Damallsvenskan Newsblog

Kristianstad - Djurgården 2 - 1 (2-0)
Kristianstad: Maria Edman - Johanna Jönsson, Maria Åhlund, Johanna Rosén, Carolin Ericsson - Therese Björk (63 Pernilla Falk), Vlora Bajraktaraj, Sofie Persson, Erla Arnadottir - Frida Petersson (87 Maria Nilsson), Susanne Moberg (37 Elin Bjerre)
Djurgården: Nadine Angerer - Madelene Göras, Ariane Hingst, Therese Brogårde, Sara Thunebro - Rebecca Jonsson, Marijke Callebaut (72 Anna Lagerberth), Anna Hall, Linda Sällström (62 Jennifer Meier) - Linda Forsberg, Victoria Svensson
Goals: 1-0 Susanna Moberg (20), 2-0 Frida Petersson (42), 2-1 Victoria Svensson (54 PK)
Attendance: 2,221
Damallsvenskan started the season with a huge upset. Newcomers Kristianstad defeated last year's runners-up Djurgården. And they didn't do it by bunkering in defense and relying on counters. When Susanne Moberg scored their first goal after 20 minutes, Kristianstad could count four shots on goal against Djurgården's none. Sofie Persson and Vlora Bajraktaraj dominated in midfield, with Persson being the architect behind Kristianstad's offensive, feeding attackers Moberg and Frida Pettersson with deep passes to run with. Djurgården's defense were repeatedly overrun and you couldn't see that they had two seasoned internationals (Hingst and Thunebro) in the back line.

Goalscorer Moberg had to leave already after half an hour with what turned out to be a minor muscle tear, but that didn't hamper the home team's play. Shortly before the break Bajraktaraj caught a stray ball just outside the area and served Frida Pettersson, who ran past Djurgården's Angerer and scored in an open goal. After the recess Kristianstad continued to stand up well, encouraged by the record crowd at Vilans IP, and it wasn't until the last 20 minutes that Djurgården could take command. They had reduced with a Victoria Svensson penalty kick (too much wrestling from a Kristianstad defender in a corner kick shuffle) and hunted for at least an equaliser. A tired Kristianstad defense still managed to fend them off and when keeper Maria Edman blocked a Victoria Svensson shot from close distance in the last minutes, the sensational result was a fact.

The Kristianstad side was, understandably, extremely happy with everything after the match. Djurgården's Anders Johansson on the other side was, equally understandable, very disappointed and called his team's approach "naive", which might be translated to "hugely underestimating". They lost a lot of balls trying to short-pass in midfield and the defense was slow and badly organized. Kristianstad journalists have been working hard to find different ways to enjoy the win and, let's not forget that, gloat. One of them calculated that Djurgården fielded 9 internationals with 422 matches experience. Kristianstad had 25 caps, all belonging to Icelandic midfielder Erla Arnadottir.