Norway finish on a flourish

By Eivind Aarre

Norway 3–0 Canada
Norway finalised their preparations for UEFA WOMEN'S EURO 2005™ with a comfortable win against Canada at the Sarpsborg stadium, although they suffered a scare as captain Ane Stangeland was forced off by a head injury.

Head injury
The 24-year-old defender sustained the injury in the second half following an aerial collision, and was taken off immediately with a cut above her right eye. Stangeland has broken her nose no fewer than seven times in her career, although this injury seemed less serious.

Penalty opener
Norway's star was midfield player Solveig Gulbrandsen, who scored one and had a hand in another to wrap up her side's win. The Scandinavian team took the lead in the 26th minute as they were awarded a penalty following a handball inside the penalty area, and Dagny Mellgren duly converted the spot-kick.

Gulbrandsen impact
Gulbrandsen came into her own in the opening moments of the second half, doubling Norway's lead within five minutes of the restart by turning in Mellgren's cross. Two minutes later, Gulbrandsen headed against the post but Trine Rønning was on hand to score the third and complete a satisfactory evening for head coach Bjarne Berntsen.

'Confidence boost'
"It was a good match for us, which should give us much-needed confidence going into the UEFA European Women's Championship," said Norway's assistant coach Trond Nordsteien. "The team kept its shape during the entire 90 minutes, and that is always a good sign."