The Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland) have long been a viable destination for Aussie footballers, and 2021 looks to be no different with around eleven players choosing the Nordic countries as their playground.
Read on for how our Aussies fared in the Nordic leagues this past week.
Round 2 of the Toppserien saw all three teams containing Aussies in their squad come away victorious.
Karly Roestbakken may not quite have her boots on just yet for Lillestrøm based LSK Kvinner but her side opened their season with a bang, scoring five goals at home before conceding two in a barnstorming win against Arna-Bjornar. Three of their players ended up in the Toppserien team of the week.
The pick of the goals from the game, however, came from this late strike from the visitors:
Denne 🚀 fra Karoline Haugland for @ABFotball er kåret til rundens mål i Toppserien 💯 pic.twitter.com/IMnV0lDc8g
— Toppserien (@Kvinnefotball1) June 1, 2021
LSK’s first-round game against Lyn was then played midweek this week, with the team also playing this one at home at the LSK Hall and coming away with a narrow 3-2 victory.
LSK Kvinner back up again this weekend – three games in a week – away to Avaldsnes.
Nikola Orgill‘s Klepp is two wins from two but found the going tough against a well organised Stabæk before scoring the sole goal with fifteen minutes remaining on the clock. Orgill once again played 90 minutes at right back.
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The result sees Klepp sitting third, and they line up against Lyn this weekend.
Teagan Micah debuted for IL Sandviken in Round 2, enjoying a clean sheet and a 3-0 home victory against Avaldsnes. Sandviken sits level on points with Klepp, but are fourth by virtue of goal difference. This week Micah was also selected for the Matildas friendlies against Denmark and Sweden in the lead-up to the Olympics.
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Sandviken takes on Stabæk in their Round 3 game this weekend.
Round 2 results
Round 3 games
Ladder
Round 7 of the Swedish Damallsvenskan was played on the weekend.
Charli Grant was not in the match-day squad for FC Rosengård‘s thumping 0-7 away win against the newly promoted AIK.
Vilken match! Fortsatt serieledning 🌟
🔴🔵 #viärFCR pic.twitter.com/B4gkbJaBx5
— FC Rosengård (@FCRosengard) May 29, 2021
Top-of-the-table Rosengård takes on fourth-placed Kristianstads away in Round 8, a round which sees the league inviting the public back in to view live games once more.
Emily Gielnik and Clare Polkinghorne played 90 minutes for Vittsjö GIK in the heat in their 1-1 away draw against Eskilstuna United, with Gielnik scoring her team’s goal. The team’s second successive draw sees them occupying seventh place on the ladder.
Here’s how Eskilstuna’s website (translated) saw the game:
The two goals came very close together. First 1-0 in the 33rd by Felicia Rogic.
“I was going to poke the ball past the defender, missed a little bit, but then I think the defender screened the goalkeeper a little bit. So the ball was just there and I managed to poke it in,” she said.
The reply didn’t take long. Emily Gielnik won a close fight with Emma Östlund … and a distinct finish made it 1-1 on the scoreboard at Tunavallen.
“Feels like too easy a goal and unfortunately we lost courage and power after that,” Munken analyses.
Chances were there, however – both ways. We recall, for example, how Emily Gielnik almost scored her second goal when Emma Holmgren provided a brilliant reflex save at the end from close range just before the break.
The visitors from Skåne also had a goal in the corner ruled out for ruff on the home goalkeeper.
Vittsjö play bottom placed Växjö DFF next round.
Dylan Holmes was on the bench for BK Häcken as they dispatched KIF Örebro DFF 0-3 away, keeping them in second place on the ladder. Their cause was aided by a 75th-minute red card to Örebro’s Jenna Hellstrom. Here’s the first goal, with Lotta Ökvist deflecting Stina Blackstenius’ drive into the Örebro net for Ökvist’s first goal for the club:
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Holmes’ team plays Piteå IF in Round 8.
Elise Kellond-Knight‘s Hammarby IF had an impressive 3-1 home win against top-four side Kristianstads, with KK not in the team. However, her selection in the Matildas squad for friendlies against Denmark and Sweden in the next fortnight means she is not far from returning to action.
The win sees Hammarby right on their opponents’ tail on the ladder in fifth place.
Here’s a story from the Hammarby website (google translate recommended) on how KK could well be up against one of her Hammarby teammates, striker Madelen Janogy, when Australia play Sweden in two weeks.
Hammarby play Linköpings FC in Round 8.
Round 7 results
Round 8 games
Ladder
Round 5 of the Úrvalsdeild Kvenna was played on the weekend, and there were also midweek Cup games this week.
Emma Checker played full games on both occasions, first in her UMF Selfoss‘s 0-0 home draw against bottom side Fylkir – where 53 minutes of the was played by Checker’s team with 10 players after a red card offence – and then in a 0-3 away Cup victory against Angie Beard‘s team from last season, KR Reykjavik.
It busy but rewarding week, as Selfoss remain top of the league, and in the final eight of the Icelandic Cup.
Selfoss play ÍBV next round on the magnificent Hásteinsvöllur in Vestmannaeyjar (see the feature image at the top of this article, with the cliff-face overhanging the ground).
No pictures from the games this week so enjoy this bit of information about Selfoss:
Selfoss is a waterfall on the river Jökulsá á Fjöllum in the north of Iceland. The river drops …
https://t.co/FfdPTQyQ8H#bonplacat #travel pic.twitter.com/d6zrXSbNQz— BonPla.cat (@bonplacat) June 2, 2021
Round 5 results, and Round 6 games
Ladder
Icelandic Cup standings
The Gjensidige Kvindeligaen decided in late 2020 to commence 2021 football by completing the 2020 Champions and Promotion/Relegation series, before kicking off the 2021 season proper. At the end of the Champions series, the top two teams are eligible for Champions League action later in the year, and at the end of the Promotion/Relegation series, the top two teams are eligible to compete in the 2021 Elitedivisionen.
Round 9 of each ten-game series was played on the weekend.
In the Champions series, Indiah-Paige Riley played 80 minutes of Fortuna Hjørring‘s 0-1 away win against Kolding IF, a result which guarantees third place and, as described in Nordic leagues, the bronze medal position.
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In the Promotion/Relegation series, Hannah Bacon was again not listed on the AGF Aarhus team sheet for their 3-2 home win against B.93 (a team name which could be misconstrued as the Beyond 90 crew three minutes into extra time – like on a Saturday night having watched several games of football and downed one too many schnapps. Just kidding, B.93 stands for ‘Boldklubben 1893’, the year the club was founded. And anyway, it would be more like two or more schnapps too many).
AGF Aarhus had already cemented their place in the 2021 Elitedivisionen prior to this game.
Round 9 Championship series results
Round 9 Promotion/Relegation series results
Round 10 games
Champions Round-robin table
Promotion/relegation Round-robin table
Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here, and Aussies in Nordic football here.
