A roundup of all the action from Round 10 of the Swedish Damallsvenskan. Read all the recaps here:
By Rainer Fussgänger
Umeå IK vs Kopparberg/Göteborgs FC 0-3
Attendance: 525
Göteborg: Sara Lindén (Lisa Ek) 15’, Linnéa Liljegärd (Sara Lindén) 44’, Olivis Schough 90’
Although we spoke about a very open season some weeks ago, games like this show that there are huge differences between the top teams and those in the middle. Umeå had no chance in winning one or even three points against Göteborg, which safely played home three points against the former champions.
Tyresö FF vs Piteå IF 5-1
Attendance: 1478
Tyresö: Marta (PK) 33’, Caroline Seger (Marta) 50’, Vero Boquete (Caroline Seger) 54’, Vero Boquete (Caroline Seger) 61’, Elaine (Madelaine Edlund) 92’
Piteå: Josefin Johansson (PK) 71’
We could write the same text as above… Tyresö had some problems in the 1st half scoring, but they were dominating the full 92 minutes on their home ground. Seger, Vero, and Marta are involved in most of the things on the pitch, however, a bunch of journalists, including myself, do think that Tyresö does not get the most of its roster. Their success is very often based on the individual talents and very seldom they really perform as a team.
Jitex BK vs KIF Örebro 0-1
Attendance: 216
KIF Örebro: Linda Fransson 65’
Only 216 people came to see their squad play one of Damallsvenskan’s disappointing teams this year: KIF Örebro. Finishing twice as 5th in 2010 and 2011 they are in a bad 10th position after 10 rounds only a few points away from relegation. Anyway, the last matches have looked better although KIF lost and this time a solid performance and luck on their side gave KIF a very well needed away win in Gothenburg.
Djurgården vs AIK 2-1
Attendance: 672
Djurgården: Renée Slegers 34’, Sofia Nilsson 64’
AIK: Susan Varli 31’
The Stockholm derby between the two clubs with decades of tradition in Swedish soccer have never met before in a situation like this: both lying at the very bottom of the standings and both almost in a hopeless situation if experts are right. It rained heavily before and during the first half hour of the game and that played a very important role. The ball was heavy and wet and three shots from the distance led to two goals. The match-winning goal was a free kick by Sofia Nilsson, which slipped through Susanne Nilssons’ gloves and into the net. Since it was even more important for Djurgården to win, they changed place with AIK and have six points now.
Kristianstads DFF vs Vittsjö GIK 3-1
Attendance. 2,760
Kristianstad: Johanna Rasmussen 68’, Katrin Omarsdottir (Johanna Rasmussen) 71’, Johanna Rasmussen 84’
Vittsjö: Emma Sjödal (Sandra Adolfsson) 56’
Nearly 3,000 came to see another derby, the derby of Skåne, which is a small landscape in the Southwest of Sweden. Kristianstad, Vittsjö, and even Malmö are within a distance of less than an hour. And, again, Vittsjö continued to impress. Kristianstad had more possession, they had the chances, but Vittsjö is probably the league’s most effective team. If they have a chance – they score. After one hour it looked like their fairy tale would continue, but KDFF was able to put more energy into their efforts and thanks to a great performance by Danish international Johanna Rasmussen, who scored two and gave one assist, KDFF was able to win.
LdB FC Malmö vs Linköpings FC 2-1
Attendance: 838
Malmö: Sara Björk Gunnarsdottir (Ramona Bachmann) 9’, Ramona Bachmann (Anja Mittag) 54’
Linköping: Manon Melis (Louise Fors) 7’
This could have been a thriller. Linköping came to Malmö with two strong home victories and seemed to have understood what this game is all about – scoring goals. In the end it was a solid win for the champions where Anja Mittag is not alone anymore playing world class performances. She has been joined by Ramona Bachmann, who was still suffering from a foot injury in the first weeks and seems to have problems to play on the same level as one season ago for Umeå. After this game, there is no doubt that she’s back.
Rainer Fussgänger, of Germany, lives in Sweden and speed 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 .