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Press
Press releases from The Xpert Ladies
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Reality bites back at last for Viking
A couple of weeks ago, Viking South Utsira had lost just four competitive games in total since the middle of last July and were enjoying a last few days in the sun at the top of the Xpert Ladies pyramid after winning the first match in their title defence. Four games later however the Norsewomen have finally encountered a return to reality, with just one total point from the second and third league outings of Season 72 and barely qualifying for the third round of the Xpert Ladies Cup.
Inevitably, back at the scene of one of their only two league losses during their shock title-winning campaign, the Peach Blossoms, they were outclassed by the last two terms' runners-up even allowing for a bad injury to number three midfielder Gabriela Klovning barely half an hour in. With just two experienced members of the squad left in that department the Utsirans were now on a hiding to nothing, and their defence duly cracked at last twice in six minutes after the 70-minute mark. Yasmine Klovning pulled one back late on, but it was effectively the end of the honeymoon.
A week later the Blood Eagles blew an ideal chance to recover some momentum when they were held 0-0 at home by promoted Tirilän Tasavalta despite not offering their visitors a single shot at goal, leaving them back up to 4th in the top flight but already three points off the pace -- a gap of that size barely opened up across the entire top six all last season. Next up too comes the immensely difficult trip to multiple-time champions Black Sabbath.
Meanwhile Viking made heavy weather of their 2nd-round Cup tie against Mawenzie. Second-half goals from sub Irja Klovning and Anneke Hovland carried them to a moderately comfortable away win at the Division 6 side in the first leg, only for them to completely misfire in the return game back at and slump to their first defeat at Ragnar Rock since July 11th last year against JAV Idols -- in Season 69 in Division 1. Qualification still happened on aggregate, but another tricky encounter with a strong bottom-tier side in Arvin Belediye SK is next on the agenda.
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