The 2019 Greenlandic women's championship was held in the capital, Nuuk, last August, and took on a new form after the KAK (the Greenlandic FA) decided that it would culminate in a four-team mini-tournament for the first time. This was in part due to the fact that, in recent years, there have been a number of teams taking part in regional championships and teams qualifying for the final tournament and then dropping out, but also because the KAK felt that there were too many one-sided matches at previous tournaments, something they claimed spectators didn't enjoy.
Three of the four teams who made it through to the "Final 4", as the tournament was christened - champions GSS, last year's runners-up NÛK and B-67 - featured in last year's edition, whilst I-69, who, along with NÛK, had dominated Greenlandic women's football in recent years but who had declined to take part in last year's competition due to a lack of interest and a decision to rebuild the team, made it through the regional qualifiers to have a crack at regaining top spot. The other three teams qualified via the Mid-Greenland regional championship.
B-67 finished runners-up in 2017, though the bulk of the team played for GSS' all-conquering handball side as their club didn't have a women's team at the time. Once this was established, they defected to GSS and won last year's tournament with ease. B-67's squad was a mix of youth and experience, with a clutch of players under 16 years old. At least four of the squad over 40 years old, and two of them were in their mid-50s. They were swept aside by NÛK, a team eager to gain revenge for last year's 6:1 drubbing in the final against GSS, and got off to a flying start, scoring eleven against B-67 without reply, Arnaq Egede scoring five of their total and Pilu Chemnitz bagging a hat-trick.
Many of the GSS squad had also starred in their national championship triumph three months before the football tournament began. They beat NÛK in the final, and several of the losing side then would be also taking part in this competition for NÛK. GSS' footballers started their title defence in some style, beating I-69 7:1; their 15-year-old goal-machine Asii Kleist Berthelsen, now resident in Denmark and playing for Danish champions Hjørring, continued her fine goalscoring form at national championships by scoring twice, as did Najaaja Anja Lyberth and Nunuu-Marie Lukassen.
Berthelsen scored seven, Lukassen scored a hat-trick and Juanita Fleischer and Pillunguaq Broberg each scored twice as GSS swept aside B-67 15:0 in their next match, as they qualified for the final with ease, where they would meet NÛK, who disposed of I-69 by six goals to nil. Arnaq Egede and Emma Hansen scored a brace apiece for the northerners.
The final of round of group matches were little more than dress-rehearsals for both the final and the third-place play-off; the latter would feature I-69 and B-67, and the match gave B-67 a taste of what they could expect in the third-place match as I-69 simply ran riot. Exorcising their demons from the first two games, I-69 steamed into the lead and did not let up. Mikkala Tobiassen scored five goals as they demolished the Nuuk side 18:0; Patricia Semionsen and Niviaq Lange joined in the fun, each scoring a hat-trick as seven different players got on the scoresheet, including goalkeeper Mona Jensen.
As one would expect, the final group game between GSS and NÛK was a somewhat tighter affair, but there was a familiar name on the scoresheet - Asii Kleist Berthelsen put the champions in front just after the quarter-hour mark, but Arnaq Egede levelled after an hour, netting her eighth goal of the competition. However, any hopes NÛK had of gaining a psychological advantage going into the final were quickly snuffed out as Berthelsen quickly put GSS back in front, and then scored her third (and her twelfth of the tournament) to tie up the game with just under twenty minutes to go.
I-69 and B-67 squared up against each other in the third-place play-off, with I-69 very much the favourites to win the bronze medal, and that is exactly how it turned out, with the team from Ilulissat routing the girls from the capital.
Once the bandana-wearing Evie Lerch pounced on a loose ball in the B-67 box and fired the ball into the back of the net after five minutes, the die was cast. I-69 were six goals to the good after half an hour, and despite making a couple of good saves during that period, B-67's veteran goalkeeper Paornannguaq Jessen could have done better with three of the goals she conceded. I-69 added a further three goals before the break, with Lerch grabbing a well-deserved hat-trick, but B-67 did pull a goal back through the impressive - and ebullient - Ina Lynge Pedersen, who had tested Mona Jensen in the I-69 goal on a couple of occasions previously.
She played a one-two with the gutsy Aia Jeppsen, and then went on a run.and ran..and ran, beating one defender and dispossessing another before lifting a shot across Jensen into the far corner to open her team's account in the tournament. The celebrations after the goal were a lovely thing to witness and went on for minutes after the goal; every stoppage saw Pedersen get a high five from one of her team-mates, and also a hug and a whirl from substitute Nivi Vinther, who had just come on for the injured Tippi Ajaaja Geisler.
Alas for the girls from the capital, I-69 continued their goal-spree in the second half, adding another five goals to their tally as early substitute Karen-Louise Vetterlain completed her hat-trick, a just reward for her industry. Mikkala Tobiassen and Maila Clasen scored two apiece; they also hit the woodwork more than once, with the most bizarre miss coming when one of their substitute Niviaq Larsen got on the end of a cross in front of an empty net with goalkeeper Jessen yards away, only to somehow drive the ball against outside of the far post from three yards out, and Vetterlain hit the post seconds later. If that was bad, I-69's final goal, scored with two minutes to go before the end of the statutory 90 minutes, bordered on the farcical.
