Roadtrip
Josefine Öqvist to miss World Cup with ACL tear
Öqvist has until now had a great season and has established herself as a regular starter with the national team. She is the fourth Linköping player to suffer the same injury this season.
Damfotboll.com: Jossan borta från VM
Update:
Josefine Öqvist was devastated after getting the bad news, reported Jan Ekstrand, and was not up to giving any comments. Sweden national team coach Thomas Dennerby was also taken by the news: "I couldn't imagine it would be that bad. .. There is no natural replacement for Öqvist. She is unique and has been one of our best in the national team during the spring."
Corren: LFC-stjärnan missar VM
Öqvist injury might put WWC start in jeopardy
Corren: VM i fara för LFC:s landslagsstjärna
Damallsvenskan Round XII: Linköping's first away win
Djurgården - AIK 7 - 0 (3-0)
Djurgården: Bente Nordby - Malin Engdahl, Therese Brogårde, Jane Törnqvist, Sara Thunebro - Elin Ekblom, Ann-Marie Norlin, Anna Hall, Linda Forsberg (85 Victoria Touma) - Anna Lagerberth (76 Mia Jalkerud), Victoria Svensson
AIK: Sofia Lundgren - Madelene Göras (77 Hanna Jöhnk), Frida Höglund, Sanna Valkonen, Linda Lekander (77 Madeleine Wedin) - Camilla Ulander, Nazanin Vaseghpanah, Jessica Juhlin, Ingrid Bohlin (66 Laura Kalmari) - Sofia Simonsson, Freja Egerbrant
Goals: 1-0 Victoria Svensson (27), 2-0 Elin Ekblom (33 PK), 3-0 Anna Hall (40), 4-0 Victoria Svensson (71), 5-0 Anna Lagerberth (73), 6-0 Mia Jalkerud (80), 7-0 Elin Ekblom (88)
Attendance: 956
In spite of missing several starters (Hingst with her national team, Dalum Jensen suspended, Lundh unwell and Bengtsson injured), Djurgården rolled over AIK in pouring rain. AIK, and mostly Sofia Lundgren, managed to fend off Djurgården the first 20 minutes. But after Victoria Svensson's 1-0 goal the floodgates opened. Djurgården's dominance were so big that they could subb in two of their development team players, Mia Jalkerud scoring her first ever Damallsvenskan goal and 16 years old Victoria Touma made her premier league debut. The only positive thing for AIK was that Laura Kalmari played 30 minutes in her first match after her injury.
Djurgården: 7-0 mot AIK
AIK: Bottennapp på Kristineberg
Falköping - Sunnanå 2-2 (1-1)
Falköping: Malin Andersson - Charlotte Abrahamsson, Elin Osbeck, Emma Eriksson, Sandra Krantz, Madeleine Tegström, Josefine Alfsson, Cecilia Abrahamsson (72 Rebecca Blennow), Camilla Sanderheim (83 Cynthia Uwak), Sofia Fröjdstedt, Linnea Liljegärd
Sunnanå: Åsa Berglund - Sandra Berggren, Hanna Marklund, Rebecca Smith, Alexandra Nilsson - Kristina Wiklund (78 Johanna Lindahl), Sanna Frostevall (72 Maria Nordbrandt), Carina Holmberg (65 Josefin Johansson), Anna Bodén - Mirjam Marklund, Lina Johansson,
Goals: 0-1 Mirjam Marklund (2), 1-1 Sandra Krantz (13), 2-1 Madeleine Tegström (52), 2-2 Maria Nordbrandt (78)
Attendance: 679
Sunnanå defeated Falköping 8-0 in their first meeting, but repeating that at Falköping's home turf proved everything but easy. They did get a great start with Mirjam Marklund - doing just as well as a forward as she has been doing in defense lately - scoring after only a couple of minutes, and might have gotten the idea that this would go as easy as last time. But Falköping's Sandra Krantz got through when Hanna Marklund slipped on the wet and difficult pitch and great work from goalie Malin Andersson kept Falköping tied. Sunnanå dominated, but Falköping had dangerous counters. After a Sunnanå corner-kick Falköping could make a fast counter and Madeleine Tegström gave the home team the lead. In the middle of the second half Sunnanå subbed in the speedy midfielders Nordbrandt and Johansson, which paid off when Nordbrandt equalized. Sunnanå continued to press on for a win, but Falköping managed to hold on.
Norra Västerbotten: "Vi borde vunnit matchen"
Kopparbergs/Göteborg - Linköping 0 - 4 (0-2)
Göteborg: Sandra Bjurteg - Marlene Sjöberg (65 Anna Andén), Jenny Engwall, Maria Nilsson, Maria Karlsson - Sofie Andersson, Sofia Karlsson (65 Lisa Ek), Ingvild Stensland, Emelie Farfa - Lotta Schelin, Sara Lindén (74 Frida Svensson),
Linköping: Jenny Olsson - Marie-Louise Skålberg, Sara Larsson, Charlotte Rohlin, Faith Ikidi - Ann Westermark (38 Petra Larsson), Frida Östberg, Caroline Seger, Maria Karlsson - Josefine Öqvist (15 Kosovare Asllani), Maria Aronsson
Goals: 0-1 Maria Aronsson (26), 0-2 Maria Aronsson (44), 0-3 Kosovare Asllani (47), 0-4 Faith Ikidi (59)
Attendance: 613
Josefine Öqvist was carried off the field with a knee injury already after 15 minutes. That was the only downside for Linköping, who played their best match so far this season. Their Nigerian defender Faith Ikidi was successful in keeping Lotta Schelin away and Göteborg didn't create many scoring opportunities. Ingvild Stensland made her come-back for Göteborg after more than two months on the injury list. She was happy to be back and coach Pringle was satisfied with her performance, she just needs more matches to be completely back to her old self.
There are yet no details about Öqvist's injury, but Linköping's assistant coach Kieback was optimistic.
Göteborgsposten: Storförlust för Göteborg
Corren: LFC-stjärnan Öqvist knäskadad
LDB FC Malmö - Bälinge 2 - 0 (0-0)
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Therese Jönsson, Dora Stefansdottir (63 Emelie Ölander), Malin Levenstad, Lina Nilsson - Frida Nordin, Therese Sjögran, Nilla Fischer, Emma Stålhammar - Therese Lundin, Manon Melis,
Bälinge: Veronika Svensson - Lisa Lantz (54 Petra Vaelma), Lina Andersson, Linda Sembrant, Karolina Mats - Mikaela Björklund (54 Malin Eriksson), Anne Mäkinen, Kacey White, Katri Nokso-Koivisto - Moa Eriksson (81 Julia Lyckberg), Emma Lindqvist
Goals: 1-0 Manon Melis (68), 2-0 Manon Melis (85)
Attendance: 441
The water-drenched field in Malmö proved hard to master for both sides. It was almost impossible get a normal passing play to work, as the ball often came to an abrupt stop in a water puddle, and runs and dribble attempts often ended in the player slipping on the wet surface. Bälinge's coach Zaine Söderlund called it a parody of football, but the referee had approved the field after a substantial effort from the field manager to get excess water off the pitch. But the rain continued most of the match.
After a first half, that could have been called entertaining but not in the right way, both teams changed their approach, playing mostly high balls and avoiding short passing. It still was more fighting for the ball than playing and Malmö proved stronger here. The first goal came, predictably, from a corner-kick. Manon Melis kicked in the ball from distance, picking up a clearance from the Bälinge defense. But Bälinge worked on, Mäkinen hard working hub in the midfield and Kacey White creative in the attack, and had a couple of balls saved on the goalline. Malmö closed the match minutes from the whistle when Frida Nordin managed to run away from Bälinge's defense with the ball and set up Melis.
