Viking South Utsira's good start to Season 57 in Division 3e came to a shuddering halt this Tuesday when they were efficiently taken apart by Misconduct United on New Year's Eve, leaving them leapfrogged by their foes and down to 3rd spot to end the decade on a low note. The hosts scored with their only shot of the first half from Theresa Hammarskjöld, then despite Geneviève Charpin missing a penalty soon after the interval she made up for it just six minutes later, and the ruthless United made it 3-0 from only four shots when Hammarskjöld hammered a late clincher. With only 1 point spanning 2nd-6th after five games, there is a clear chance of a plummet down the division now if VSU are not careful. Next is a tricky trip to 5th-placed St. Hallvards IF.

The real drama this past week was kept for the Xpert Ladies Cup, however. An exciting first-leg clash at Div 4g's Tangerine FC the previous weekend saw Viking go a goal down early in the second half only for Tove Kvalvik to swiftly equalize and Lina Hovland even more quickly put them ahead with a freekick. Tyra Klovning's stoppage-time extra looked vital, as it gave Viking three away goals as well as a two-goal lead heading into the return leg of this Round 3 tie at home a week later.

When Nina Austrheim fired them in front at Ragnar Rock after only five minutes this Saturday all fears looked unfounded; all the more so after teenager, Anneke Hovland made it 2-0 -- and 5-1 on aggregate -- little more than half an hour in. Just after the hour mark, however, things suddenly slipped when Tanja Isakovic pulled one back for Tangerine straight after coming off the bench, then ten minutes later two goals in as many minutes for the visitors turned the scoreline on the day on its head. Suddenly the citrusy side needed just one more to make it 5-5 overall as well as holding the away-goals trump card, making for a tense closing spell that was only alleviated by Blood Eagles sub Emilie Klovning crashing in an equalizer for 3-3 on 85 minutes -- one that ultimately carried VelvetAndroid's team through by a rather breathless 6-4 on aggregate.

Not quite as hair-raising as the 9-5 Round 1 tie against Parkhill Rangers two seasons back, where the Utsirans did their best to chuck away a 4-0 advantage from the away leg in a barmy return fixture that ultimately finished 5-5, this latest debacle nonetheless offered another good indication of why their players really must guard against complacency in such situations. Their next round's outing is against Division 5 outfit WFC Rakhat Almaty, whose vastly experienced manager Mogikanin has been in charge for a massive 46 seasons and will doubtless have a canny tactical plan in place.