Linda Løvstrøm delivered a corner from the left-hand side, and the ended up at the far side of the six-yard box, where Monica Mathiessen shinned it forward; it first of all deflected off defender Milla Steenholdt, then rolled down the elbow of hapless team-mate Magdalina Lange, who twisted round, inadvertently back-heeled the ball towards goal, where a surprised - and equally unfortunate - Jessen, got a hand to it, but couldn't prevent it going over the line for I-69's fourteenth.
B-67 were plucky, but there was a clear difference in stamina and technical ability between the two sides. B-67, who have appeared in seven finals and lost them all, didn't qualify for the 2018 tournament, whilst I-69 didn't even enter the 2018 championship in order to rebuild after some in-club ructions and a third-place finish in 2017.
If B-67 can keep hold of the likes of Ina Lynge Pedersen, Nivinnguaq Rasmussen and Juliet Egede, there is a good chance that they will eventually have the makings of a decent team. As it was, all of them, plus the evergreen Louise Jakobsen, who played very well, especially in the second half when she drove the team on, gave the I-69 defence some headaches late on, and captain Laakki Egede did her best to steady the ship at the back alongside namesake Juliet, encouraging one and all to keep their heads up even in the face of inevitable and heavy defeat.And, this team definitely has character; they defended stubbornly and kept trying to pile forward in numbers whilst playing some good football at times. If improvement can be made with regard to all-round fitness and technical skills, this team could go a long way. The enthusiasm is there.
I-69 have some good up-and-coming players, and it will not be a surprise if the team from Ilulissat are back where they would say they belong before too long. Karen-Louise Vetterlain, Mikkala Tobiassen, Evi Lerch, Patricia Semionsen and Linda Løvstrøm are experienced players who will help bring the new generation through, and there are some promising players in the squad. Monika Iversen, the youngest player in the tournament at just 14 years and a couple of weeks old, Niviaq Larsen and Maila Clasen are just three of those who will, all being well, help shape the future of Greenlandic football for years to come, perhaps even at national level.
Both teams employed a mix of youth and experience; B-67 had the two oldest players in the tournament with the 58-year-old Jessen in goal and Johanne Thorning also in the squad, and Najaaraq Nielsen joining them in the over-50s club. A total of seven players in B-67's squad were over 35 years old, whilst a further seven were 16 or under when the tournament began. Seven of I-69's squad at the championship play-offs were under 16, with Iversen, Larsen and Monica Mathiessen all just 14 years old; three of the squad were over 30 years old. (One small note, however, and it has nothing to do with the players of either team, rather their kit; it would be better for everyone watching matches at the tournament in future if the numbers on the back of the shirts were legible.)
Both I-69 and B-67 will challenge for the title at some point in the future, but at this tournament, it was all about holders GSS and city rivals NÛK, and GSS were looking to retain the title they won for the very first time last year. NÛK, meanwhile, were aiming to regain the title they last won in 2017; title win this time would be their eleventh overall. GSS dominated the first half, with Asii Kleist Berthelsen, Nivi Fleischer Berthelsen and Najaaja Anja Lyberth running the show; Maanguaq Pedersen, Victoria Black and Christina Lange performing heroics for NÛK. Kleist Berthelsen scored with a free-kick which was probably more meant to be a ball into the box, but the flight of the ball deceived Annalunnguaq Møch and it floated over her head and into the back of the net.
NÛK dominated the last 5-10 minutes of the first half, and early on in the second half, Black headed in from a corner-kick, beating the keeper and a defender to the ball to bring NÛK level to cue her being mobbed by delirious team-mates.
Shortly afterwards, NÛK almost took the lead. After a determined run down the left from Egede, she shook off Lykke Hansen and passed the ball into Aili Pedersen, who evaded the attentions of Nivi Fleischer Berthelsen on the left-hand side of the box before digging the ball from between her feet and scuffing the ball towards goal from 15 yards out. The ball trundled towards goal and beat Nivi Petersen, who ponderously flopped to the ground in an attempt to get to the ball, and she got enough of a touch on the ball to divert it on to the inside of the post and away to safety.
After a bit of a lull in play, NÛK began to get more of the ball, though Aili Pedersen was booked for a flying tackle on Juanita Fleischer before Arnaq Egede for NÛK and Asii Kleist Berthelsen sent the ball into orbit with shots on goal at either end.
And, then, against the run of play, GSS took the lead, and the goal was truly something to admire. Truth be told, it was all the work of captain Najaaja Anja Lyberth, and it began when she dispossessed Christina Lange on the left-hand touchline ten yards from the edge of her penalty-area. She simply cut through the NÛK midfield, beating another four players before darting into the opposition box and poking the ball past the hesitant Mørch.