Sydsvenskan: Melis matchvinnare i regnet
Upsala Nya Tidning: Bälinge förlorade i regnigt Malmö
Umeå IK - Qbik 8 - 1 (4-0)
Umeå: Ulla-Karin Rönnlund - Emma Berglund, Anna Paulsson, Karolina Westberg, June Pedersen - Lise Klaveness, Lisa Dahlqvist (60 Emmelie Konradsson), Ma Xiaoxu - Ramona Bachmann (66 Erika Karlsson), Madelaine Edlund, Marta da Silva
Qbik: My Axelsson - Anna Nilsson, Jenny Hallstenson, Rebecca Johnson, Therése Lückner, Amelie Rybäck, Charlotte Nygren (69 Elin Ragnvaldsson), Therése Björk, Ifeoma Dieke, Elin Sandgren, Jennifer Meier (43 Lisa Mellberg)
Goals: 1-0 Marta (19), 2-0 Ma Xiaoxu (27), 3-0 Ramona Bachmann (31), 4-0 Marta (42), 5-0 Marta (47), 5-1 Ifeoma Dieke (55), 6-1 Ramona Bachmann (60), 7-1 Madelaine Edlund (61), 8-1 Madelaine Edlund (63)
Attendance: 2,608
A predictable win for league leaders Umeå against last place Qbik. Qbik's fullbacks suffered a lot against Umeå's speedy and skilled outside forwards Marta and Ramona Bachman. Centre forward Edlund set up her teammates several times and also managed to score twice, maybe getting back to her early season form?
Malin Moström never left the bench, which probably was a good decision, since her Tuesday training session was her first ball contact since November last year. Also benched was goalie Carola Söberg, maybe the club making a point after her not entirely successful performance against Djurgården?
Qbik had to travel to Umeå without their suspended keeper Maria Yatrakis, but it really wouldn't have mattered. Coach Janne Jansson wasn't even disappointed: "We don't have the capacity to disturb a team like Umeå, they are simply too good."
Värmlands Folkblad: Platt fall för Qbik mot mästarlaget Umeå
Nya Wermlandstidningen: Qbik chanslöst borta mot Umeå
Västerbottens Folkblad: Madde fixade UIK:s storseger
Västerbottenskuriren: Internationell fotbollsfestival på Gammlia
Nkwocha showing up and other transfer related news
Västerbottens Folkblad: Stjärnan har landat
Hammarby's new Swiss goalie Kathrin Lehmann arrived at the club a few days ago. She is happy with the club and teammates, but a bit curious to the artificial turf at Hammarby's Kanalplan: "I've never played on that before, so I have to adapt". Lehmann will not be registred to play for Hammarby until July 1.
Hammarby: Nyförvärvet Kathrin är på plats
Djurgården's Bente Nordby tells Norwegian newspaper Oppland Arbeiderblad, that she will return to Norway after she has completed her two year contract with Djurgården in December this year. She has completed a coaching education and hopes to be responsible for the goalkeepers in the younger orwegian national teams. She has not decided if she will quit playing altogether or if she will finish her goalkeeping career in Norway.
Oppland Arbeiderblad: Bente kommer "hjem"
On the other hand, Umeå's Lise Klaveness advertises for the Swedish league in interview with Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK: "The level in Sweden is a step higher than in Norway. They've got both better top teams and better bottom teams. .. Our best players are at least as good as the Swedish, so they are of course very attractive for the Swedish clubs". Norway's top scorer Melissa Wiik says she finds Swedish football exciting while national team coach Bjarne Berntsen understands that more Norwegian players will get offers, but hopes they will stay in Norway: "We need our profile players at home".
NRK: Attraktive i Sverige
Half-time talk
Anyway, this is what the half-time table looked like:
| Umeå | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 40-9 | +31 | 30 |
| Djurgården | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 23-9 | +14 | 26 |
| Malmö | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 29-7 | +22 | 23 |
| Göteborg | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 27-20 | +7 | 22 |
| Bälinge | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 21-22 | -1 | 15 |
| Sunnanå | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 16-12 | +4 | 14 |
| Linköping | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 21-18 | +3 | 14 |
| Kif Örebro | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 13-18 | -5 | 14 |
| Hammarby | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 14-30 | -16 | 8 |
| Falköping | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 9-37 | -28 | 7 |
| AIK | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 3-16 | -13 | 6 |
| Qbik | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9-27 | -18 | 6 |
There are three clearly separated groups; four teams in the top, four in the middle and four at the bottom. And we can see pretty much the predicted teams in these groups, even if the first half had at least some unexpected results.
Falköping started the season by defeating Örebro and Linköping at home but has since shown their vulnerability, particularly in defence. Their big signing Cynthia Uwak has yet to make any visible contribution while their home-grown attackers Linnea Liljegärd and Sandra Krantz are some of the few players in the team that has shown Damallsvenskan qualities. I still doubt they will be able to repeat their relative success from the first half of the season.
AIK and Linköping have been the big under performers. I think AIK shows that team-building is hard but important. It isn't just good players that are needed. Falköping has not at all as good players, but the team has been playing together for ages while AIK has been having problems getting the numerous new players to gel with the old ones. And if you look at the stats, you can see that AIK has a quality defence (Lundgren, Valkonen, Höglund and Julin makes up a quality centre line, defensively speaking), but can't score for the love of god. Naza Vaseghpanah scored loads of goals last year in the 1st division, but nothing this year. She (as well as Kalmari) has been troubled by injuries, but I think this mostly shows that Damallsvenskan is a much tougher environment for a striker than the 1st division. I really hope they hang on, though. Such a dedicated effort from one of the major football clubs should be rewarded.
Linköping was very highly touted before the season and I too had expected a little more, even if I never saw them as championship material. They were in my opinion the weakest of the Djurgården/Malmö/Linköping trio last year and didn't manage to find any serious reinforcements. The Mmadu/Ikidi signings were a bit of last minute desperation when Rantanen got injured and while they are by no means bad players, they are not the top quality Linköping were looking for and would have needed. They really should advance a couple of steps in the second half, but this will be the first time they do worse than the previous season.
Örebro's loss of coach Pia Sundhage could have been much worse for the team and there was a lot of anger and feeling of betrayal among the players when she left for China. Team captain Stina Segerström said that if they had just known that she would be replaced by Rikard Holmlund, it had been much easier to cope. Still, Holmlund's positive effect remains to be seen. They did just as well without a head coach as they have done with him.
Sunnanå has been much more consistent than I thought they would. They have problems in the attack (maybe the new signing Nkwocha might better that), but have a great defense and are really strong at home, drawing both Djurgården and Malmö. Still, they will not leave the mid-table group.
Bälinge made a lot of high profile signings, Anne Mäkinen topping the list, keeping very few players from last year's starting eleven. It took some time for them to get the team to work and are still mixing highs with lows. The loss of Finnish striker Sanna Talonen (to college in Florida) who has been essential to their attack, can be tangible, but I still can't see them anywhere else than mid table when the season is finished.
Göteborg has big aspirations, but still have some way to go. The loss of Ingvild Stensland to injury already in the second match hurt a lot and they are extremely dependant on Lotta Schelin. When things work out for Schelin, they can defeat Djurgården and when not, they draw Qbik. They will probably finish closer to the mid table than to the top, if not Stensland's return manages to stabilize the team.
