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.
Round 15 was the fourth last of the 2020 Toppserien season and critically included a matchup between first & second on the ladder, as well as one between third & fourth. Decisive wins or dropped points were likely to be vital in shaking out the top four, which has been a close contest for weeks.
The round started with the third vs fourth game and Avaldsnes were 1-3 winners away from home against LSK Kvinner. This was a terrific result for Clare Polkinghorne and Katrina Gorry‘s team, yet it was one of those games where LSK looked clearly the better side for three quarters of the contest.
Having just announced a two year contract extension, Karly Roestbakken played convincingly at centre back with Malin Brenn unavailable. The home side had one of their strongest first halves this season at the LSK Hall and led 1-0 at the break.
Polkinghorne played solidly for Avaldsnes, while Gorry was clinical with her passing game and movement but was subbed out in the 62nd minute. LSK’s intensity dropped a little at the back end of the game as Avaldsnes found their rhythm and came home with a wet sail, scoring all three goals in the last 18 minutes.
The win leaves Avaldsnes in third place, just one point shy of league leaders Vålerenga, who in drawing 1-1 at home with second placed Rosenborg missed an opportunity to stake a clear title claim. With LSK Kvinner now slightly off the pace in fourth place, the title would seem to be a three horse race.
Teagan Micah revealed last week that she had broken a finger, and in rotten luck for her Arna-Bjørnar team, so did their reserve goalkeeper at around the same time.
Video courtesy @abtoppfotball (Facebook)
Facing a total of nine to ten weeks on the sideline, Micah is now back in Australia, quarantining in a Brisbane hotel.
In the other Toppserien game with Aussie involvement, Nikola Orgill played a full game as Kolbotn drew 2-2 against Klepp, a result which keeps Kolbotn clear of the bottom two on goal difference.
Round 15 results
(teams with Australian players in the squad are shown in bold)
| LSK Kvinner | 1 – 3 | Avaldsnes |
| Sandviken | 2 – 2 | RØA |
| Kolbotn | 2 – 2 | Klepp |
| Lyn | 4 – 0 | Arna-Bjørnar |
| Vålerenga | 1 – 1 | Rosenborg |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Vålerenga | 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 29 | 9 | 20 | 32 |
| 2 | Rosenborg | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 28 | 13 | 15 | 31 |
| 3 | Avaldsnes | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 14 | 13 | 31 |
| 4 | LSK Kvinner | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 28 |
| 5 | Sandviken | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 22 | 1 | 23 |
| 6 | Arna-Bjørnar | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 23 | -11 | 16 |
| 7 | Klepp | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 15 |
| 8 | Kolbotn | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 12 |
| 9 | Lyn | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 27 | -10 | 12 |
| 10 | RØA | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 12 | 30 | -18 | 8 |
Round 19 (of 22) pitted Emily Gielnik‘s fifth placed Vittsjö GIK at home against second placed Rosengard. They were up to the test, coming away with a 1-1 draw in a match where Gielnik played the entire game.
For Vittsjö, this is another good result and leaves them in ladder limbo, albeit at the right end of the table (eight points off fourth place and five points clear of sixth).
Round 19 results
| Uppsala | 0 – 2 | Växjö DFF |
| Djurgarden | 0 – 3 | Linköping |
| Vittsjö | 1 – 1 | Rosengard |
| Göteborg | 1 – 1 | Örebro |
| Pitea | 1 – 0 | Eskilstuna United |
| Umeå IK | 0 – 4 | Kristianstad |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Göteborg | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 42 | 9 | 33 | 45 |
| 2 | Rosengard | 19 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 49 | 12 | 37 | 41 |
| 3 | Kristianstad | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 39 |
| 4 | Linköping | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 36 |
| 5 | Vittsjö | 19 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 28 |
| 6 | Örebro | 19 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 23 |
| 7 | Växjö DFF | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 21 |
| 8 | Eskilstuna United | 19 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 28 | 30 | -2 | 20 |
| 9 | Djurgarden | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 20 |
| 10 | Pitea | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 29 | -11 | 19 |
| 11 | Umeå IK | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 35 | -16 | 19 |
| 12 | Uppsala | 19 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 19 | 43 | -24 | 10 |
All games in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild were unfortunately cancelled this week. This was to be the final round – Round 18 – but as can be seen on the ladder, all teams have at least two games left to play.
KR Reykjavik‘s Angie Beard has already returned home to Australia in preparation for the W-League season, which starts on December 27:
Thróttur Reykjavik‘s Laura Hughes on the other hand, seems to still be enjoying the sights of Iceland for now.
Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Breiðablik | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 66 | 3 | 63 | 42 |
| 2 | Valur R | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 11 | 32 | 40 |
| 3 | UMF Selfoss | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 22 |
| 4 | Fylkir | 16 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 21 |
| 5 | Thróttur | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 34 | -6 | 18 |
| 6 | Stjarnan | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 34 | -9 | 18 |
| 7 | Þór/KA | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 37 | -17 | 18 |
| 8 | ÍBV | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 39 | -23 | 17 |
| 9 | FH Hafnarfjörður | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 35 | -16 | 16 |
| 10 | KR Reykjavik | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 36 | -21 | 10 |
In Round 11 of the 14 round Danish Elitedivisionen campaign, Indiah-Paige Riley played all 90 minutes of Fortuna Hjørring‘s 1-4 away win against bottom side AaB.
Meanwhile, Hannah Bacon was an unused substitute in second from bottom AGF Aarhus‘s 1-3 away win against Thy – Thistedq (who sit one ladder position above Aarhus). This was just the second win of the AGF Aarhus season.
The results leave Fortuna in third place and just one point off second, while AGF Aarhus remain second last.
Round 11 results
| Kolding BK | 3 – 3 | HB Køge |
| AaB | 1 – 4 | Fortuna Hjørring |
| Brøndby IF | 0 – 0 | Nordsjælland |
| Thy – Thistedq | 1 – 3 | AGF Aarhus |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Brøndby IF | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 26 |
| 2 | HB Køge | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 30 | 13 | 17 | 23 |
| 3 | Fortuna Hjørring | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 22 |
| 4 | Nordsjælland | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 18 |
| 5 | Kolding BK | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 16 |
| 6 | Thy – Thistedq | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 18 | -5 | 13 |
| 7 | AGF Aarhus | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 30 | -20 | 6 |
| 8 | AaB | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 34 | -29 | 1 |
Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here, and Aussies in Nordic football here.
