The Girls 2009 Invitational took place in Kristinehamn during the weekend of 13-15 January. Just a quick glance at the starting field would give any football fan goosebumps. HJK, Hammarby, FC Nordstjälland, Djurgården, BP, you get the idea. The stage was set for a party. A football party.
Group stage
The group stage started on Friday and the first match was played in Group D between Kaapo of Finland and Viggbyholm IK FF. Kaapo emerged victorious from that match and would, it turned out, be difficult to stop to say the least. In the group, Kaapo and "Viggan" were joined by Holmen from Norway and Djurgården.
Group C was next and the first match played in that group was between Eriksbergs IF and FC Espoo from Finland. Espoo won that match and the group was also started where Hammarby IF and Boo FF were included.
Then it was time for Group B which was kicked off by HJK and Täby FK. HJK celebrated their 2-0 win in that match to top the group on Friday night. This after the other two teams in the group, BP and Älvsjö AIK, had drawn their first match in the group.
Late on Friday evening, the Group A started. FC Nordsjälland won their opening match against Sollentuna FK 1-0 and in Kristinehamns Arena there were whispers of "the best match of the day". The second match in the group was also a well played one where Jitex BK defeated Värmdö IF 2-0.
This is what all the groups looked like when they had finished playing:
Group A
| # | LAG | M | V | O | F | GM | IM | +/- | P |
| 1 | FC Nordsjælland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 15 | 9 |
| 2 | Jitex BK | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | Sollentuna FK | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Värmdö IF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | -16 | 0 |
Group B
| # | LAG | M | V | O | F | GM | IM | +/- | P |
| 1 | Älvsjö AIK FF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 2 | HJK | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | PO | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | Täby FK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | -12 | 0 |
Group C
| # | LAG | M | V | O | F | GM | IM | +/- | P |
| 1 | Hammarby IF FF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 7 |
| 2 | FC Espoo | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | Boo FF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 1 |
| 4 | Eriksbergs IF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 1 |
Group D
| # | LAG | M | V | O | F | GM | IM | +/- | P |
| 1 | Kaapo | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | timbers | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Djurgårdens IF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 | Viggbyholm IK FF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 0 |
The play-offs
At 5pm on Saturday, the playoffs started and it began with quarter-finals in the A playoffs. From these, Hammarby, Kaapo, Nordsjälland and Jitex progressed to the semi-finals. In the quarter-finals of the B play-offs, Viggbyholm, Eriksberg, Täby and BP did the same. The teams that fell in the quarter-finals played placement matches on Sunday morning.
Now it was getting close. The first semi-final in the A playoffs was played between two early favourites, Hammarby and Nordsjälland. Hammarby did well to protect their goal and kept a clean sheet in the match. At the same time, they scored two goals and were ready for the final when the final whistle sounded. In the second semi-final, Jitex faced Kaapo. Before the meeting, Jitex's Thelma Alexandersson said in an interview with Luxcuper that "they (Kaapo) are a very good team. ... everyone must be prepared for a tough match." It was a tough match and in the end it was the long-distance guests from Finland who emerged victorious with 2-0.
The semi-finals in the B playoffs were even. Täby won by an odd goal against Viggbyholm and were thus ready for the final. In the final, they would get opposition in the form of Eriksberg, who in their semi-final defeated BP on penalties. The final was a goal-rich and swinging story that Eriksberg eventually emerged victorious with 4-3. In the third prize match, BP won against Viggbyholm on penalties.
What about the A final? Who won it? As we found out earlier, it was Hammarby versus Kaapo. Hammarby took command early in the match, never let go and won the final 5-0 after goals by Ellie Junetoft (2), Bobo Nilsson Narverud, Elvira Wide, Fanny Petersson. In the bronze medal match Nordsjälland defeated Jitex 2-0.
Honours and awards
MVP
Ellie Junetoft, Hammarby IF
Dominated and dictated from his midfield position through most of the tournament. Well-chosen decisions in both attacking and defensive play. Scored three goals, set up a bunch more and stopped at least as many with his smartness and close-range play.
The shooting league
Thea Petersen, FC Nordsjälland
Unchallenged first in the scoring league with his eight goals in six games. In one of the games he scored five(!). Took matters into his own hands on several of the goals, spinning up both team-mates and opponents and not stopping until the ball was in the net.
Goalkeeper of the Tournament
Alice Olsson, Hammarby IF
A worthy winner of the goalkeeper of the tournament to say the least and the statistics speak for themselves. 0 goals conceded! And in addition, several first-class goalkeeping interventions. Bajen has both their goalkeepers, Alice and Leah, to thank for their fine goal difference this tournament.
Words about the cup
"We thank Luxcuper for organising an extraordinary cup experience, the Girls 2009 Invitational is an uplifting tournament with incredibly talented teams coming together from all over the Nordic region to do what our players love to do most. The competition was top notch and the organisers were top notch, not only creating an inspiring tournament but making themselves so accessible to all the teams. The response time and availability and the organisation gets Luxcuper top marks from us!"
- Jitex BK
"I had really high expectations for the cup, then I came here and those expectations were not only met, they were exceeded. It has been so damn good. Everything from the organisation, food, accommodation and the fact that you have put together such a good team. I'm already looking forward to the next cup."
- Thomas Wilbacher, podcaster
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