Malmö was, strangely enough, mostly predicted on a 5th or 6th place in the pre season talk. I was more with Malmö's coach Pettersson, who boldly claimed it was him or maybe Umeå's Jeglertz who had the strongest squad. Nine Malmö players have played national team matches this year, another five has played U21. Their centre midfield is Sweden's centre midfield. Players like Jenny Engwall and Linda Blom, who left because they didn't even make the bench, are now regulars with Göteborg and Bälinge. And Emma Herbring and Lollo Östman, who were regulars with Jitex and Örebro last year, have problems making the bench. In spite of the lack of well-known names and big stars, this is a really strong team. I still have them as number three, not so much for narrow losses against Umeå and Djurgården as for their proven ability to lose or draw against just about any bottom dweller, which this first half season was AIK.
That leaves Djurgården as the only real contender to Umeå. Their last round win over Umeå was crucial, the importance psychological as much as points in the table. The psychological effect of the Umeå match is important. Djurgården have a history of completely dropping out of games when they feel there isn't anything to fight for anymore but they can do wonders when they're motivated. Djurgården has a quality first eleven, but is a bit thin behind that. A Bente Nordby or Victoria Svensson injury would be devastating. Barring that, second place with an option for first.
Umeå will win again, not undefeated and not with a 21 points margin, but they will win. Andrée Jeglertz explains it best himself: "we can keep high quality and edge even against the bottom teams and our will to win is so strong that it decides close matches in our favour. Both Djurgården and Malmö have lost points against teams they are much better than and I believe they will continue to do that." The only weak point I can see is Umeå's thin squad. They are all high quality players, but they only had 15 outfield players available when the season started and with a few injuries (Frisk already lost for the season, making it 14), they can be in trouble. They should go shopping in July if Jeglertz shall be able to sleep well at nights.
Damallsvenskan Round XII: Hammarby draws Örebro
Hammarby: Katarina Wicksell - Annica Svensson, Elin Sölveskog, Josefin Christensen, Anna Lindblom - Malin Nykvist, Jennie Jonsson - Lousie Fors (76 Marijke Callebaut), Andrea Comaneci (39 Karolina Rinman), Therese Sandström - Josefin Weijner (46 Lisa Björkvik)
Örebro: Kristin Hammarström - Ingrid Ericson, Stina Segerström, Malin Nilsson (78 Sandra Linder), Lena Andersson, Marie Hammarström, Keeley Dowling, Pavlina Scasna, Hodan Siid-Ahmed (59 Hanna Pettersson), Caroline Näfver (53 Marina Pettersson), Elin Magnusson
Goals: 1-0 Lisa Björkvik (56), 1-1 Elin Magnusson (75)
Attendance: 539
With Hammarby missing both Sara Johansson and Jessica Landström to minor injury problems and Örebro's goalscorer Emelia Erixon unwell, both team's attacking capability was visibly effected. Örebro's coach Rikard Holmlund, who before the match said he liked the way his team played but that they lacked aggressiveness in both the defensive and offensive penalty areas, wasn't made happier by this match. Örebro dominated the first half, Pavlina Scasna the creative force in the offensive, while Hammarby had problems adapting to the loss of their fast forwards. Hammarby made some changes in halftime, giving Malin Nykvist more a more attacking position, and were rewarded when Lisa Björkvik ran through Örebro's defense and scored 1-0. In spite of Örebro having problems and Hammarby playing increasingly better, the guests could equalise late in the match when Elin Magnusson score from a great opening pass from Scasna.
Nerikes Allehanda: "För mesigt i boxarna" tycker KIF:s Holmlund, Oavgjort för KIF mot Hammarby
Hammarby: Oavgjort mot Örebro
Damfotboll.com: Hammarby och KIF Örebro delade poäng
Number 6 is back!
Dagens Nyheter: Malin Moström gör comeback
Västerbottens Folkblad: Moström gör comeback
L8 worth SEK 70 millions
Expressen: L8 värd 70 miljoner (yes, there is a picture of the tattoo).
Money makes the ball go around
Svensk fotboll: Folksam ny huvudsponsor för Damallsvenskan
Umeå IK has made a deal with Swedish Volkswagen, making them their main partner for the 2007/08 UEFA Women's Cup. Last season there were more than 13 hours live television from Umeå IK's matches in the cup. The matches against Arsenal attracted 4 million viewers. Volkswagen, that has been Umeå's main partner in Damallsvenskan for several years, is hoping for a successfull run: "The team has the potential to reach a top position in Europe, just like Volkswagen".
Umeå IK: Ny huvudpartner för UEFA-cupspelet
I don't think there is much money involved here, but the official 2007 Women's World Cup song for the Swedish national team will be written and performed by the, let's call it electronic disco, trio Bodies Without Organs. The group promises that the song will be more of an anthem than a chant. "Women's football has too much elegance and class for a simple chant". We won't hear it until August 14, when both the song and the World Cup squad will be presented, but it might sound something like this (youtube video). Not really my cup of tea, but...
Svensk Fotboll: BWO gör årets dam-VM-låt
Hanna and the others - injury round-up
SVT: Hanna Ljungberg borta fyra veckor (video)
Umeå's Johanna Frisk suffered a anterior cruciate ligament tear in her left knee, playing for Umeå in the defeat against Djurgården. She is to recieve surgery two weeks after the injury took place, which is about now. This will be followed by approximately 6 months rehab training, keeping her away from the game until spring 2008.
Västerbottenskuriren: Säsongen över för Johanna Frisk
Göteborg's Norwegian midfielder Ingvild Stensland, who got injured already in her second Damallsvenskan match in April, played heer first match since injury with Göteborg's reserves last week. She will most likely be back with her team for the Damallsvenskan match against Linköping on June 27. She will start on the bench, but may get some time on the field.
Göteborgsposten: Comeback för Ingvild Stensland
Linköping FC had to see three players suffer ACL injuries during the spring. Goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl was the first, already in February, and she is now close to finishing her rehab period. She has played two matches the last week, first in a regional cup against a 5th level team and then 45 minutes in a match with the reserves. She is hoping for a come-back with the full team already this week. And there are still the possibility to make the team for China: "We have not closed the door for her", says national team coach Thomas Dennerby.
Corren: Lugn comeback för Lindahl , VM-dörren öppen för LFC-stjärnan
Anna-Kaisa Rantanen, Linköping's experienced Finnish midfielder, got injured in March and their young talent Maja Krantz recieved her ACL injury in May. Both of these still have some way to go, but we might see Rantanen on the field in the fall matches.
AIK's 18 year old Danielle Wallander, who has seen some action with the first team this season, got injured on training last week, and damage to knee ligament and cartilage is suspected. A medical examination later this week will give more answers, but 2 months rehabilitation is expected.
Damfotboll.com: Wallander knäskadad
Damallsvenskan spending too much on player wages?
The Swedish FA's auditors expressed particular concern for the Stockholm clubs. Hammarby and Djurgården were the two clubs with the smallest earnings and Djurgården the only club that, in spite of the big increase in TV revenues, showed a decrease in incomes 2006. On the bright side, all clubs were granted a renewed Damallsvenskan license for 2007.
Some interesting facts from the audit:
In spite of the big drop in match attendance, ticket revenues grew from SEK 3,1 millions to SEK 3,4 millions. Appearently the clubs are getting better in attracting full price paying costumers to their matches. Most clubs use heavily discounted team tickets for youth teams and occasional free entrance matches to boost attendancy figures. The average income per spectator grew from around SEK 20 to SEK 30 in 2006. The full ticket price usually is somewhere between SEK 70 and SEK 100.
Umeå is still the biggest club in financial terms, with a SEK 9 million income 2006. But their growth has been only 89 % since 2001, the lowest growth rate in the league. All other clubs have at least doubled their incomes and the fastest growing club economy is Sunnanå with a 346 % increase since 2001.
