Our group win put us up next against Floya of Norway, who finished second in a tough group that included Reading FC of England. We were scheduled to play at the main site. This may be hard to believe, but Hjorring actually has 4 full-time soccer or sports clubs that flourish in spite of its relatively small population: Fortuna Hjorring, Hjorring Idraetsforening (or Hjorring IF), FREM, and FC Hjorring. The main site is comprised of the fields for the first three clubs listed above, which actually lie immediately adjacent to one another, separated only by rows of hedges and trees. Within each enclosure are anywhere from 2 to 5 fields, and each set of fields leads invitingly to a generous clubhouse complete with restaurant, changing rooms, and club offices.
These fields are treasured by the community; theyare a focal point of their daily existence. The great care taken to prepare these fields this year has been thwarted by the weather. Europe is having a summer whose weather extremes are of historic proportions. In southern Europe, a heat wave and drought have set off a series of wildfires in resort towns in both Italy and Greece that have claimed the lives of several vacationers. In northern Europe and the British Isles, by contrast, rain has been perpetual, with the Thames rising to a level higher than any recorded in over 240 years! The flooding in Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire has forced the government to mobilize the military to deliver drinkable water to the region. These stories have made the headlines every day since arriving in Denmark. We have not encountered those extremes ourselves, but every day has had periods of heavy drizzle or blustery rain interrupted by bright sunlight. There has been more rain here in the first three days than I can remember in all my three prior trips combined. Despite the groundskeepers best efforts, the fields have become torn and bumpy, but are still a measure above what we practice on! Another challenge we have to overcome, but in this case one where we may have an advantage over some of our more pampered opponents.
Pampered is probably not an adjective that would apply to Floya however. They arrived in a very determined and serious mood, singing and chanting throughout their entire 30 minute warm-up. It was a spectacle whose precision would make some armies seem amateurish. They were big, and clearly prided themselves on their fitness, teamwork and physicality. Our girls were clearly distracted, if not shaken by what they saw. I tried to remind them that these games weren't won by singing, but by playing. I was willing to concede Floya the talent competition; I wanted to be sure we were ready to win the soccer competition.
But the start of the game quickly showed that Floya's intimidation tactics had had their desired effect. We were buffetted by the wind and by Floya from one side of the field to the other. These Norwegians surely looked like the toughest team we had played since arriving in Europe. We had by now, however, developed a bit of grit ourselves. We have learned again and again the value of a reliable defense. We are confident of keeping ourselves in a game long enough to figure out some way to win. This game was a prime example of how our character and self-belief has grown during this tour.
Floya earned two dangerous corners within the first ten minutes, and a free kick saved by Jordan in minute 21. Aside from those chances though, and despite us being unable to answer offensively, we kept Floya at bay. They held a significant shot advantage at halftime; adjustments definitely had to be made.
We decided to squeeze our midfield centrally, and gain our width instead from our outside forwards. Our objective now was to try to win the challenges in the central midfield, then quickly combine there in search of a way to play someone in immediately behind their outside backs, against whom I though we had an advantage in speed. Erin, Mac and Shanna would be critical to the success of this plan, we needed desperately to bring the central midfield battle over to our side.
The early results looked promising. We earned an indirect free kick in their penalty area after Liz was obstructed while competing for one of those penetrating passes we now were keyed to make. The ensuing kick was blocked away, and Floya showed they were not done yet by forcing Anna to clear a ball off our line just minutes later. But gradually our adjustments shifted the battle. We were now getting chances regularly. A cross from Jen in minute 6 narrowly failed to connect; we won two corners but could not convert. Erin shot over from distance, Kaylie and Jen were both saved by the Floya keeper. Another great cross from Jen gave Beth a chance, but her effort too was saved. It was Floya who were now short of a reply. We were pushing and pushing, until finally the fortress was breached in the final minute! After a now typical midfield combination gave her time, Shanna struck a low shot toward the far post from just outside the box. The keeper reached the skidding ball well, but could not secure it. It spilled into the path of Jen, who decided to see how slowly she could redirect the ball over the goal line. Stefan and I choked each other into unconsciousness during the time it took the ball to cross the line just ahead of a Floya defender's effort to clear it. When we were later revived, Jen assured us she knew it was in the whole time. There was now time added on, but only another near miss from Jen was notable in the final minutes. We had advanced to the quarterfinals for the second international tournament in a row!
Floya were devastated. This was not a pretty win. It was a real grind. It was also the biggest heart we've ever shown. It was our tenacity and committment to each other that won the day. I don't know that the girls have ever had a greater sense of accomplishment after a game.
LISC 1 Floya 0
Shots: LISC 8 Floya 7
Shots on target: LISC 6 Floya 4
Goal: Guy
Assists: Hutchison
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