With seven minutes left on the clock, GSS scored a third goal, and Lyberth was again heavily involved, going on yet another rumbustious run before indulging in a one-two with Pillunguaq Broberg and laying the ball in the path of Kleist Berthelsen, who let fly from some thirty yards. Despite the best efforts of players such as Black, Karo Dahl and the effervescent Pedersen, there was no way back for NÛK. As the clock ticked down, GSS were in the ascendancy. Nivi Fleischer Berthelsen had been called to the line and was replaced by Vivi Fleischer, who has been suffering from a rare, debilitating illness for a couple of years and was continuing to receive treatment, but like last year, she had proved her worth in the squad and it was a heartwarming way to end the tournament.
It was a good sporting game played at a good tempo but with relatively few chances. Two players were booked: NÛK's Aili Pedersen for a late lunge which took out her opponent, and, perhaps a little more unusually, GSS' Nuunu-Marie Lukassen for leaving the field without the referee's permission to put on a pair of leggings.
NÛK are a good side, and have improved from last year; many of the players are at, or are approaching, the peak of their careers and the team has gelled well, playing some good football into the bargain. They have a clutch of young players who featured in this tournament alongside those already mentioned here, such as Dahl, Black and Pedersen - plus, of course, Arnaq Egede, who was the team's top scorer and who proved her worth in the group stage - and they will be there or thereabouts for the foreseeable future.
As, of course, will GSS. Perhaps they weren't quite as convincing as in 2018, but they deservedly won the 2019 championship and have a formidable squad. Asii Kleist Berthelsen is enjoying a successful career in Denmark with Fortuna Hjørring (she is also now a Danish under-16 international) and comes back to Greenland during the off-season to play for the girls in green.
Apart from being a terrific distributor of the ball, she still knows where the goal is, as does the lively Najaaja Anja Lyberth; others, such as Juanita Fleischer, Nunuu-Marie Lukassen and Pillunguaq Broberg, can also score goals but there is so much more to their play. They also have a strong trio of Hansen, Ulla Kleist and Andrea Andreassen Karlsen in defence, playing in front of a very competent goalkeeper in Nivi Pedersen. GSS are probably also the fittest team in local women's football; moonlighting as a team of national handball champions certainly does no harm, either.
All augurs well for both GSS and B-67 for this year's tournament, which, the Corona virus notwithstanding, will take place in Sisimuit in the last week of July. It will be difficult to envisage the tournament without either team. One can understand the KAK's decision to limit participation in the women's tournament to four teams, especially with factors such as travel costs rising, the population of East Greenland decreasing and the unwillingness of spectators to watch one-sided matches, but it can only be to the long-term detriment of the women's game in Greenland if only four teams compete in the final stages of a national championship.
There is a steadily increasing pool of female talent in the country, and the only way for that to increase further and improve is to give more teams the chance to take part in tournaments, to give them something to aim for. Might sending an East Greenland combination, drawn from all of the clubs on the east coast, be an option in future?
GROUP STAGE
29/07/19 NÛK 11:0 B-67 (Arnaq Egede 5, Pilu Chemnitz 3, Aili Pedersen 2, Karo Dahl)
29/07/19 GSS 7:1 I-69 (Najaaja Anja Lyberth 2, Asii Kleist Berthelsen 2, Nunuu-Marie Lukassen 2, Aviana Kajangmat; Paneeraq Fleischer)
30/07/19 GSS 15:0 B-67 (Asii Kleist Berthelsen 7, Nuunu-Marie Lukassen 3, Juanita Fleischer 2, Pilunnguaq Broberg 2, Karla Marcussen)
