With a lightning fast turnaround from their fourth round of fixtures over the weekend, ten of the twelve Toppserien teams were back in action yesterday, the top three all adding another three points to their tallies. Grand Bodø and Vålerenga the other beneficiaries on Tuesday evening, Arna-Bjørnar and Sandviken set to play out their tie after the Euros.
Trondheims-Ørn 0-4 Stabæk
Melissa Bjånesøy grabbed her fifth of the year just seven minutes in when she smashed Trine Rønning’s flick on over the line at Elise Cecilie Liane’s corner. With their last match a 1-0 in favour of the visitors it looked like the two were about to play out the same result, the fans crying out for a second goal as the match ticked from first-half to second, Norwegian internationals Ingrid Hjelmseth and Kristine Nøstmo unwilling to be beaten, the latter pulling off a string of fine staves throughout to keep Stabæk out, Trondheim left to struggle with their own finishing.
Fast proving herself a as top player at her new club, former LSK teen, Frida Maanum finally gave Stabæk some breathing room fifteen minutes from time when she found space 20-yards out and lashed a shot towards goal. With the shot having to slip through the defence, Nøstmo was left cold as the ball bounced towards her far post, her dive all too late as the ball cannoned off of the upright and in.
The respectable scoreline diminished at the death when the host were hit for two in as many minutes, Liane’s tireless sprint down the right capped off with a cross-cum-shot that squirmed in at the near post. Bjånesøy happy to put the gloss on and take advantage of a sleepy back-pass from Cesilie Andreassen, the attacker with the legs to chase the ball into the box before firing past Nøstmo.
Medkila 1-3 Grand Bodø
In the battle at the bottom, the visitors got off to a flying start when Anne-Marthe Birkeland chipped Megan Kufeld from outside the area, the ‘keeper caught off of her line and unable to scramble back as Birkeland’s lob crashed down to earth inside of her goal. Trine Jensen was on hand to double the advantage before the quarter hour, her stooping header able to avoid the cluster of defenders in front of her at a corner.
Medkila threatened Siiri Välimaa’s goal but failed to create anything truly meaningful before Birkeland effectively killed the match five minutes before the break. Leaving Fanny Johansson for dust, the attacker slipped into the box before firing low beyond Kufeld to give the hosts a mountain to climb after the break. Whilst Medkila did improve in the second-half, notably with Tiffany McCarty working overtime to create and work Välimaa, the deficit proved too much and Anja Rasmussen’s goal after the hour was little more than a conciliation.
The result sees Bodø climb off of the floor of the table, leaving Medkila still looking for their second point of the year.
Røa 2-3 LSK
Not quite having had the rub of the green this season so far, Røa started off on the right foot when Lisa-Marie Utland netted her fifth goal of the year, thumping a header past Cecilie Fiskerstrand in the tenth minute. Already having lost precious points this year, LSK hit back immediately through goal-machine Guro Reiten, the 22-year-old able to pick out the top corner from the top of the D.
In a moment of “anything you can do, I can do better” Ina Skaug fired her side back ahead with an outrageous shot form 25-yards, like Reiten, able to pick out the top corner from range. The hosts able to hold onto the advantage until the 72nd minute when Ingrid Moe Wold added her own stunner to the mix, curling her shot into the left corner from the far side of the box, Kirvil Odden left rooted. The come-back completed by Reiten five minutes from time, her run unmarked as she chased into the box to slot Katrine Winnem Jorgensen’s square ball into the roof of the net. The Dynamite Girls will little to show for their hard-work, LSK able to keep themselves in touch with the top two.
Avaldsnes 2-0 Klepp
Despite going a man down half an hour in when Daiane Santos was shown a straight red for an apparent pull-back on Hege Hansen, the table toppers weren’t willing to give an inch at home. When many teams would still be unsettled and yet to fully reshuffle after going down to ten, Avaldsnes went a goal up just three minutes after the red. Receiving Gema Simon’s cross, Cecilie Pedersen just about able to spin in the area under heavy pressure from the Klepp defence before getting the ball out of feet and blasting her shot towards the top right bin.
The match was a cagey affair but the host nearly doubled their lead when Lisa-Marie Woods chanced her arm from range after the break, her cheeky effort pinging off of the top of the crossbar. Klepp left unlucky after Hege Hansen, Susanne Vistnes, Hanne Kogstad and Maria Min Xiu Sørenes all had shots blocked in a frantic ten seconds inside the AIL box; Katie Fraine and her defence unwilling to relent. With the match trickling towards a 1-0 at the whistle, Emily Gielnik got her third of the year with a cute backheel at Francielle’s near-post delivery at a late corner. The win keeps Avaldsnes leading the league, a lone point better off than Stabæk as Klepp’s mixed season continues.
Kolbotn 0-2 Vålerenga
Looking to pick up a second win on the spin, VIF took the lead half-way through the first-half courtesy of captain, Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir, the Icelandic international able to divert her rising header into the top corner. Aivi Luik’s delivery from dead-balls continued to cause the hosts problems but it was a simple through ball from Tina Dalgård to Theresa Nielsen that secured the win just after the restart. Nielsen happy to slot the ball just inside of the post as Aurora Mikalsen belatedly stuck a glove out.
The hosts didn’t give up however and Tonje Pedersen very nearly pulled them level later in the half with an effort from 30-yards, the ball slipping just wide of Michelle Betos’ near post before Betos produced a fine save to deny Marit Lund, Juliette Kemppi only able to blast her follow-up well over. Though they didn’t stop searching for a goal, it wasn’t to be for Kolbotn who fell to their fourth loss of the year, Vålerenga up to fifth with their second successive win.