If you try to make some kind of cost-benefit analysis, you can see that the Stockholm clubs Djurgården and Hammarby are the most successfull in getting value for money, spending about SEK 75,000 for every point earned in the league. Umeå had to spend SEK 169,000 per point and Qbik, with their costly but unfullfilled ambition to establish the club at a midlevel position, topped the list with a staggering SEK 469,000 per point.
The average player wage 2006 was SEK 48,500 a year, almost the double of the 2005 average 25,000 and 14 times as large as the 2001 average. But the wage span is huge. It would take more than a full 11 player team earning nothing to make up for one Marta.
The full audit report can be found at Svensk Fotboll (pdf document).
Svenska Dagbladet: Damallsvenskans toppklubbar gör katastrofresultat
Mixed internationals
Several European Championship qualifications has been played the last weeks. Iceland, with Malmö's Asthildur Helgadottir and Dora Stefansdottir, surprisingly defeated France 1-0 at home. "Iceland's finest victory ever", according to coach Eyjólfsson. In the match against Serbia a few days later a record crowd of 5,976 turned up - twice as high as any women's match at Iceland before - to see a comfortable 5-0 win, Stefansdottir scoring the opener already in the third minute.
Norway defeated Israel away 3-0, with Lise Klaveness (Umeå) and Bente Nordby (Djurgården) playing 90 minutes. A few days later they hosted Austria and won 3-0 again, Nordby in goal and Klaveness starting but substituted after 68 minutes.
In the African Olympic qualifications Nigeria advanced after coming back from a 1-0 away defeat to Algeria, winning the home leg with 6-0. Sunnanå's incoming striker Perpetua Nkwocha (joins July 1) showed form and scored a hat-trick for Nigeria. The Sweden based players did not travel. Cynthia Uwak (Falköping) has a minor knee injury, that has kept her on the sideline for the last few matches and Linköping's contract with Maureen Mmadu and Faith Ikidi keeps them in Sweden until the league takes the break for the World Cup in China.
No links. You just have to trust me on this.
Ok, one link. Dedicated fans can find the entire Iceland-France match (including 30 minutes pregame conversations and reporting in Icelandic) at http://dagskra.ruv.is/streaming/clip/?file=4349929. The good stuff is 2 hours and 13 minutes in to the broadcast.
European Championship Qualifications: Two times 7-0
Sweden: Caroline Jönsson - Anna Paulson, Hanna Marklund, Charlotte Rohlin, Frida Östberg - Caroline Seger (69 Frida Nordin), Nilla Fischer - Therese Sjögran (69 Linda Forsberg) - Lotta Schelin, Victoria Svensson (79 Therese Lundin), Josefine Öqvist
Goals: 0-1 Victoria Svensson (6), 0-2 Therese Sjögran (14), 0-3 Victoria Svensson (25), 0-4 Victoria Svensson (35), 0-5 Victoria Svensson (38), 0-6 Victoria Svensson (69), 0-7 Lotta Schelin (77)
Sweden - Hungary 7 - 0 (3-0)
Sweden: Caroline Jönsson - Sara Larsson, Hanna Marklund (46 Karolina Westberg), Stina Segerström, Sara Thunebro - Caroline Seger, Therese Sjögran (62 Therese Lundin) - Hanna Ljungberg (11 Nilla Fischer) - Lotta Schelin, Victoria Svensson, Josefine Öqvist
Goals: 1-0 Victoria Svensson (12), 2-0 Hanna Marklund (16), 3-0 Therese Sjögran (22), 4-0 Stina Segerström (52), 5-0 Victoria Svensson (86), 6-0 Stina Segerström (88), 7-0 Therese Lundin (90 +1)
Attendance: 5,223
Sweden played two qualification matches for the 2009 European Championships and won, as expected, both of them. Not much more to say about that. Romania and Hungary are teams way below Sweden's quality and anything but lots of goals scored and none conceded would have been very worrying.
Noteworthy:
Victoria Svensson's five goals against Romania is a Swedish national team all-time best. She has shown great form lately both for Djurgården and for Sweden. Just hoping she manages to conserve it until September.
Hanna Ljungberg's longed for national team come-back lasted 7 minutes. The injury this time was a rupture in a left calf muscle and back to rehab for 4-6 weeks was the verdict. The national team physician Per Lindblom commented that Hanna is in a vicious circle now - the risk getting injured is never higher than when you're just coming back from injury.
Three of the goals against Hungary were made by defenders - they really didn't have much else to do. "This was the weirdest match I've played", commented Hanna Marklund, who spent more time on Hungary's half than on her own.
SVT: match clip Romania , Ljungberg training before Hungary , match clip Hungary
Damallsvenskan Round XI: AIK draws Örebro
Örebro: Kristin Hammarström - Ingrid Ericson, Stina Segerström, Malin Nilsson, Lena Andersson, Marie Hammarström, Keeley Dowling, Pavlina Scasna, Caroline Näfver (74 Hanna Pettersson), Elin Magnusson (87 Sandra Linder), Emelia Erixon
AIK: Sofia Lundgren - Madelene Göras, Frida Höglund, Sanna Valkonen, Linda Lekander - Danielle Wallander (73 Lina Hedqvist), Nazanin Vaseghpanah, Jessica Juhlin, Ingrid Bohlin - Sofia Simonsson (83 Camilla Ulander), Freja Egerbrant (55 Anna Lundin)
Attendance: 941
In the last match in the first half of Damallsvenskan, Örebro dominated against AIK. But AIK, with Julin and Valkonen doing particulary good, managed to keep Örebro's dangerous forwards off the scoresheet. "We knew how Emilia Erixon makes her goals and managed to get her offside", AIK's coach Jörgen Zetterström explained.
Damfotboll.com: Inga mål men poäng för AIK
Nerikes Allehanda: KIF:s ineffektivitet kostade två poäng
Damallsvenskan Round XI: At last!
Would Umeå defeat Djurgården, have a 10 point lead with only half the matches played and effectively kill the league? That was the question talked about in media before this weekend. But Djurgården defeated Umeå and Victoria Svensson was very pleased "If we had lost, we would have been 10 points down and that would have been hard. Now it's only 4 and the league is alive!". Umeå's head coach Andrée Jeglertz commented surly "I guess everybody is cheering now", but didn't look like he would join in. And Umeå's goalscorer Hanna Ljungberg, looking not quite as sulky as her coach, said that she wants to win matches, all matches - "you will never get me to say that a defeat is good". SVT's controversial columnist Jonas Karlsson on the other hand claimed that the loss was good for Umeå - they probably lost thousands of spectators and SEK 1,5 millions in revenue last year because the league was decided too early.
Bonus info: Umeå's undefeated streak in Damallsvenskan became 56 matches long, starting after the 1-0 defeat to Malmö FF October 9, 2004, making it almost exactly 32 months long. They lost points only twice; a 2-2 draw at Malmö in April 2005 and a 1-1 home draw against Kopparbergs/Göteborg in May 2006. Umeå could boast 24 straight league wins before they finally lost to Djurgården. During the streak, Umeå lost 6 cup maches (Swedish and UEFA), 4 to Djurgården and one each to Linköping and Arsenal.
