Denmark defeat Iceland again

Iceland 1-2 Denmark
Denmark claimed a friendly win against fellow UEFA WOMEN’S EURO 2009™ finalists Iceland after an early flurry of goals in Staines, to the west of London.

Olsen winner
Iceland, fresh from beating England 2-0 on Thursday, found themselves behind almost immediately through Maiken Pape. Despite Hólmfrídur Magnúsdóttir instantly equalising, Mia Olsen put Denmark 2-1 up, giving them their second win against Iceland in 2009, the other also on neutral ground at the Algarve Cup.

Pape strike
Playing their first game since finishing third at the Algarve Cup in March and despite knocks forcing them to leave out goalkeeper Tine Cederkvist and stalwarts Johanna Rasmussen, Julie Rydahl Bukh and Cathrine Paaske Sørensen, Denmark scored within three minutes. Marianne Pedersen's crossed free-kick from the left was headed back in by Mia Olsen and Pape slammed the ball in from close range.

Swift goals
Iceland's response was swift, Dóra Stefánsdóttir crossing from the right for Magnúsdóttir to strike, as she did against England. Denmark restored their lead in the 12th minute when Olsen got behind the Iceland defence and produced an emphatic finish. It was nearly 2-2 when the high wind caught Edda Gardarsdóttir's free-kick and the ball floated on to the Danish crossbar. However, Iceland suffered a blow just past the half-hour when left-back Ólína Gudbjörg Vidarsdóttir was taken from the field on a stretcher after injuring her right ankle.

Woodwork struck
The second half began quietly but Mia Kjærsgaard-Andersen, introduced at the break for her senior debut in the Denmark goal, touched a Magnúsdóttir shot on to the bar and Pape also hit the woodwork with a header. Midfielder Thórunn Helga Jónsdóttir was brought on for her Iceland bow at this level but Denmark held on. Denmark face England in Swindon on Wednesday while Iceland complete their preparations for the finals with a home FIFA Women's World Cup qualifier against Serbia on 15 August.

Denmark reaction
Kenneth Heiner-Møller, the Denmark coach, told uefa.com: "We are happy with the first half but after the hour mark we played too slowly and Iceland put us under pressure. We were moving the ball from side to side but we didn’t do that in the last half hour but overall it is OK. We had four injuries with players who would usually be on the pitch and we made two more changes to the starting lineup so we are very satisfied with the result and also with the game but still we have to do a lot better if we want to go through in Finland."

Iceland consolation
Iceland coach Siggi Eyjólfsson added: "It was quite good, a positive performance. We could have scored more goals, we hit the post and the crossbar. We were much closer to them than at the Algarve Cup when we lost 2-0, we were much better than that. We are improving and we'll be OK in the finals. [Ólína Gudbjörg Vidarsdóttir] twisted her ankle, probably [out for] a couple of weeks, we'll find out in the next couple of days how serious it is."

Iceland: Gudbjörg Gunnarsdóttir; Sigurdardóttir, Gudrún Sóley Gunnarsdóttir, Ómarsdóttir, O Vidarsdóttir (A Árnadóttir, 36); Lárusdóttir (Ódinsdóttir, 75), Stefánsdóttir (Ómarsdóttir, 53), Gardarsdóttir (Hönnudóttir 65), S Gunnarsdóttir (T Jónsdóttir 65), Magnúsdóttir (Thorsteinsdóttir 87); M Vidarsdóttir.

Denmark: Johansen (Kjærsgaard-Andersen, 46); Olsen (Bjerg, 65), M Jensen, Hansen (Larsen, 65), Marianne Pedersen (Sandvej 65); K Pedersen; Ramussen (L Jensen, 77), Nielsen (Madsen, 77), Christiansen; Pape, Nadim.