30/07/19 NÛK 6:0 I-69 (Arnaq Egede 2, Emma Hansen 2, Aili Pedersen, Karo Dahl)
31/07/18 B-67 0:18 I-69 (Mikkala Tobiassen 5, Patricia Semionsen 3, Niviaq Lange 3, Maila Clasen 2, Monika Iversen 2, Linda Løvstrøm 2, Mona Jensen)
31/01/19 GSS 3:1 NÛK (Asa Kleist Berthelsen 3; Arnaq Egede)
THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF
I-69 14:1 B-67 (Evi Lerch 3, Karen-Louise Vetterlain 3, Maila Clasen 2, Mikkala Tobiassen 2, Linda Løvstrøm, Pilunnguaq Magnussen, Niviaq Larsen, Magdalina Lange OG; Ina Lynge Pedersen)
I-69: 1 Mona JENSEN; 5 Monika IVERSEN, 7 Mikkala TOBIASSEN, 8 Linda LØVSTRØM, 11 Patricia SEMIONSEN (9 Karen-Louise VETTERLAIN), 12 Karla MØRCH (wore 16)(26 Ivalo JØRGENSEN), 14 Evi LERCH (3 Niviaq LARSEN), 15 Heidi JENSEN (C), 18 Maila CLASEN, 23 Paneeraq FLEISCHER (2 Marie BROBERG), 34 Pilunnguaq MAGNUSSEN (6 Monica MATHIESSEN)
B-67: 71 Paornannguaq JESSEN; 5 Tippu Ajaaja GEISLER (10 Nivi VINTHER), 7 Marie MARTINSEN (wore 16) (18 Magdaline LANGE), 8 Sara Maria KREUTZMANN, 9 Arnannguaq OLSEN (19 Juliet EGEDE), 11 Nivinnguaq RASMUSSEN, 17 Ina LYNGE PEDERSEN, 28 Aia JEPPSON (6 Milla STEENHOLDT), 33 Laakki EGEDE (C), 78 Louise JAKOBSEN (wore 2), 84 Laura LYNGE (1 Agot LARSEN)
YELLOW CARD: Linda Løvstrøm (I-69)
FINAL
GSS 3:1 NÛK (Asii Kleist Berthelsen 2, Najaaja Anja Lyberth; Victoria Black)
GSS: 8 Nivi PETERSEN; 2 Nuunu-Marie LUKASSEN, 3 Andrea KARLSEN, 6 Asii KLEIST BERTHELSEN, 7 Ulla KLEIST, 10 Nivi FLEISCHER BERTHELSEN (11 Vivi FLEISCHER), 13 Karla MARCUSSEN, 16 Juanita FLEISCHER, 18 Pilunnguaq BROBERG, 25 Najaaja Anja LYBERTH(C), 29 Lykke F HANSEN
NÛK: 1 Arnaalunnguaq MØRCH; 2 Lisa LIND (28 Emma HANSEN), 3 Maannguaq PEDERSEN (17 Inni KLEIST), 5 Aaqa Q MARKUSSEN (43 Pilu CHEMNITZ), 7 Karo DAHL (C), 9 Aili PEDERSEN, 10 Christina V LANGE, 13 Annica Q JENSEN, 14 Arnaq B EGEDE (22 Ajaana KLEEMANN), 15 Laila BRANDT, 18 Victoria BLACK
YELLOW CARD: Nuunu-Marie Lukassen (GSS); Aili Pedersen (NÛK)
REFEREE: Lars Frederik LUNDBLAD
LINESMEN: John MØLLER; Lars KILIME
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Angerdla POULSEN
SQUADS (where known)
B-67: 1 Agot LARSEN, 71 Paornannguaq JESSEN; 2 Rasmine BERTHELSEN, 5 Tippu Ajaaja GEISLER, 6 Milla STEENHOLDT, 7 Marie MARTINSEN, 8 Sara Maria KREUTZMANN, 9 Arnannguaq OLSEN, 10 Nivi VINTHER, 11 Nivinnguaq RASMUSSEN, 17 Ina Lynge PEDERSEN, 18 Magdaline LANGE, 19 Juliet EGEDE, 21 Johanne THORNING, 28 Aia JEPPSEN, 33 Laakki EGEDE, 61 Aili Liimakka LAUE, 65 Najaaraq NIELSEN, 72 Nivi MATHIASSEN, 78 Louise JAKOBSEN, 84 Laura LYNGE
GSS: 8 Nivi PETERSEN; 2 Nuunu-Marie LUKASSEN, 3 Andrea ANDREASSEN KARLSEN, 6 Asii KLEIST BERTHELSEN, 7 Ulla KLEIST, 9 Aviana KAJANGMAT, 10 Nivi FLEISCHER BERTHELSEN, 11 Vivi FLEISCHER, 13 Karla MARCUSSEN, 17 Sandra THORLEIFSEN, 18 Pilunnguaq BROBERG, 25 Najaaja Anja LYBERTH, 26 Juanita FLEISCHER, 29 Lykke F HANSEN, 89 Nivi FLY
I-69: 1 Mona JENSEN; 2 Marie BROBERG, 3 Niviaq LARSEN, 5 Monika IVERSEN, 6 Monica MATHIESSEN, 7 Mikkala TOBIASSEN, 8 Linda LØVSTRØM, 9 Karen-Louise VETTERLAIN, 11 Patricia SEMIONSEN, 12 Karla MØRCH, 14 Evi LERCH, 15 Heidi JENSEN, 16 Rona SKADE, 18 Maila CLASEN, 23 Paneeraq FLEISCHER, 26 Ivalo JØRGENSEN, 34 Pilunnguaq MAGNUSSEN
NÛK: 1 Arnaalunnguaq MØRCH; 2 Lisa LIND, 3 Mannguaq PEDERSEN, 4 Aili H PLATOU, 5 Aaqa Q MARKUSSEN, 6 Camilla ????, 7 Karo DAHL, 8 Ungaaq AMONDSEN, 9 Aili PEDERSEN, 10 Christina LANGE, 11 Aviana BJEREGAARD, 13 Annica JENSEN, 14 Arnaq EGEDE, 15 Laila BRANDT, 17 Inni KLEIST, 18 Victoria BLACK, 21 Oline MARTINSEN, 22 Ajaana KLEEMANN, 25 Aaqa KVIST MARKUSSEN, 28 Emma HANSEN, 43 Pilu CHEMNITZ
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The squad-lists were gleaned from the KAK website; all being well, any gaps will be filled in in due course. Any errors or omissions (and there will doubtless be a few) will be corrected as and when notified. Other information came from Sermitsiaq, KNR and Facebook.