Falköping - Qbik 2 - 2 (2-1)
Falköping: Malin Andersson - Charlotte Abrahamsson, Karin Neuman (58 Cecilia Abrahamsson), Elin Osbeck, Emma Eriksson, Sandra Krantz (83 Rebecka Blennow), Madeleine Tegström, Josefine Alfsson, Camilla Sanderheim (76 Therese Larsson), Sofia Fröjdstedt, Linnea Liljegärd
Qbik: Maria Yatrakis - Ifeoma Dieke, Anna Nilsson, Julia Spetsmark (59 Lovisa Eriksson), Jenny Hallstenson, Rebecca Johnson (79 Sanna Backman), Therése Lückner, Amelie Rybäck, Therése Björk, Elin Sandgren, Jennifer Meier
Goals: 1-0 Sandra Krantz (4), 2-0 Linnea Liljegärd (33), 2-1 Jennifer Meier (35), 2-2 Amelie Rybäck (60)
Attendance: 579
Falköping, strong at home, opened optimistic and Sandra Krantz gets her team the lead after only minutes. The match could have been decided after Linnea Liljegärd?s 2-0, but Qbik?s German striker Jennifer Meier exploited a defensive mistake to make it 2-1. After Amelie Rybäck?s equalizer in the second half, both teams seemed content with the result.
Värmlands Folkblad: Så viktigt, Qbik
Hammarby - Bälinge 1 - 2 (1-1)
Hammarby: Katarina Wicksell - Annica Svensson, Elin Sölveskog, Josefin Christensen, Anna Lindblom - Jennie Jonsson, Malin Nykvist - Lousie Fors, Andrea Comaneci (66 Therese Sandström), Sara Johansson - Jessica Landström
Bälinge: Veronika Svensson - Karolina Mats, Lina Andersson, Linda Sembrant, Lisa Lantz - Katri Nokso-Koivisto, Anne Mäkinen, Kacey White, Linda Blom (66 Heidi Matinlassi) - Emma Lindqvist (59 Annette Kent), Sanna Talonen (59 Moa Eriksson),
Goals: 1-0 Jessica Landström (6), 1-1 Katri Nokso-Koivisto (23), 1-2 Moa Eriksson (74)
Attendance: 417
A pretty tight match, where the teams compensated for lack of quality with hard work. With Bälinge looking not at all as good as in the win over Örebro last match, they were lucky to get away with a win. Hammarby got an early lead as Jessica Landström took advantage of a miscalculated rush from Bälinge?s keeper. In one of Bälinge?s few first half scoring opportunities, winger Katri Nokso-Koivisto scored from close range after a missed attempt from Sanna Talonen. Hammarby had a lot of possession, but lacked the necessary edge finishing. Moa Eriksson pushed in the winner for Bälinge, where Hammarby wanted a free-kick for an attack on the goalkeeper.
Upsala Nya Tidning: Eriksson segerskytt för Bälinge
Hammarby: Förlust mot Bälinge
LCB FC Malmö - Linköping FC 4 - 1 (2-1)
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Therese Jönsson, Emma Wilhelmsson, Malin Levenstad, Lina Nilsson - Frida Nordin, Therese Sjögran, Nilla Fischer, Emma Stålhammar (68 Dora Stefansdottir) - Asthildur Helgadottir (86 Nanna Johansen), Manon Melis (68 Therese Lundin),
Linköping: Maria Cederholm - Frida Östberg, Sara Larsson, Charlotte Rohlin, Faith Ikidi - Ann Westermark (82 Petra Larsson), Maureen Mmadu, Caroline Seger, Maria Karlsson (33 Marie-Louise Skålberg) - Josefine Öqvist, Maria Aronsson (63 Kosovare Asllani),
Goals: 1-0 Manon Melis (11), 1-1 Maria Aronsson (25), 2-1 Asthildur Helgadottir (45), 3-1 Therese Lundin (71), 4-1 Therese Lundin (77)
Attendance: 810
An undisputed win for the Malmö side, where Therese Sjögran and Nilla Fischer, both in really great form, owned the midfield. Manon Melis made the goal of the match when she dribbled past two Linköping defenders on the left side and scored from an almost impossibly narrow angle. The post-match comments was just as much about Djurgården?s win over Umeå, which Malmö considered a win for them too, as about the match that was played.
Corren: Tungt fall för Linköpings FC
Sydsvenskan: Dubbla segrar för LDB
Sunnanå - Kopparbergs/Göteborg 0 - 1 (0-1)
Sunnanå: Åsa Berglund - Sandra Berggren, Hanna Marklund, Magdalena Esseryd, Anna Bodén, Carina Holmberg, Maria Nordbrandt (74 Rebecca Smith), Mirjam Marklund, Lina Johansson, Johanna Lindahl (82 Kristina Wiklund), Sanna Frostevall
Göteborg: Sandra Bjurteg - Marlene Sjöberg, Maria Nilsson, Jenny Engwall, Elin Dahl Örn - Sofie Andersson (67 Maria Karlsson), Salina Olsson, Sofia Karlsson, Emelie Farfa - Lotta Schelin, Sara Lindén,
Goals: 0-1 Sara Lindén (5)
Attendance: 542
Göteborg, eager to better themselves after the disappointing draw against Qbik, scored the only goal in the match, when Sara Lindén picked up a missed clearance after a corner-kick. The rest of the match the guests had a pretty hard time against a home-strong Sunnanå. The backline with the Marklund sisters made a good job keeping Lotta Schelin off the scoresheet and they were aggressive in midfield, but had problems getting their play to work in the offensive third of the field.
Norra Västerbotten: Sunnanå föll trots spelövertag
Västerbottens Folkblad: Sunnanå mållöst trots flera chanser
Göteborgsposten: Revanschlusta gav tre poäng
Umeå IK - Djurgården 1 - 2 (1-2)
Umeå: Carola Söberg - Maria Bergkvist, Johanna Frisk (24 Emma Berglund), Karolina Westberg, Anna Paulson - Lise Klaveness, Hanna Ljungberg, Elaine - Marta, Madelaine Edlund, Ramona Bachmann (68 June Pedersen).
Djurgården: Bente Nordby - Dorte Dalum Jensen, Therese Brogårde, Jane Törnqvist, Sara Thunebro - Elin Ekblom, Ariane Hingst, Anna Hall (69 Annemarie Norlin), Linda Forsberg, Kristin Bengtsson (13 Emma Lundh, 86 Anna Lagerberth) - Victoria Svensson
Goals: 1-0 Hanna Ljungberg (13), 1-1 Linda Forsberg (32), 1-2 Victoria Svensson (35)
Attendance: 3,828
It started good for Umeå, with a Hanna Ljungberg goal after only 11 minutes, but Djurgården played determined and disciplined. Their usual recipe for an Umeå match - play close, play hard and pressure high in the field - worked out as intended this time. Linda Forsberg equalised after 32 minutes as a botched clearance from Umeå?s keeper Carola Söberg found it?s way to her feet and Victoria Svensson worked herself to a great goal only minutes later, getting past Umeå?s left side defense. As Umeå tried to come back in the second half, Djurgården seemed to play harder, not the least against Marta, and there were a couple of yellow cards.
There were two early casualties in the match. Djurgården?s Kicki Bengtsson left already after 13 minutes feeling an old injury (?We knew it was a risk to let her start?, said coach Benny Persson) and Umeå?s defender Johanna Frisk was carried off with a torn knee ligament after 23 minutes. Umeå?s defense seemed to have some problems getting organised after that.
