Four Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland) are hosting Aussie players this year. Read on to see how they fared during the past week!
Round 17 (of 18) of the Toppserien saw a restricted number of games due to Champions League commitments. This meant that Tameka Yallop‘s Brann Kvinner did not participate in the round, instead playing two Champions League qualifiers in three days. Brann defeated Turkish side ALG Spor 1-0 and then accounted for Serbian side Spartak Subotica 3-1.
Yallop was an unused substitute in the first game but played almost an hour in the second, scoring Brann’s second goal.
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Brann then faced Karly Roestbakken and Fiona Worts‘ LSK Kvinner in a midweek NM Cup quarterfinal, played on home turf, where Brann ran out 6-0 victors. Yallop played 72 minutes and scored their second goal.
Following the Cup game, Brann have a three day turnaround before once again hosting LSK in the final round of the Toppserien regular season.
LSK Kvinner went into their Round 17 game against Avaldsnes as favourites but disappointed their home fans in a 2-1 loss. An 88th-minute cracker of a free kick by Avaldsnes’ Hanna Dahl saw her team record just their third win this season.
Neither Roestbakken nor Worts were available for this game.
Third-placed Vålerenga put in a solid performance during their 2-0 home win over sixth-placed Lyn. Ally Green was on the field for the last half hour – it’s been a big week for Green, who has celebrated both her birthday and a Football Ferns callup.
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Results
Ladder
Aivi Luik‘s fourth-placed BK Häcken played two Damallsvenskan games over the last week. The first was a commanding 6-0 home win over tenth-placed Örebro. Luik played a full game and scored the second goal, her first for her new team in this league.
The following game proved to be a more challenging assignment, against then second-placed FC Rosengård. Rosengård was keen to make amends, having suffered a shock 2-1 away loss to eighth-placed Piteå earlier in the week, a game which Teagan Micah watched from the bench. Micah and Luik both played full games when Rosengård hosted BK Häcken. The home side jumped to the top of the ladder after defeating Häcken 2-0, with both goals arriving before halftime.
As can be seen above, Rosengård’s Charli Grant (currently loaned out to Vittsjö GIK) was present to cheer on her fellow Matildas.
Unlike Katrina Gorry and Clare Polkinghorne, Grant didn’t make the starting lineup of Vittsjö’s home 2-0 win against seventh-placed Eskilstuna United, coming on with ten minutes remaining. Both Gorry and Polkinghorne played full games. The result sees Vittsjö now sixth, level on points with their opponents but ahead on goal difference.
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Both Emma Checker and Remy Siemsen played 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw between Checker’s Umeå IK and Siemsen’s AIK. With both teams in the bottom three, there will be disappointment all around that neither side could make a statement in what was an AIK home fixture. Siemsen picked up a yellow card midway through the second half.
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Finally, all three Aussies based at Hammarby played solid minutes during their 3-0 home win over 9th-placed Djurgarden. Elise Kellond-Knight played an hour, Courtney Nevin a full game, and Kyra Cooney-Cross put in a player of the match performance over 90 minutes as she reverted to a midfield role (having played on the wing last outing).
Hammarby continues its rise up the ladder and is now sitting in fifth place.
Results
Ladder
Melina Ayres was an unused Breiðablik substitute in their third-place Champions League playoff 3-0 win against Czech side Slovácko. Her team faces Úrvalsdeild ladder leaders Valur this weekend in the Icelandic (Milk) Cup final.
Due to the vagaries of the Úrvalsdeild draw, Susan Phonsongkham and Margaux Chauvet‘s KR Reykjavik won’t be on the field until September 10th. Gema Simon‘s Thróttur Reykjavík was, therefore, the only Aussie-related team to play in the league on the weekend, but without Simon in the squad, the team lost 1-0 away to eighth-placed Þór/KA. The result drops Thróttur one place on the table to fourth.
Results
Ladder
Unfortunately, losing leads in Elitedivisionen games was this week’s theme for the teams with Aussies.
Matilda McNamara played another full league game on the weekend, but AGF Aarhus couldn’t take advantage of Mathilde Kruse’s opening goal, losing 2-1 away to Thy-ThistedQ. AGF are still searching for their first win of the league season.
Meanwhile, Winonah Heatley’s FC Nordsjælland were up 2-0 at home to Brøndby, thanks to goals from Cecilie Larsen and Karen Knudsen, before losing 3-2 – Heatley didn’t get off the bench.
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However, there was much better news in midweek Danish Cup games. McNamara started and played 80 minutes as AGF defeated second-tier Aalborg 2-0 on the road, courtesy of an early double from Cecilie Johansen.
Nordsjælland were also triumphant away to second division opposition in the Cup, but they certainly did it the hard way. Trailing 1-0 to B 93 in the dying minutes, substitute Dajan Hashemi scored on 89 minutes and in the fifth minute of time added on to secure Nordsjælland’s progression. It was good to see Heatley listed as a starter for this knockout game.
Anden runde i pokalturneringen fløjtes igang om en time! 🔥#kvindepokalen #FCNB93 pic.twitter.com/OKyA8WiTrx
— FC Nordsjælland 🐯 (@FCNordsjaelland) August 24, 2022
Fortuna Hjørring played an entertaining but ultimately frustrating third place playoff in last weekend’s mini-tournament for the Champions League qualifiers. The team in green led 1-0 and 2-1, but would end up losing 3-2 to Swedish side Kristianstad after extra time. Angie Beard played the full 120 minutes, while Indiah-Paige Riley started and was subbed off during second half stoppage time.
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Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here, and Aussies in Nordic football here.
