By Rainer Fussgänger – After three rounds, tendencies are visible in Damallsvenskan. After their second consecutive loss, Kristianstad is far away from their goal of winning the championship, and since Piteå has not had 1,000 in one of their two home games played yet, it seems that raising the ticket price to 18 U.S. dollars was not a good idea.
AIK vs KIF Örebro 0-2
Attendance: 175
KIF Örebro: Sanna Talonen 30’, Edda Gardarsdottir 86’
Red card: Sarah Fredriksson (AIK) 17’
KIF Örebro came back after two losses and scored their first goals of the season. Newcomers AIK faced their third defeat, the second one at home. Already after 17 minutes, the home team was weakened when their defender Sarah Fredriksson was sent off by referee Sandra Fogelberg after she had taken down Sarah Michael in a one-on-one situation. That incident was decisive, and when Finnish striker Talonen had scored her first goal of the season, Örebro was slowly coming back to life again after finding themselves in the very bottom of the league after round two. Only 175 people attended the match – how much will be left if AIK keeps on losing?
Piteå IF vs Djurgården 3-1
Attendance: 913
Piteå: Hallbera Gisladottir 19’, Jennifer Nobis (Victoria Forsmark) 25’, Jennifer Nobis (Hanna Pettersson) 28’
Djurgården: Mia Jalkerud 10’
During last year’s season, 28-year-old American Jennifer Nobis scored two goals. This year promises to be different for Nobis, who has been around in Sweden quite a while now. With her two goals against Djurgården from Stockholm, Nobis joins the leading scorers Anja Mittag and Christen Press, who have three goals to their name. However, Djurgården took the lead, and it was Mia Jalkerud who gave hope to the away team after 10 minutes. Still many injured and with a lack of self-confidence, Djurgården was thrown back within a couple of minutes in the first half when Piteå first equalized through Icelandic defender Hallbera Gisladottir. Then, it was Nobis’ show. Piteå is now up with six points, Djurgården still has nothing.
Kristianstads DFF vs Jitex BK 1-3
Attendance: 323
Kristianstad: Susanne Moberg (Kosovare Asllani) 34’
Jitex: Annica Sjölund (Sofia Skog) 19’, Sofia Skog 71’, Annica Sjölund (Fridolina Rolfö) 76’
If we take Elisabet Gunnarsdottir’s words from the press meeting seriously, then Jitex’s away win in Kristianstad was a big surprise. The Icelandic coach had told media that she was aiming for the gold with KDFF this year. After three rounds and only one point out of nine possible, the championship seems pretty far away for Kristianstad. Again, it was an open game between the two sides and Jitex once again gave prove for their physically strong condition. The goal that probably decided the game, Sofia Skog’s shot, was a big mistake by Swedish WNT keeper Hedvig Lindahl, who let the ball get through her hands and into the net. That immediately gave upswing to Jitex, and with Finnish strikers Anica Sjölund’s third goal of the season, Jitex won their second away game within a week.
Umeå IK vs Linköpings FC 1-1
Attendance: 611
Umeå: Ogonna Chukwudi (Emmelie Konradsson) 64′
Linköping: Charlotte Rohlin (Petra Larsson) 75′
A 1-1 draw between Umeå and Linköping really was no surprise in Monday’s only game. The first of three tough matches for Umeå was well played by the home side, which gave an answer to those who already had seen them between 6th and 9th position this year after losing Sofia Jakobsson, Ramona Bachmann, and Hanna Pettersson. In front of a small crowd of only 611, Umeå was close to winning this. Coach Joakim Blomqvist has done a good job so far and built a confident defense with captain Emma Berglund and behind her veteran goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson, who won the silver medal in the WC in 2003. After three matches, both teams have not lost a match yet. A little worry that Linköping who had immense problems scoring last season has only scored three goals in three matches although they have Manon Melis and Lisa DeVanna.
Tyresö FF vs LdB FC Malmö 2-0
Attendance: 2,339
Tyresö FF: Marta (Caroline Seger) 48′, Elaine 77′
The better team won. Malmö could not threaten Tyresö in the box and what many people before the season thought might be Tyresö’s weak point – the defense – made a tremendous game. Anja Mittag and Therese Sjögran never really got through when they tried to overcome centre backs Linda Sembrant and Johanna Frisk. The best opportunity Malmö had was a shot by otherwise disappointing Ramona Bachmann that went over Carola Söberg’s goal. Tyresö created much more, but the two goals were results of individual mistakes. Lina Nilsson could not get away the ball that came to Caroline Seger who served Marta. The other Brazilian, Elaine, who played a couple of months for Saint Louis Athletica before the WPS club folded in 2010, was not only the best player on the pitch, she even decided the game with a hard shot from about 60 feet from goal. Tyresö players were happy and relieved to come back after last week’s loss in Linköping.
Kopparberg/Göteborgs FC vs Vittsjö GIK 1-2
Attendance:382
Göteborg: Amanda Edgren (Stina Segerström) 84′
Vittsjö: Danesha Adams (Kirsty Yallop) 15′, Sofie Andersson (Emma Sjödahl) 45′
We are talking about the biggest surprise yet this season. Newbies Vittsjö got on the bus home to Southern Sweden with three points, and they defeated cup winners Göteborg. KGFC’s coach Torbjörn Nilsson was in hospital after being bitten by a dog, and Christen Press was with the USWNT in Florida, but that does not explain how this could happen. Vittsjö did not defend well and scored two lucky goals on a few chances – they simply dominated the game and had much more shots than the home side. Danesha Adams gave Vittsjö a well-deserved lead, and last year’s goal queen Sofia Andersson (34 goals in 22 games in Division 2) scored one per match up til now. Göteborg failed to take a clear lead in Damallsvenskan, and after three rounds it is Umeå one point ahead of Tyresö and a whole bunch of other teams, among them Vittsjö and Göteborg.
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.