Aftonbladet: RÄDDARNA
Dagens Nyheter: Djurgården spräckte Umeås svit
Västerbottens Folkblad: Djurgården närmar sig efter segern
SVT: Djurgården bröt Umeås långa svit utan förlust, match clip
Damallsvenskan Round X: Linköping's revenge
Linköping: Jenny Olsson - Sara Larsson, Maria Karlsson, Faith Ikidi, Frida Östberg, Josefine Öqvist (46 Kosovare Asllani), Ann Westermark, Maria Aronsson, Marie-Louise Skålberg, Maureen Mmadu (46 Petra Larsson), Caroline Seger (60 Maria Lindström)
Hammarby: Katarina Wicksell - Josefin Christensen, Elin Sölveskog, Jennie Jonsson, Karolina Rinman, Jessica Landström, Lousie Fors, Sara Johansson, Malin Nykvist, Therese Sandström, Annica Svensson
Goals: 1-0 Caroline Seger (4), 2-0 Maureen Mmadu (7), 3-0 Maria Karlsson (9), 4-0 Josefine Öqvist (15), 5-0 Maria Karlsson (24), 6-0 Faith Ikidi (38), 6-1 Sara Johansson (66)
Attendance: 951
"What is happening?", Caroline Seger asked teammate Maria Karlsson, as she had scored Linköping's third goal less than 10 minutes into the game. Linköping finally taking off might be the answer, as they seemed to be able to score at will in the first half against a chocked Hammarby, capitalizing on a error-prone defense. Their superiority in the match was so great that coach Daniel Pettersson decided to rest Öqvist and Mmadu already at the break, probably to keep them fresh for the harder match against Malmö this weekend. Seger had to leave the field 15 minutes into the second half after knocking in to Hammarby's goalie, but she declared after the match that she was all right. In spite of already having lost the match, Hammarby managed to get their game together in the second half and Sara Johansson could score a consolation goal.
Corren: Storseger för LFC
Damallsvenskan Round X: White success for Bälinge
AIK - Umeå IK 0 - 4 (0-1)
AIK: Sofia Lundgren - Madelene Göras, Frida Höglund, Sanna Valkonen, Linda Lekander - Jessica Juhlin, Lina Hedqvist (75 Camilla Ulander) - Anna Lundin (70 Ingrid Bohlin), Nazanin Vaseghpanah, Danielle Wallander - Sofia Simonsson (79 Freja Egerbrant)
Umeå: Carola Söberg - Anna Paulsson, Karolina Westberg, Johanna Frisk (74 Emma Berglund), Maria Bergkvist - Ramona Bachmann (57 June Pedersen), Elaine (66 Emmelie Konradsson), Lisa Dahlqvist, Lise Klaveness - Madelaine Edlund, Marta
Goals: 0-1 Marta (1), 0-2 Marta (51), 0-3 Karolina Westberg (62), 0-4 Marta (69)
Attendance: 1,517
AIK had decided to play tight in defense and not let any Umeå players through. That hold for about 40 seconds, then Marta scored. But after that AIK managed to keep it up the rest of the first half. Their hard work in defense hurt their attack, which became almost non-existent, and tired the team. AIK lost some of their concentration and Marta slipped through more and more often, scoring on a great pass from Madeleine Edlund and on a one-on-one situation with AIK's goalie Sofia Lundgren, where Lundgren saved Marta's two first tries, but had to let in the third. Lundgren's pregame analysis that Umeå's play revolves a lot around Marta was all in all substantiated by the events. Marta has now 14 goals this season, 8 of them scored in the last three matches.
Aftonbladet: Hattrick av Marta
Dagens Nyheter: Martas hattrick sänkte AIK
Västerbottenskuriren: Marta avgjorde mot AIK
Västerbottens Folkblad: Tre mål av Marta när UIK körde över bottenlaget AIK
Bälinge - KIF Örebro 4 - 1 (2-1)
Bälinge: Veronika Svensson - Karolina Mats, Linda Sembrant, Lina Andersson, Lisa Lantz - Katri Nokso-Koivisto, Anne Mäkinen, Kacey White, Linda Blom (59 Heidi Matinlassi) - Annette Kent (55 Emma Lindqvist), Sanna Talonen (67 Moa Eriksson),
Örebro: Kristin Hammarström - Stina Segerström (90 Hanna Pettersson), Malin Nilsson, Lena Andersson, Marie Hammarström, Keeley Dowling, Pavlina Scasna, Sandra Linder, Emelia Erixon (73 Marina Pettersson), Hodan Siid-Ahmed, Caroline Näfver
Goals: 1-0 Kacey White (7), 1-1 Emelia Erixon (26), 2-1 Kacey White (41), 3-1 Emma Lindqvist (71), 4-1 Kacey White (77)
Attendance: 518
Kacey White's return couldn't have been better. In a much more even match then the scoreline would suggest, White made the difference. In her attacking midfielder position just behind the attackers she attracted interest from the Örebro defense and created space for both Mäkinen behind her and the attackers. Her first goal was 25 meter shot and the both others from close range following corner-shots. Örebro were by no means harmless with Keeley Dowling, Emelia Erixon and Pavlina Scasna up front in a 4-3-3 formation, but after Lindqvist's 3-1 they were pretty much defeated.
Nerikes Allehanda: White sänkte blekt KIF Örebro
Upsala Nya Tidning: Succé för White på Studenternas
Djurgården - Falköping 4 - 0 (1-0)
Djurgården: Bente Nordby - Dorte Dalum Jensen, Therese Brogårde, Jane Törnqvist, Sara Thunebro - Elin Ekblom (69 Annemarie Norlin), Ariane Hingst, Anna Hall, Linda Forsberg (78 Anna Lagerberth), Kristin Bengtsson - Victoria Svensson
Falköping: Malin Andersson - Nettan Hofling, Charlotte Abrahamsson (72 Camilla Sanderheim), Karin Neuman, Emma Eriksson, Sandra Krantz, Josefine Alfsson, Cecilia Abrahamsson, Sofia Fröjdstedt, Cynthia Uwak (60 Therese Larsson), Linnea Liljegärd (65 Madeleine Tegström)
Goals: 1-0 Linda Forsberg (27), 2-0 Victoria Svensson (57), 3-0 Ariane Hingst (68), 4-0 Victoria Svensson (81)
Attendance: 483
Falköping started optimistic and their forward duo Krantz and Uwak managed to create some situations in the beginning before Djurgården's defense had read them. Djurgården had a better pace in their play than against Göteborg and managed to open up Falköping's defense at several occasions. But it took until the second half before Djurgården's offense, mostly crosses from the wings to Victoria Svensson in the box, began to pay off.
Dagens Nyheter: Djurgården fick igång målskyttet
Qbik - Kopparbergs/Göteborg 1 - 1 (0-1)
Qbik: My Axelsson - Sanna Backman (39 Lovisa Ericsson), Anna Nilsson, Julia Spetsmark, Jenny Hallstenson, Therése Lückner, Amelie Rybäck, Charlotte Nygren, Therése Björk, Elin Sandgren (83 Rebecca Johnsson), Jennifer Meier
Göteborg: Sandra Bjurteg - Maria Karlsson, Maria Nilsson, Jenny Engwall, Sofia Karlsson - Marlene Sjöberg, Anna Andén (69 Lisa Ek), Elin Dahl Örn (84 Camilla Schelin), Sofie Andersson (46 Emmelie Farfa) - Lotta Schelin, Sara Lindén,
Goals: 0-1 Sara Lindén (30), 1-1 Jennifer Meier (79)
Attendance: 398
Jennifer Meier scored the important equaliser, but the key player for Qbik was back-up goalie My Axelsson, making her Damallsvenskan debut with Maria Yatrakis serving suspension. She managed three saves in front of Lotta Schelin, who didn?t at all live up to her recent form. Qbik played well both in defense and attack and actually managed to pressure Göteborg in the second half. The draw was not unearned and Göteborg visibly missed sick Salina Olsson in midfield.
