Aussies in Nordic Football – Season 2020 Wrap 11

With up to ten Australians competing in top level domestic Nordic competitions in 2020, Beyond 90 will be keeping readers up to date with how our players and the teams they are playing in are faring.

Indiah-Paige Riley stole the show for the Aussie contingent in the Nordic leagues this week. Coming on for Fortuna Hjørring with the score at 1-1 and half an hour to go, Riley scored her first goal for the club in the Elitedivisionen and remarkably followed it up with another two goals for her side to win 1-4 away at Nordsjælland.  

There were three games involving Aussies in Round 12 of the Toppserien on the weekend.

Nikola Orgill played 78 minutes in Kolbotn‘s away game against Teagan Micah‘s Arna-Bjørnar. The home side ran out 2-1 winners with two oddball goals scored in the Kolbotn six yard box – but hey, they all count! 

The result lifts Micah’s side to sixth place on the ladder, while Kolbotn are two places behind in eighth.

Clare Polkinghorne played a full game for Avaldsnes, while team-mate Katrina Gorry played all but five minutes, in their nil-all draw with ladder leaders Vålerenga. It was a fine result for Avaldsnes at home, who had to absorb more pressure than their opponents but were not without their chances.

With the logjam in positions 2 through 4 on the ladder, the draw drops Avaldsnes back into fourth place, taking into account the other results on the weekend.  

Karly Roestbakken played a full game – yet again a solid performance at centre back – for LSK Kvinner in their 2-3 away win against Klepp. Having taken a 2-1 lead early in the second half thanks to a fine strike from captain Emilie Haavi, Roestbakken was harshly adjudged to have handled the ball when a shot was rifled at her from close range. Her hand was close to her body but the referee may have been influenced by Roestbakken’s natural recoiling action once the ball had struck her. Nikki Stanton converted the penalty for Klepp to equalise, but the Lillestrøm side nosed back in front 15 minutes later in the 68th minute.

It was curiously only once they had scored their third that the away side lifted their attacking intensity and in the last 20 minutes there was wave upon wave of attack on the Klepp goal, but none produced the desired further goals. 

LSK Kvinner’s win puts them into third place, but the logjam between positions 2 through 4 remains.

Round 12 results
(teams with Australian players in the squad are shown in bold)

Emily Gielnik played 76 minutes of Vittsjö GIK‘s Round 15 1-2 away win against Linköpings on the weekend; a great result when you consider Gielnik and team were away to a top four side.

Both noteworthy Vittsjö goals – one for technique and the other for courage – can be viewed here.

Vittsjö now have five wins in a row and the result ensures that they remain in contention for the top four. They currently sit in fifth place, one place behind Kristianstads (whom Elise Kellond-Knight started the season with before her ACL injury).

Round 15 results

Round 14 proved to be one to forget for Angie Beard and KR Reykjavik as they succumbed 0-5 at home against mid-table Selfoss. 

Less forgettable is this Instagram footage from Beard showing off some amazing Icelandic scenery:

Meanwhile, Laura Hughes played a full game at home for Thróttur Reykjavik as they fought back – not the first time this season – from 2-0 down at halftime to record a 2-2 draw to FH Hafnarfjörður.

Leik lokið. Þróttur þakkar @fhingar fyrir leikinn.#Lifi 👊 pic.twitter.com/H69yGtG6tc

— Þróttur (@throtturrvk) September 13, 2020

Round 15 results

In Round 7 of the Elitedivisionen in Denmark, Indiah-Paige Riley‘s incredible performance for Fortuna Hjørring – turning a potential 1-1 draw against Nordsjælland into a three goal win after coming on at the hour mark – lifts her team into third place on goal difference.

Words aren’t enough – but perhaps the following are:

https://www.facebook.com/fortunahjorring/videos/610112769871555/?extid=QtrLyZjE9g1puFlD

Hannah Bacon and her AGF Aarhus team’s outing was a little more subdued as they fell by three goals in a 1-4 result at home against HB Køge. Bacon came into the game at the  74 minute mark.

Round 7 results

Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here.