fifth. Both Charli Grant and Katrina Gorry have announced their departure from the club. Grant played 23 league matches this season, scoring twice and assisting three others, having joined the club late in 2022 on loan from FC Rosengård.
Gorry leaves the club alongside fiancé Clara Markstedt, a prolific striker who took part in more than 140 games for Vittsjö. With two full seasons with the club under her belt, Gorry made 19 league appearances in 2023, scoring four goals.
Clare Polkinghorne took the field twelve times in the league this year, scoring once in her third full season with the club.
Amy Sayer proved to be a fine late squad addition for Kristianstad DFF with her team’s fortunes rising during her stay along the way to sixth position on the ladder. Sayer made nine league appearances (including seven starts) during her time in Sweden this year, scoring one goal.
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Another later starter to the 2023 season, Angie Beard appeared seven times in the Damallsvenskan for her very competitive club, as Linköping FC ended the year third.
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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.