Göteborgsposten: Göteborg tappade poäng i Karlstad
Nya Wermlandstidningen: Qbik spelade oavgjort
Sunnanå - LDB FC Malmö 0 - 0 (0-0)
Sunnanå: Åsa Berglund - Hanna Marklund, Magdalena Esseryd, Anna Bodén, Carina Holmberg, Kristina Wiklund, Maria Nordbrandt (77 Alexandra Nilsson), Mirjam Marklund, Lina Johansson (74 Maja Johansson), Johanna Lindahl, Sanna Frostevall
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Therese Jönsson, Emma Wilhelmsson, Malin Levenstad, Lina Nilsson - Frida Nordin, Nilla Fischer, Dora Stefansdottir, Therese Sjögran - Asthildur Helgadottir, Therese Lundin (67 Manon Melis),
Attendance: 714
After an even first half, Malmö took over completely in the second half. Nilla Fischer and Dora Stefansdottir dominated in the midfield and Malmö got loads of shots at goal, where Sunnanå was saved by great cooperation between the Marklund sisters as centre backs, good goalkeeping, the woodwork and Malmö?s lack of real edge in their finishes.
Sydsvenskan: LDB missade alla sina chanser
Norra Västerbotten: Ramen och systrar räddade Sunnanå
Västerbottens Folkblad: Sunnanå fick slita hårt för poängen mot Malmö
Random news
Upsala Nya Tidning: "Om de vill att jag ska göra mål så ska jag göra mål"
Qbik's coach Janne Jansson will leave key players outside the squad when his team plays Göteborg today. Jennifer Meier and Ifeoma Dieke have minor injuries and Jansson wants to save them for the more crucial match against relegation competitors Falköping on Sunday. The team will also have to cope with the fact that their excellent goalkeeper Maria Yatrakis is suspended for the match following her red card against Malmö.
Värmlands Folkblad: Yatrakis avstängd när Qbik måste börja vinna
Umeå's former keeper Sofia Lundgren will play her old team when AIK hosts the champions today. In an interview with a local Umeå newspaper, she says that Umeå is not as good as they were last season and that everything now revolves around Marta, with Moström and Mäkinen missing. From my point of view, she is stating pretty obvious facts, but her statement has unsurprisingly created some attention in Umeå.
Västerbotttens Folkblad: Sofia Lundgren sågar årets UIK
The American WPSL club FC Indiana is preparing for the new professional league in USA, where they will be part of a Chicago based franchise, and has compiled a list of 28 prospective players, of which they plan to sign 16 for the 2008 opening season. FC Indiana's Shek Borkowski reveals that there is one Swedish player on the list, Umeå's defender Anna Paulson, who he calls one of the best defenders in the world. He has not been in contact with her or her club yet and Paulson not prepared to make a decision at the present.
Västerbottens Folkblad: USA visar intresse för Paulson
Expressen: FC Indiana vill värva Anna Paulson
Sweden U21 to play Switzerland
The squad (name, club, year of birth, number of U21 matches played)
Goalkeepers:
Carola Söberg, Umeå IK, 1982, 6
Stéphanie Öhrström, LDB FC Malmö, 1987, -
Defenders:
Johanna Frisk, Umeå IK, 1986, 10
Malin Levenstad, LDB FC Malmö, 1988, -
Alexandra Nilsson, Sunnanå SK, 1986, 2
Lina Nilsson, LDB FC Malmö, 1987, 3
Maria Nilsson, Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, 1984, 9
Emma Wilhelmsson, LDB FC Malmö, 1986, 8
Midfielders and forwards:
Lena Andersson, Kif Örebro, 1986, 9
Sofie Andersson, Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, 1985, 6
Madelaine Edlund, Umeå IK, 1985, 13
Emelia Erixon, Kif Örebro, 1987, 1
Emmelie Farfa, Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, 1984, 1
Linda Forsberg, Djurgården, 1985, 12
Jessica Landström, Hammarby IF, 1984, 7
Maria Nordbrandt, Sunnanå SK, 1985, 19
Linda Sembrant, Bälinge IF, 1987, 2
Emma Stålhammar, LDB FC Malmö, 1985, 11
Svensk Fotboll: Erixon ersätter Bodén
Expressen: Nu får Erixon chansen trots allt
Nerikes Allehanda: Emelia inkallad till landslaget
Swiss Football Association: Bachmann erstmals in der A-Nati
Damallsvenskan Round IX: Umeå's 55th in undefeated streak
Bälinge: Veronika Svensson - Petra Vaelma, Linda Sembrant, Lina Andersson, Karolina Mats - Linda Blom (68 Heidi Matinlassi), Moa Eriksson (62 Julia Lyckberg), Anne Mäkinen, Katri Nokso-Koivisto - Emma Lindqvist (58 Annette Kent), Sanna Talonen,
AIK: Sofia Lundgren - Madelene Göras, Frida Höglund, Sanna Valkonen, Linda Lekander - Sofia Simonsson, Jessica Juhlin, Madelene Wedin (68 Anna Lundin), Ingrid Bohlin (46 Danielle Wallander) - Nazanin Vaseghpanah - Freja Egerbrant
Goals: 1-0 Emma Lindqvist (40), 2-0 Heidi Matinlassi (79)
Attendance: 945
Bälinge were the better side and had a really good game in the beginning. They managed to convert their advantage when Emma Lindqvist scored from a Talonen pass and Heidi Matinlassi secured the win after Annette Kent beat two AIK defenders and fed her the ball.
There were 7 former or present Finnish national team players on the field and if Laura Kalmari hadn'ät been on the injury list there would have been eight. This is to my knowledge a kind of record for Damallsvenskan.
AIK: Förlust i Uppsala
Upsala Nya Tidning: Lindqvists efterlängtade fullträff
Falköping - Umeå IK 0 - 5 (0-2)
Falköping: Malin Andersson - Nettan Hofling, Karin Neuman, Elin Osbeck (85 Charlotte Abrahamsson), Emma Eriksson, Sandra Krantz (79 Cecilia Abrahamsson), Madeleine Tegström, Josefine Alfsson, Camilla Sanderheim (65 Therese Larsson), Sofia Fröjdstedt, Linnea Liljegärd
Umeå: Carola Söberg - Anna Paulsson, Johanna Frisk, Karolina Westberg, Maria Bergkvist (72 Emma Berglund) - Lisa Dahlqvist (60 Emmelie Konradsson), Lise Klaveness, Elaine - Ma Xiaoxu (46 June Pedersen), Madelaine Edlund, Marta,
Goals: 0-1 Marta (14), 0-2 Karolina Westberg (23), 0-3 Marta (49), 0-4 June Pedersen (52), 0-5 Marta (88)
Attendance: 5,037
Newcomers Falköping against Umeå could only end one way. Falköping started with a courageous high pressure, but were punished early by Marta, who throughout the whole match was even more excellent than usually. Karolina Westberg scored her third goal this season, again on a set piece. Coach Jeglert was satisfied with a secure win, but somewhat worried that the team didn't get more out of their dominance and had a tendency to fall in in Falköping's lower pace.
Västerbottens Folkblad: 5 000 åskådare såg UIK vinna med 5?0
Västerbottenskuriren: UIK-tåget går inte att stoppa
Falköping, that regulary draws about a thousand spectators to their home games, had made a big effort to make the Umeå match a major local event, and succeeded. Over 5,000 is a huge figure for the small countryside town with around 15,000 inhabitants.
All Damallsvenskan clubs rely a lot on volunteers, but a small town club like Falköping probably more than most. There is a story (video clip) from SVT and a slide-show from Göteborgsposten that gives you a nice view of a modest but determined club.
