By Rainer Fussgänger – Round 2 of the Swedish league Damallsvenskan started on Saturday and was finished on Wednesday. Three of the six matches had more than 1,000 spectators. Marta was not happy about the match in Linköping, and many celebrated Anja Mittag as player of the week.
KIF Örebro vs Umeå IK 0-2
Attendance: 490
Umeå IK: Jenny Hjohlman (Emmelie Konradsson) 60’, Jenny Hjohlman (Lina Hurtig) 72’
Experts wondered who would score the goals for Umeå after Ramona Bachmann, Sofia Jakobsson, and Hanna Pettersson left the club. On Saturday, the answer was simply Jenny Hjohlman.The 22-year-old, who came from Sundsvall, had already scored a couple of preseason goals. At Behrns Arena in Örebro, she was the difference between the two teams. The first half belonged to hosts KIF Örebro. Sanna Talonen had the biggest chance when hitting the cross bar. The final 45 minutes though saw Umeå getting more confident and finally winning, putting them up in first place for 24 hours.
LdB FC Malmö vs Kristianstads DFF 5-2
Attendance: 1,002
LdB FC Malmö: Anja Mittag (Ali Riley) 19’, Amanda Ilestedt (Therese Sjögran) 45’, Therese Sjögran (PK) 64’, Anja Mittag 80’, Elin Rubensson (Anja Mittag) 82’
Kristianstads DFF: Susanne Moberg 16’, Katrin Omarsdottir 56’
“Anja Mittag is one of the most intelligent forwards in today’s women soccer.” The quote does not come from Malmö’s coach Peter Moberg, but from Kristianstad’s Elisabet Gunnarsdottir. Even the local press was full of praise for the 26-year-old German whose performance was world class. It seems that the move from Potsdam to Malmö has really given her a new start. Kristianstad again was very difficult to play for one of the favourites in Damallsvenskan. Last week, Linköping survived by a late equalizer of Manon Melis, even this time KDFF took the lead, but Malmö played a supreme second half and finally took over the pole position in the league from Umeå.
Djurgården vs Jitex 0-2
Attendance: 653
Jitex: Fridolina Rolfö 25’, Sofia Karlsson (Fridolina Rolfö) 55’
The match should have been played on grass at Stockholms Stadion, but due to a lot of snow during the night, Djurgården had to play on the turf of Östermalms IP. Jitex was very present from the start and pretty physical. For Djurgården, it was one of those days where nothing really worked. The team did not create scoring opportunities, which raises a lot of questions and worries.
Jitex striker Fridolina Rolfö, only 18 years of age, seems to continue where she left off in 2011 – being one of the hottest talents in Swedish soccer. If she can go on like this, we will see her in the SWNT soon; maybe she can impress coach Thomas Dennerby already this spring.
Vittsjö GIK vs AIK 3-1
Attendance: 1,271
Vittsjö: Danesha Adams (Sandra Adolfsson) 34’, Kendall Fletcher (Kirsty Yallop) 39’, Sofie Andersson (Emma Sjödahl) 47’
AIK: Susan Varli (Therese Boström) 67’
Red card: Susan Varli 70’
Is there a better way for a team that is in Damallsvenskan for the very first time to play their first home game and scoring three goals and taking three points? Vittsjö took a historical victory, but they can also be lucky that the planning commission gave them AIK as the first opponent at home. There was no doubt who would win this game, and it was a perfect start for Americans Danesha Adams and Kendall Fletcher who scored the first two goals after corners. In the end, everyone was happy except for AIK, who must answer the question if they come well-prepared to the Damallsvenskan.
Linköpings FC vs Tyresö FF 1-0
Attendance: 2,831
Linköpings FC: Emma Lundh 55’
The top game between the teams that most people see as No. 1 and No. 2 after the end of the season saw a very determined Linköping team. They gave almost no space for the creators in the Tyresö midfield, and Marta seemed frustrated that she was so closely guarded, she started complaining and lost her way. Linköping midfielders Marianne Gajhede, Nilla Fischer, and Louise Fors ran and fought like this was a cup final, and most people finally stated that Linköping deserved to win this. Madelaine Edlund had several opportunities for Tyresö, but Linköping wanted more, was hungry, and never lost their focus.
Piteå IF vs Kopparberg/Göteborgs FC 1-3
Attendance: 949
Piteå IF: Jennifer Nobis (Lena Blomqvist) 20’
Göteborg: Lisa Ek (Marlene Sjöberg) 6’, Christen Press (Catrine Johansson) 31’, Anita Asante (Sara Lindén) 45+2’
Winter came back to Piteå the night before the match, but many volunteers made it possible to play the game. Christen Press continues her success story, scoring her third goal of the season. She leads the scorer list together with Malmö’s Anja Mittag. And finally, Pia Sundhage has called for Christen to join the training camp of the USWNT in Florida. She went right away from Piteå to the U.S. and was allowed a one-week absence from her club, missing the game against Vittsjö. Göteborg won comfortably, that is no surprise, but that Piteå actually had a lot of shots on goal was not expected. A bad day though for Australian goalkeeper Lydia Williams who hurt her knee and had to be carried away. We will know more Friday or on Saturday when she can come back between the posts in Piteå.
Rainer Fussgänger, of Germany, lives in Sweden and has followed the Damallsvenskan for eight years now. Living in Stockholm with three clubs (Djurgården, Hammarby, and Tyresö) around the corner, he is lucky to see a lot of games. You can follow Rainer on Twitter @ffschweden and check out his website at http://ffschweden.wordpress.com.