Three of the four teams who made it through to the "Final 4", as the tournament was christened - champions GSS, last year's runners-up NÛK and B-67 - featured in last year's edition, whilst I-69, who, along with NÛK, had dominated Greenlandic women's football in recent years but who had declined to take part in last year's competition due to a lack of interest and a decision to rebuild the team, made it through the regional qualifiers to have a crack at regaining top spot. The other three teams qualified via the Mid-Greenland regional championship.
B-67 finished runners-up in 2017, though the bulk of the team played for GSS' all-conquering handball side as their club didn't have a women's team at the time. Once this was established, they defected to GSS and won last year's tournament with ease. B-67's squad was a mix of youth and experience, with a clutch of players under 16 years old. At least four of the squad over 40 years old, and two of them were in their mid-50s. They were swept aside by NÛK, a team eager to gain revenge for last year's 6:1 drubbing in the final against GSS, and got off to a flying start, scoring eleven against B-67 without reply, Arnaq Egede scoring five of their total and Pilu Chemnitz bagging a hat-trick.
Many of the GSS squad had also starred in their national championship triumph three months before the football tournament began. They beat NÛK in the final, and several of the losing side then would be also taking part in this competition for NÛK. GSS' footballers started their title defence in some style, beating I-69 7:1; their 15-year-old goal-machine Asii Kleist Berthelsen, now resident in Denmark and playing for Danish champions Hjørring, continued her fine goalscoring form at national championships by scoring twice, as did Najaaja Anja Lyberth and Nunuu-Marie Lukassen.
Berthelsen scored seven, Lukassen scored a hat-trick and Juanita Fleischer and Pillunguaq Broberg each scored twice as GSS swept aside B-67 15:0 in their next match, as they qualified for the final with ease, where they would meet NÛK, who disposed of I-69 by six goals to nil. Arnaq Egede and Emma Hansen scored a brace apiece for the northerners.
The final of round of group matches were little more than dress-rehearsals for both the final and the third-place play-off; the latter would feature I-69 and B-67, and the match gave B-67 a taste of what they could expect in the third-place match as I-69 simply ran riot. Exorcising their demons from the first two games, I-69 steamed into the lead and did not let up. Mikkala Tobiassen scored five goals as they demolished the Nuuk side 18:0; Patricia Semionsen and Niviaq Lange joined in the fun, each scoring a hat-trick as seven different players got on the scoresheet, including goalkeeper Mona Jensen.
As one would expect, the final group game between GSS and NÛK was a somewhat tighter affair, but there was a familiar name on the scoresheet - Asii Kleist Berthelsen put the champions in front just after the quarter-hour mark, but Arnaq Egede levelled after an hour, netting her eighth goal of the competition. However, any hopes NÛK had of gaining a psychological advantage going into the final were quickly snuffed out as Berthelsen quickly put GSS back in front, and then scored her third (and her twelfth of the tournament) to tie up the game with just under twenty minutes to go.
I-69 and B-67 squared up against each other in the third-place play-off, with I-69 very much the favourites to win the bronze medal, and that is exactly how it turned out, with the team from Ilulissat routing the girls from the capital.
Once the bandana-wearing Evie Lerch pounced on a loose ball in the B-67 box and fired the ball into the back of the net after five minutes, the die was cast. I-69 were six goals to the good after half an hour, and despite making a couple of good saves during that period, B-67's veteran goalkeeper Paornannguaq Jessen could have done better with three of the goals she conceded. I-69 added a further three goals before the break, with Lerch grabbing a well-deserved hat-trick, but B-67 did pull a goal back through the impressive - and ebullient - Ina Lynge Pedersen, who had tested Mona Jensen in the I-69 goal on a couple of occasions previously.
She played a one-two with the gutsy Aia Jeppsen, and then went on a run.and ran..and ran, beating one defender and dispossessing another before lifting a shot across Jensen into the far corner to open her team's account in the tournament. The celebrations after the goal were a lovely thing to witness and went on for minutes after the goal; every stoppage saw Pedersen get a high five from one of her team-mates, and also a hug and a whirl from substitute Nivi Vinther, who had just come on for the injured Tippi Ajaaja Geisler.
Alas for the girls from the capital, I-69 continued their goal-spree in the second half, adding another five goals to their tally as early substitute Karen-Louise Vetterlain completed her hat-trick, a just reward for her industry. Mikkala Tobiassen and Maila Clasen scored two apiece; they also hit the woodwork more than once, with the most bizarre miss coming when one of their substitute Niviaq Larsen got on the end of a cross in front of an empty net with goalkeeper Jessen yards away, only to somehow drive the ball against outside of the far post from three yards out, and Vetterlain hit the post seconds later. If that was bad, I-69's final goal, scored with two minutes to go before the end of the statutory 90 minutes, bordered on the farcical.