Hammarby - Sunnanå 1 - 1 (0-1)
Hammarby: Katarina Wicksell - Malin Nykvist, Elin Sölveskog, Josefin Christensen, Annica Svensson - Jennie Jonsson - Lousie Fors, Therese Sandström, Josefin Weijner (30 Therese Dahlberg) - Jessica Landström, Sara Johansson,
Sunnanå: Åsa Berglund - Sandra Berggren, Hanna Marklund, Magdalena Esseryd, Anna Bodén, Kristina Wiklund, Maria Nordbrandt, Mirjam Marklund, Lina Johansson, Sanna Frostevall, Alexandra Nilsson
Goals: 0-1 Maria Nordbrant (5), 1-1 Jessica Landström (73)
Attendance: 408
Sunnanå started good at Hammarby's arena Kanalplan, and Maria Nordbrant scored with a long high ball already after 5 minutes. The guests continued good, but couldn't profit from it and the longer the match went on the more they were pressed back. Hammarby fed Sara Johansson and Jessica Landström with long balls. This finally paid off when Sara Johansson recieved one of those and served Landström a perfect pass in the box. Both teams were rather disappointed with the result and thought they could have done better.
Hammarby: Hammarby Damfotboll - Sunnanå 1-1
Norra Västerbotten: En poäng till Sunnanå
Kif Örebro - Linköping 1 - 1 (0-0)
Örebro: Ingrid Ericson - Stina Segerström, Malin Nilsson, Lena Andersson, Marie Hammarström, Keeley Dowling (72 Caroline Näfver), Pavlina Scasna, Elin Magnusson, Sandra Linder (82 Hanna Pettersson), Emelia Erixon, Hodan Siid-Ahmed
Linköping: Jenny Olsson - Frida Östberg, Sara Larsson, Faith Ikidi, Marie-Louise Skålberg - Maureen Mmadu (71 Petra Larsson), Caroline Seger, Maria Karlsson (71 Kosovare Asllani), Ann Westermark - Josefine Öqvist, Maria Aronsson
Goals: 1-0 Emelia Erixon (59), 1-1 Caroline Seger (64)
Attendance: 966
Neither of the coaches were very pleased with the match, even if Örebro's Holmlund had to admit that the draw against the star-loaded Linköping is another proof that they can challenge the top teams. None of the teams managed to create much in front and both coaches thought their teams were passive.
Örebro's young Emelie Erixon continues to score, this time assisted by Keeley Dowling who Holmlund still plays in the attack, and is now third in the goalscoring league, after Schelin and Marta but before big names like Hanna Ljungberg, Victoria Svensson and Asthildur Helgadottir. She silll didn't make the Sweden U21-selection and new U21 coach Lena Videkull admitted that Erixon has scored a lot the last matches, but that she is still is a too unevenplayer.
Nerikes Allehanda: Emelia nätade på nytt när KIF fick oavgjort, KIF spelade 1-1 mot Linköping, Holmlund gladdes över poängen - inte spelet
Expressen: Förbundskaptenens sågning: "Hon har haft flyt"
LDB FC Malmö - Qbik 7 - 0 (3-0)
Malmö: Caroline Jönsson - Therese Jönsson, Malin Levenstad, Emma Wilhelmsson, Lina Nilsson - Frida Nordin (46 Asthildur Helgadottir), Nilla Fischer, Therese Sjögran, Emma Stålhammar (46 Nanna Johansen) - Therese Lundin (64 Dora Stefansdottir), Manon Melis,
Qbik: Maria Yatrakis (60 Red card) - Charlotte Nygren, Amelie Rybeck, Iofema Dieke, Elin Ragnvaldsson (40 Elin Sandgren) - Rebecca Johnson (60 My Axelsson), Therése Björk, Jenny Hallstenson, Lisa Mellberg, Anna Nilsson - Jennifer Meier (46 Sanna Backman)
Goals: 1-0 Nilla Fischer (6), 2-0 Therese Lundin (30), 3-0 Manon Melis (31), 4-0 Asthildur Helgadottir (73), 5-0 Asthildur Helgadottir (79), 6-0 Nanna Johansen (83), 7-0 Dora Stefansdottir (89)
Attendance: 650
7-0, that is how good Malmö is, commented Qbik's coach Janne Jansson, who was fairly pleased with his team's performance, "much better than we played against Hammarby". Malmö was just as superior as the figures would suggest. There was a period in the middle of the match when Qbik managed to hold on to the ball, but then the excellent goalkeeper Maria Yatrakis got sent of the field for bringing down Manon Melis, who was alone with the keeper. Malmö's national team forward Therese Lundin made her come-back after a long injury period and scored, which should please national team coach Dennerby, who has picked her for the Euro qualifiers later this month.
Sydsvenskan: Lundin målskytt direkt i comebacken
Värmlands Folkblad: Qbik efter 0-7 mot Malmö: "Inte så svart ändå"
Damallsvenskan round IX: Schelin hat-trick defeats Djurgården
Göteborg: Sandra Bjurteg - Maria Nilsson, Maria Karlsson, Jenny Engwall, Elin Dahl Örn - Sofie Andersson (60 Johanna Almgren), Anna Andén (88 Lisa Ek), Salina Olsson, Camilla Schelin (40 Marlene Sjöberg) - Lotta Schelin, Sara Lindén
Djurgården: Bente Nordby - Sara Thunebro, Jane Törnqvist, Therese Brogårde, Kristin Bengtsson - Elin Ekblom, Ariane Hingst, Anna Hall, Victoria Svensson, Emma Lundh (63 Annemarie Norlin) - Linda Forsberg
Goals: 1-0 Lotta Schelin (64), 2-0 Lotta Schelin (66), 3-0 Lotta Schelin (85), 3-1 Linda Forsberg (89), 3-2 Ariane Hingst (93)
Attendance: 602
Djurgåden had the ball, had the play, created the opportunities, had 28-7 in shots on goal. But Göteborg had Lotta Schelin. Djurgården had 60 minutes of complete domination, including three goals waved off by the referee (two off-sides, one foul). In the 64th minute Marlene Sjöberg gave Schelin a long, perfectly addressed pass and Lotta ran away from her defenders and scored. Two minutes later it was Salina Olsson who found Schelin to make it 2-0 and Djurgården lost a lot of their steam. Göteborg now managed to get some time with the ball and Schelin could finnish her hat-trick and close the match five minutes from time, this time assisted by Sara Lindén. Djurgården didn't give up and scored twice in the closing minutes, but too little, too late.
Victoria Svensson was everywhere for Djurgården in the first half and Jane Törnqvist seemed to work her way back into the national team, but they had problems getting close to Göteborg's goal (where young substitute Sandra Bjurteg made a great debut, even if she had both the sideposts and the referee to help her out) and there were a lot of misdirected shots from distance. Besides the brilliant Lotta Schelin, sporting a brand new L8 tattoo on her forearm, Marlene Sjöberg made a big difference when she entered and Jenny Engwall is getting more and more indispensible in defense.
Aftonbladet: Hattrick av Lotta Schelin
Dagens Nyheter: Göteborg besegrade Djurgården
Expressen: "Kvinnliga Zlatan" sänkte Djurgården
Göteborgsposten: L8 sänkte Djurgården
SVT: match clip
TV4: prematch story about Djurgården's Ariane Hingst (Video clip)
Sunnanå signs Nigerian star, Göteborg finds emergency goalkeeper
Norra Västerbotten: Stjärnforward till Sunnanå
Kopparbergs/Göteborg's keeper Maria Edman thought she strained her foot in the league match against Umeå, but a closer examination revealed a fracture in an ankle bone. It will take 10 to 12 weeks to heal and Göteborg needed to find an emergency replacement. They found her in former Jitex goalie Anna Rehnlund. Rehnlund recieved lots of praise for her contribution in Jitex goal last year, but had to retire from the team with back problems. She is now fit again and happy to help out in Göteborg. Since she is no longer tied to any club, she can join Göteborg immediately and probably shows up already against Qbik next week.
Göteborgsposten: Edmans stukning - var en spricka, Rehnlund klar för Göteborg FC