It was still a completely open match between Vittsjö and Eskilstuna when Norwegian Joanna Bækkelund received the ball in her own half in the 64th minute. The Eskilstunabacken thought she had the situation under control when she played the ball home towards her own goal, but missed that goalkeeper Katie Fraine ran outside the penalty area.
The hard-hit pass passed Fraine and seasoned striker Clara Markstedt hit directly. The 33-year-old stayed one step ahead of the American goalkeeper and lunged forward to make it 1-0 to the home team in an open goal.
— I felt that “if she plays it home, I’ll join in and push”. Fortunately, it was a not so great home adjustment, so then it was just a matter of running, says goal scorer Markstedt to Viaplay.
In the 84th minute, Finnish Jutta Rantala then punctuated the match when she made it 2-0 on a volley.
Eskilstuna needed three points to catch third place Kristianstad (39 points) in the fight for the last Champions League place in the women’s league. Now they remain at 29, the same number as Vittsjö, who with the victory also took over sixth place in the table, with nine rounds left to play.