With up to nine Australians aiming to compete 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.
The weekend saw Aussies involved in Round 2 of the Norwegian Toppserien, and both cup games and Round 6 Urvalsdeild Kvenna league games in Iceland. There is also a sad news update on the status of the sole Australian in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan league.
All three Australian players put in strong performances for their respective clubs in Round 2 action of the Toppserien this week, and there were some nail-biting last minute results.
Nikola Orgill‘s Kolbotn kicked the round off at home against Avaldsnes, with Orgill playing the full game at right back and getting up and down the touchline well, and into the box for set pieces.
The game looked to be headed for a 2-1 loss to the home side but remarkably they were able to level with the last kick of the game, giving them two draws from two games in the season to date.
https://twitter.com/Beyond90AU/status/1282113597196300288
Katrina Gorry did not make it into the Avaldsnes teamsheet for this game, but there was an Instagram post this week with Gorry enjoying time on a boat in Norway with fellow Brisbane Roar and Matilda team-mate Clare Polkinghorne, alongside Elise Thorsnes and another team-mate.
Teagan Micah was between the sticks in Arna-Bjørnar‘s 0-1 home loss to Klepp, and was exemplary with both her glovework and ball distribution, earning her a second successive showing in the Toppserien team of the week by the official Toppserien Facebook account.
https://twitter.com/Beyond90AU/status/1282921305885437952
Despite Micah’s efforts in the match, she was unable to get a hand to Nikki Stanton’s 58th minute penalty for Klepp. This was Arna-Bjørnar’s first loss of the season.
The round was finished off by Karly Roestbakken‘s LSK Kvinner hosting Sandviken in LSK’s remarkable indoor home venue in Lillestrøm.
LSK Kvinner were the more convincing of the two teams and it looked like the game was headed for another frustrating draw for them, but a free kick just outside the penalty box was lofted “into the mixer” and scrambled into the goal for a 90th minute victory, and LSK’s first win of the season.
Roestbakken again played with spirit and poise in her full game at right back, often getting into advanced wide attacking areas with ball at feet for her team.
https://twitter.com/LSKKvinner/status/1282343691928186880
Round 2 results
(teams with Australian players in the squad are shown in bold)
| Kolbotn | 2 – 2 | Avaldsnes |
| Vålerenga | 2 – 0 | RØA |
| Arna-Bjørnar | 0 – 1 | Klepp |
| Lyn | 1 – 4 | Rosenborg |
| LSK Kvinner | 1 – 0 | Sandviken |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Avaldsnes | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | Rosenborg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | LSK Kvinner | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Klepp | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | Vålerenga | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Sandviken | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Arna-Bjørnar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | Kolbotn | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | RØA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 0 |
| 10 | Lyn | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 0 |
The third round of the Swedish Damallsvenskan 2020 season was played on the weekend but no Australian was involved in the competition. The knee injury that Elise Kellond-Knight sustained early in her team’s (Kristianstads) match in Round 2 was sadly found during the week to be season-ending in nature: the dreaded ACL injury.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCagbsgDSyq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
We wish Elise a speedy recovery, and one that allows her to participate in the 2021 Olympics with the Matildas.
As it transpires, Kristianstads picked up their first point of the season in a 3-3 draw with Vittsjö, but with no Australians in the competition at present, this column will no longer be reporting on this league in 2020, unless another Australian happens to join the Damallsvenskan.
Laura Hughes’ Thróttur Reykjavík’s played two games this week. The weekend game was a cup game against FH Hafnarfjörður, whom Thróttur had defeated in the Urvalsdeild league last week. Their opponents turned the tables on their vanquishers, inflicting the same 1-0 score-line on Thróttur. Hughes played the full 90 minutes with the team having lined up as shown below.
https://twitter.com/throtturrvk/status/1281654037482475520
Thróttur’s Round 6 Urvalsdeild league game was played on Tuesday this week, with a 0-0 draw resulting out of their home game against UMF Selfoss.
https://twitter.com/throtturrvk/status/1283146697569378305
Newly promoted Thróttur are showing that they have some fire in their bellies. Their first two games of the season were narrow losses where the team managed to come back from behind on several occasions, and most recently their record has been Draw – Win – Draw, with the latest draw against a top four opponent.
Round 6 results
(Only 4 games played this round so far)
| Stjarnan | 2 – 3 | KR Reykjavik |
| Thróttur | 0 – 0 | UMF Selfoss |
| Þór/KA | 0 – 1 | FH Hafnarfjörður |
| ÍBV | 0 – 4 | Breiðablik |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | For | Against | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Valur R | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 15 | 15 |
| 2 | Breiðablik | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 12 |
| 3 | Fylkir | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 | UMF Selfoss | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Þór/KA | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | Stjarnan | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 6 |
| 7 | Thróttur | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 5 |
| 8 | FH Hafnarfjörður | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 3 |
| 9 | ÍBV | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 3 |
| 10 | KR Reykjavik | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 3 |
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