Linda Løvstrøm delivered a corner from the left-hand side, and the ended up at the far side of the six-yard box, where Monica Mathiessen shinned it forward; it first of all deflected off defender Milla Steenholdt, then rolled down the elbow of hapless team-mate Magdalina Lange, who twisted round, inadvertently back-heeled the ball towards goal, where a surprised - and equally unfortunate - Jessen, got a hand to it, but couldn't prevent it going over the line for I-69's fourteenth.
B-67 were plucky, but there was a clear difference in stamina and technical ability between the two sides. B-67, who have appeared in seven finals and lost them all, didn't qualify for the 2018 tournament, whilst I-69 didn't even enter the 2018 championship in order to rebuild after some in-club ructions and a third-place finish in 2017.
If B-67 can keep hold of the likes of Ina Lynge Pedersen, Nivinnguaq Rasmussen and Juliet Egede, there is a good chance that they will eventually have the makings of a decent team. As it was, all of them, plus the evergreen Louise Jakobsen, who played very well, especially in the second half when she drove the team on, gave the I-69 defence some headaches late on, and captain Laakki Egede did her best to steady the ship at the back alongside namesake Juliet, encouraging one and all to keep their heads up even in the face of inevitable and heavy defeat.And, this team definitely has character; they defended stubbornly and kept trying to pile forward in numbers whilst playing some good football at times. If improvement can be made with regard to all-round fitness and technical skills, this team could go a long way. The enthusiasm is there.
I-69 have some good up-and-coming players, and it will not be a surprise if the team from Ilulissat are back where they would say they belong before too long. Karen-Louise Vetterlain, Mikkala Tobiassen, Evi Lerch, Patricia Semionsen and Linda Løvstrøm are experienced players who will help bring the new generation through, and there are some promising players in the squad. Monika Iversen, the youngest player in the tournament at just 14 years and a couple of weeks old, Niviaq Larsen and Maila Clasen are just three of those who will, all being well, help shape the future of Greenlandic football for years to come, perhaps even at national level.
Both teams employed a mix of youth and experience; B-67 had the two oldest players in the tournament with the 58-year-old Jessen in goal and Johanne Thorning also in the squad, and Najaaraq Nielsen joining them in the over-50s club. A total of seven players in B-67's squad were over 35 years old, whilst a further seven were 16 or under when the tournament began. Seven of I-69's squad at the championship play-offs were under 16, with Iversen, Larsen and Monica Mathiessen all just 14 years old; three of the squad were over 30 years old. (One small note, however, and it has nothing to do with the players of either team, rather their kit; it would be better for everyone watching matches at the tournament in future if the numbers on the back of the shirts were legible.)
Both I-69 and B-67 will challenge for the title at some point in the future, but at this tournament, it was all about holders GSS and city rivals NÛK, and GSS were looking to retain the title they won for the very first time last year. NÛK, meanwhile, were aiming to regain the title they last won in 2017; title win this time would be their eleventh overall. GSS dominated the first half, with Asii Kleist Berthelsen, Nivi Fleischer Berthelsen and Najaaja Anja Lyberth running the show; Maanguaq Pedersen, Victoria Black and Christina Lange performing heroics for NÛK. Kleist Berthelsen scored with a free-kick which was probably more meant to be a ball into the box, but the flight of the ball deceived Annalunnguaq Møch and it floated over her head and into the back of the net.
NÛK dominated the last 5-10 minutes of the first half, and early on in the second half, Black headed in from a corner-kick, beating the keeper and a defender to the ball to bring NÛK level to cue her being mobbed by delirious team-mates.
Shortly afterwards, NÛK almost took the lead. After a determined run down the left from Egede, she shook off Lykke Hansen and passed the ball into Aili Pedersen, who evaded the attentions of Nivi Fleischer Berthelsen on the left-hand side of the box before digging the ball from between her feet and scuffing the ball towards goal from 15 yards out. The ball trundled towards goal and beat Nivi Petersen, who ponderously flopped to the ground in an attempt to get to the ball, and she got enough of a touch on the ball to divert it on to the inside of the post and away to safety.
After a bit of a lull in play, NÛK began to get more of the ball, though Aili Pedersen was booked for a flying tackle on Juanita Fleischer before Arnaq Egede for NÛK and Asii Kleist Berthelsen sent the ball into orbit with shots on goal at either end.
And, then, against the run of play, GSS took the lead, and the goal was truly something to admire. Truth be told, it was all the work of captain Najaaja Anja Lyberth, and it began when she dispossessed Christina Lange on the left-hand touchline ten yards from the edge of her penalty-area. She simply cut through the NÛK midfield, beating another four players before darting into the opposition box and poking the ball past the hesitant Mørch.
With seven minutes left on the clock, GSS scored a third goal, and Lyberth was again heavily involved, going on yet another rumbustious run before indulging in a one-two with Pillunguaq Broberg and laying the ball in the path of Kleist Berthelsen, who let fly from some thirty yards. Despite the best efforts of players such as Black, Karo Dahl and the effervescent Pedersen, there was no way back for NÛK. As the clock ticked down, GSS were in the ascendancy. Nivi Fleischer Berthelsen had been called to the line and was replaced by Vivi Fleischer, who has been suffering from a rare, debilitating illness for a couple of years and was continuing to receive treatment, but like last year, she had proved her worth in the squad and it was a heartwarming way to end the tournament.
