Tuesdays with Damallsvenskan 6

Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC v Linköping FC, Damallsvenskan Round 15
30 augusti 2011, Valhalla IP, Göteborg
Weather: There's a strange yellow light in the sky, I think they call it the sun
Result: 2-0
Screenshots

Have I ever mentioned that Swedes really like bananas? As a people, they seem to be convinced that if one is about to exercise, or if one has just exercised, or if one is even thinking about exercise, then one must eat a banana. People keep them in their gym bags, and desk drawers, just in case. I have never seen so many people eat bananas. Those trying to market work-out recovery products must struggle to overcome the banana (see for instance this advertisement in which a cute baby monkey begs the heartless Swedes "Please don't eat my bananas."). Personally, I quite like bananas: they are tasty, nutritious, easy to digest, and come in their own biodegradable packaging which may someday help clean-up for hazardous waste. The only problem is, bananas are a silly fruit. No one can be taken seriously while they are eating a banana. Therefore it gives me a tiny grin when, in the 10th minute of play, the camera cuts to KG's bench, and there is Sara Lindén at the end of the bench, contentedly munching a banana, while her teammates grin as they pass around a big white sack full of them.

The game is quite even in the first half, with both teams having some close chances. Göteborg's Johanna Almgren's alert play and fancy footwork shows that she is in top form. She is playing in the right midfield, behind Olivia Schough at forward. In the 30th minute, Linköping defender Jessica Samuelsson aggressively defends against Schough, knocking her down, and I am reminded of a previous meeting between these two teams, right before the World Cup, in which I hypothesized that Samuelsson's good defending against Almgren playing at right forward may have taken Almgren out of contention for the World Cup squad. Perhaps Almgren has been moved back in order to avoid Samuelsson. The camera cuts to coach Torbjörn Nilsson, who is up in the stands looking attentive (see above).

If so, it's a strategy that seems to be working. Early in the second half, she sends a fantastic long ball through to Schough that Schough can't quite play back to anyone; in the 54th, Schough then sends Almgren to the end line, and Almgren sets the ball up to Jenny Hallensteson who takes a hard shot that just goes over the bar. She puffs her cheeks out. The camera cuts back to the KG bench just in time to catch Lindén taking her shirt off, while all the (male) coaches studiously look elsewhere, and she comes in for Schough a couple minutes later. Good thing she ate that banana earlier.

In the 66th Almgren appears to run over someone to get to the ball, and she passes it across he field to Lindén, who is taken down and earns a free kick. While Lindén is lying on the ground, speedy Linnea Liljegärd runs past, hollering; someone takes the free kick very quickly; Linköping (and the camera crew) are taken by surprise as Liljegärd and shoots just wide.

KGFC has certainly had the better play so far in this half, but the quick kick seems to have galvanized them further and they suddenly they take over the match. A couple minutes later Almgren and Liljegärd rush into the penalty area and the ball bounces funny and it's clear to everyone that someone has hit it with her arm; Liljegärd raises her own arm and protests to the ref that there was a hand ball. Yes, there certainly was, but it was Almgren who did it, as the replay clearly shows. KG continue to press and the ball is almost entirely down at Linköping's end. Defender Marlene Sjöberg, who's had a very solid game both in defense and running forward, is tackled hard at midfield and has to come off, favoring her bleeding knee. Only one minute later Almgren wins a duel with defender Samuelsson, crossing her up completely on the right side end line; she sends a ball to about two meters in front of the goal where Liljegärd knocks it in. 1-0 and KG are very relieved; they clearly deserve to be winning this game, and it is vital that they do so.

A moment of comedy in the 80th. Linköping keeper Sofia Lundgren has the ball and is going to punt it, and the camera cuts away. "Ojojoj!" the annoucer suddenly says, and the camera cuts back, and we see a Linköping player, Nora Holstad Berge, rolling around on the ground, well away from the ball. What happened? Did an opposing player push her? Well... no. Lundgren, perhaps a little anxious to get rid of the ball, took the punt before her player was far enough away, and the ball hit her right on the back of the head, hard enough to knock her down. Note to Lundgren: this is not the way to make friends with your own players. KG graciously returns the ball when the referee gives it to them.

Five minutes after this, the game is effectively over when KG score again, starting again sith some nice work from Almgren on the right, when her through ball sends Lisa Ek sprinting to the end line; Ek's pass back to Lindén is deflected off a defender's heel but Lindén recovers quickly and takes a shot to the far post the Lundgren dives at but to no avail. 2-0 and Ek looks as happy as Lindén.

With that, KG secures an important victory as the season heads into its final third. KG is now tied for third with Tyresö, both of whom are only one point behind Umeå, while LdB Malmö leads the pack with three points more than that. I can't say that I miss the days when one team (usually Umeå) would have the season more or less already wrapped up by this point; it's going to be an exciting end to the season...