It was a good sporting game played at a good tempo but with relatively few chances. Two players were booked: NÛK's Aili Pedersen for a late lunge which took out her opponent, and, perhaps a little more unusually, GSS' Nuunu-Marie Lukassen for leaving the field without the referee's permission to put on a pair of leggings.
NÛK are a good side, and have improved from last year; many of the players are at, or are approaching, the peak of their careers and the team has gelled well, playing some good football into the bargain. They have a clutch of young players who featured in this tournament alongside those already mentioned here, such as Dahl, Black and Pedersen - plus, of course, Arnaq Egede, who was the team's top scorer and who proved her worth in the group stage - and they will be there or thereabouts for the foreseeable future.
As, of course, will GSS. Perhaps they weren't quite as convincing as in 2018, but they deservedly won the 2019 championship and have a formidable squad. Asii Kleist Berthelsen is enjoying a successful career in Denmark with Fortuna Hjørring (she is also now a Danish under-16 international) and comes back to Greenland during the off-season to play for the girls in green.
Apart from being a terrific distributor of the ball, she still knows where the goal is, as does the lively Najaaja Anja Lyberth; others, such as Juanita Fleischer, Nunuu-Marie Lukassen and Pillunguaq Broberg, can also score goals but there is so much more to their play. They also have a strong trio of Hansen, Ulla Kleist and Andrea Andreassen Karlsen in defence, playing in front of a very competent goalkeeper in Nivi Pedersen. GSS are probably also the fittest team in local women's football; moonlighting as a team of national handball champions certainly does no harm, either.
All augurs well for both GSS and B-67 for this year's tournament, which, the Corona virus notwithstanding, will take place in Sisimuit in the last week of July. It will be difficult to envisage the tournament without either team. One can understand the KAK's decision to limit participation in the women's tournament to four teams, especially with factors such as travel costs rising, the population of East Greenland decreasing and the unwillingness of spectators to watch one-sided matches, but it can only be to the long-term detriment of the women's game in Greenland if only four teams compete in the final stages of a national championship.
There is a steadily increasing pool of female talent in the country, and the only way for that to increase further and improve is to give more teams the chance to take part in tournaments, to give them something to aim for. Might sending an East Greenland combination, drawn from all of the clubs on the east coast, be an option in future?
GROUP STAGE
29/07/19 NÛK 11:0 B-67 (Arnaq Egede 5, Pilu Chemnitz 3, Aili Pedersen 2, Karo Dahl)
29/07/19 GSS 7:1 I-69 (Najaaja Anja Lyberth 2, Asii Kleist Berthelsen 2, Nunuu-Marie Lukassen 2, Aviana Kajangmat; Paneeraq Fleischer)
30/07/19 GSS 15:0 B-67 (Asii Kleist Berthelsen 7, Nuunu-Marie Lukassen 3, Juanita Fleischer 2, Pilunnguaq Broberg 2, Karla Marcussen)
30/07/19 NÛK 6:0 I-69 (Arnaq Egede 2, Emma Hansen 2, Aili Pedersen, Karo Dahl)
31/07/18 B-67 0:18 I-69 (Mikkala Tobiassen 5, Patricia Semionsen 3, Niviaq Lange 3, Maila Clasen 2, Monika Iversen 2, Linda Løvstrøm 2, Mona Jensen)
31/01/19 GSS 3:1 NÛK (Asa Kleist Berthelsen 3; Arnaq Egede)
TEAM
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
GD
|
GSS
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
25
|
2
|
9
|
23
|
NÛK
|
3
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
18
|
3
|
6
|
15
|
I-69
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
19
|
13
|
3
|
6
|
B-67
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
44
|
0
|
-44
|
THIRD-PLACE PLAY-OFF
I-69 14:1 B-67 (Evi Lerch 3, Karen-Louise Vetterlain 3, Maila Clasen 2, Mikkala Tobiassen 2, Linda Løvstrøm, Pilunnguaq Magnussen, Niviaq Larsen, Magdalina Lange OG; Ina Lynge Pedersen)
I-69: 1 Mona JENSEN; 5 Monika IVERSEN, 7 Mikkala TOBIASSEN, 8 Linda LØVSTRØM, 11 Patricia SEMIONSEN (9 Karen-Louise VETTERLAIN), 12 Karla MØRCH (wore 16)(26 Ivalo JØRGENSEN), 14 Evi LERCH (3 Niviaq LARSEN), 15 Heidi JENSEN (C), 18 Maila CLASEN, 23 Paneeraq FLEISCHER (2 Marie BROBERG), 34 Pilunnguaq MAGNUSSEN (6 Monica MATHIESSEN)
B-67: 71 Paornannguaq JESSEN; 5 Tippu Ajaaja GEISLER (10 Nivi VINTHER), 7 Marie MARTINSEN (wore 16) (18 Magdaline LANGE), 8 Sara Maria KREUTZMANN, 9 Arnannguaq OLSEN (19 Juliet EGEDE), 11 Nivinnguaq RASMUSSEN, 17 Ina LYNGE PEDERSEN, 28 Aia JEPPSON (6 Milla STEENHOLDT), 33 Laakki EGEDE (C), 78 Louise JAKOBSEN (wore 2), 84 Laura LYNGE (1 Agot LARSEN)
YELLOW CARD: Linda Løvstrøm (I-69)
FINAL
GSS 3:1 NÛK (Asii Kleist Berthelsen 2, Najaaja Anja Lyberth; Victoria Black)
GSS: 8 Nivi PETERSEN; 2 Nuunu-Marie LUKASSEN, 3 Andrea KARLSEN, 6 Asii KLEIST BERTHELSEN, 7 Ulla KLEIST, 10 Nivi FLEISCHER BERTHELSEN (11 Vivi FLEISCHER), 13 Karla MARCUSSEN, 16 Juanita FLEISCHER, 18 Pilunnguaq BROBERG, 25 Najaaja Anja LYBERTH(C), 29 Lykke F HANSEN
NÛK: 1 Arnaalunnguaq MØRCH; 2 Lisa LIND (28 Emma HANSEN), 3 Maannguaq PEDERSEN (17 Inni KLEIST), 5 Aaqa Q MARKUSSEN (43 Pilu CHEMNITZ), 7 Karo DAHL (C), 9 Aili PEDERSEN, 10 Christina V LANGE, 13 Annica Q JENSEN, 14 Arnaq B EGEDE (22 Ajaana KLEEMANN), 15 Laila BRANDT, 18 Victoria BLACK
YELLOW CARD: Nuunu-Marie Lukassen (GSS); Aili Pedersen (NÛK)
REFEREE: Lars Frederik LUNDBLAD
LINESMEN: John MØLLER; Lars KILIME
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Angerdla POULSEN
SQUADS (where known)
B-67: 1 Agot LARSEN, 71 Paornannguaq JESSEN; 2 Rasmine BERTHELSEN, 5 Tippu Ajaaja GEISLER, 6 Milla STEENHOLDT, 7 Marie MARTINSEN, 8 Sara Maria KREUTZMANN, 9 Arnannguaq OLSEN, 10 Nivi VINTHER, 11 Nivinnguaq RASMUSSEN, 17 Ina Lynge PEDERSEN, 18 Magdaline LANGE, 19 Juliet EGEDE, 21 Johanne THORNING, 28 Aia JEPPSEN, 33 Laakki EGEDE, 61 Aili Liimakka LAUE, 65 Najaaraq NIELSEN, 72 Nivi MATHIASSEN, 78 Louise JAKOBSEN, 84 Laura LYNGE
GSS: 8 Nivi PETERSEN; 2 Nuunu-Marie LUKASSEN, 3 Andrea ANDREASSEN KARLSEN, 6 Asii KLEIST BERTHELSEN, 7 Ulla KLEIST, 9 Aviana KAJANGMAT, 10 Nivi FLEISCHER BERTHELSEN, 11 Vivi FLEISCHER, 13 Karla MARCUSSEN, 17 Sandra THORLEIFSEN, 18 Pilunnguaq BROBERG, 25 Najaaja Anja LYBERTH, 26 Juanita FLEISCHER, 29 Lykke F HANSEN, 89 Nivi FLY
I-69: 1 Mona JENSEN; 2 Marie BROBERG, 3 Niviaq LARSEN, 5 Monika IVERSEN, 6 Monica MATHIESSEN, 7 Mikkala TOBIASSEN, 8 Linda LØVSTRØM, 9 Karen-Louise VETTERLAIN, 11 Patricia SEMIONSEN, 12 Karla MØRCH, 14 Evi LERCH, 15 Heidi JENSEN, 16 Rona SKADE, 18 Maila CLASEN, 23 Paneeraq FLEISCHER, 26 Ivalo JØRGENSEN, 34 Pilunnguaq MAGNUSSEN
NÛK: 1 Arnaalunnguaq MØRCH; 2 Lisa LIND, 3 Mannguaq PEDERSEN, 4 Aili H PLATOU, 5 Aaqa Q MARKUSSEN, 6 Camilla ????, 7 Karo DAHL, 8 Ungaaq AMONDSEN, 9 Aili PEDERSEN, 10 Christina LANGE, 11 Aviana BJEREGAARD, 13 Annica JENSEN, 14 Arnaq EGEDE, 15 Laila BRANDT, 17 Inni KLEIST, 18 Victoria BLACK, 21 Oline MARTINSEN, 22 Ajaana KLEEMANN, 25 Aaqa KVIST MARKUSSEN, 28 Emma HANSEN, 43 Pilu CHEMNITZ
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: The squad-lists were gleaned from the KAK website; all being well, any gaps will be filled in in due course. Any errors or omissions (and there will doubtless be a few) will be corrected as and when notified. Other information came from Sermitsiaq, KNR and Facebook.
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