North Copenhagen was once a mighty outfit but on this day their lack of depth and game experience gave Port Malmö all the room they needed to absolutely dominate.. The Barracudas came with only ten men so Jonas and Dani did the boys a solid and put the boots on for the Danes. Good on ya fellas, thanks to you the game was permitted to continue with 12-a-side. Special mention to the young fella from Bladins International School who also played for NC in his first DAFL appearance.

Malmö lost the toss and was headed in to the wind but that appeared to only strengthen their resolve. This writer picked it at a six to eight goal breeze but in the first quarter the wind seemed to have the opposite effect as Malmö bagged 6.9.45 to NC’s 0.1.1. Blondeau at his best up forward doing damage and the center-field giving away very few clearances. Any footy’s that made it in to NC’s forward line were promptly repelled by the likes of O’Reilly and, on one of his best performances of the season, Persson on the handy NC full-forward. Malmö went in at quarter time fully confident the game would be won, the only question was, which milestone would be conquered.

In the second quarter NC seemed to have any and all wind blown out of them as their attack crumbled with their confidence. Malmö had full control of the game and the scoreboard, or lack thereof, was completely one sided. Malmö increased the margin to 99 points by half time and kept NC scoreless in the second quarter. Malmö 14.16.100 – NC 0.1.1. Injuries: Ward.

Back in to the wind for the third quarter Malmö showed their depth and fitness as the center line cleared the ball and moved it across the half forward line with little opposition. This gave the forwards all the time they needed to shake their opponents and bag 10 goals in to the wind for the quarter. To their credit NC did manage to get the ball forward which resulted in a point. In, what looked like a game of keepsy-offsies Malmö drove the point home in a percentage boosting display, sending a clear message across the sound. Persson, Blondeau, and Bradford did the most damage on the scoreboard and Bradford had one of his best quarters of the season showing great composure with the footy. Malmö 24.22.166 – NC 0.2.2.

By the fourth quarter the goal had been set to beat NC by 200 points. Malmö just let the Cudas through on a couple of occasions allowing them to get some chalk on the scoreboard, or lack thereof. And with a shifty trip by NC Nicklasson was penalized with a free kick to the opposition right in front of goal that resulted in the first six-pointer to NC for the game, with less than five minutes left until full-time. From the side-line it was fantastic to see Nicklasson and Lundgren really getting some game-sense about them, and even getting a bit fancy with the footy on occasions.

But fair credit to The Cudas who never gave up, kept chasing that gazelle-esque Scotford as he weaved and shimmied, stuck their tackles, and never gave the umpire too much filth. But as the barman said to the scruffy dog at the pub, “thanks for coming”. Final score: Malmö 29.26.200 – NC 1.2.8

Just like Port Malmö, this weeks report is all business (read; sorry, but nowhere near as detailed or entertaining as the work of The Flex).

As the sunburn on more than the one face will attest, the weather had again provided near perfect footy conditions for the ANZAC Day round clash between Port Malmö and Helsingborg Saints. And with both teams understanding what was at stake, the normal camaraderies were put on hold for four quarters of hard fought footy (that’s all I’ll say on that matter, sorry – the umpires did a good job of dealing with any on field issues).

Pre-game saw the acknowledgement of two legends of Skåne AFL reaching two pretty impressive milestones. Andy Svensson in his 40th season (ca. 20th playing AFL) became the first player in Skåne (and maybe in all of Scandinavia?) to reach 250 games. Daniel McClaer took the ground as a player for the 100th time in representing a local club. Once more, a big congrats lads.

Pre-game also saw all present observe one minutes silence in remembrance of the armed forces of our nations, as is the tradition on ANZAC Day. Proceedings were expertly introduced and timed by Adam Brown. As is also tradition, some clown shouted ‘Go Pies’ at the second hand hit 60.

As for the game, the scores tell much of the story. Port Malmö was a maybe a little lucky to be so far ahead at quarter time, with Helsingborg wasting a few good chances early; at quarter time, the Maulers led by 17. That said, luck had nothing to do with the final result. A rock solid defence, great run through the middle, and some quality team work and trickery up forward meant that the Maulers felt in control for the majority of the match. Port Malmö won the second quarter by 6 points, Helsingborg the third by 1 point, and Malmö the final by 11 points. 12-a-side allowed both teams to use the space and set up some great end-to-end plays. Games 2, 3 and 4 between the two DAFL powerhouses from Skåne are shaping up as ones to watch.

Final Scores: Port Malmö 15. 16. 106 def Helsingborg 11. 7. 73

Best; In addition to Gates, Erik Vig, Tony Mac, Ginj, and Az noted on TheFootyRecord, the rock in defence that was Tony Persson, 0.4 Simmo, 3.0 Birtles, and most of the rest of the team deserve to be listed.

Also, congrats to the two boys playing their first game for Port Malmö in Erik Vig (see ‘Best’) and Jonas Lovén. And, of course, a huge thanks to the umpires.

Finally, congrats to Simmo for taking out the nearest the pin comp. Eighth time lucky, to knock out Andy Svensson’s shot at 152cm by a mere, but clear, 9cm.

Yeah, that’s all.

Port Malmö Maulers 21.16 (142) def. Aalborg Kangaroos 4.3 (27)

A mere fortnight ago, Skåne remained in the grips of a cruelly long winter. Temperatures hovered just above freezing with the threat of more snow hanging over us like an icy sword of Damocles. Mercifully, the onset of the DAFL season has brought Mother Nature to her senses and Port Malmö were treated to resplendent sunshine and temperatures in the double-digits upon its’ arrival in Helsingborg for the opening match of the 2013 DAFL season against a depleted Aalborg outfit .

With Port dominant from the outset against an Aalborg side boasting guest players from Farum and three new Swedish recruits from Malmö the result was rarely in doubt. The Danish club registered the first score of the game in the form of a behind, yet Malmö, aided by a stiff breeze soon took control.  With both teams somewhat rusty in the skills department, it was the forward pressure exerted by Malmö that dominated the quarter. No less than three of the six first quarter maximums resulted from free-kicks won deep inside the Aalborg defensive 50. Messrs Blondeau, Mårtensson and new Australian recruit Bath were to the fore and were rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Elsewhere, Ward and Higgins, reunited in the black and blue for the first time since the premiership in 2009, took little time rekindling their dominant partnership in the centre. As the seconds ticked away in the first quarter, the latter snapped a superb goal from a tight angle in the pocket. At the time it looked a dead cert for goal of the day. Yet, better was to come.

The second quarter started well for the Kangaroos. Goals for René Palsgaard, Aalborgs stand-out performer, after an excellent overhead mark and true set-shot and Thomas (?) on debut after Port were caught attempting some over-elaborate play out of defence. That, however, was as good as it got for the visitors with the Maulers slowly re-establishing their dominance and striking back through Blondeau, Osterkamp and, the second of Malmös new antipodean recruits, Tim Bradford. With the luxury of a strong bench, despite the absence of a number of household names, Malmö were able to see out the remainder of the quarter with minimal fuss and the half-time scoreboard read 56-14 in favour of the home team.

Any lingering hope to which the Jutland men clung swiftly disappeared in a maelstrom of 3^rd quarter goals. Blondeau, Mårtensson and Ward were again to the fore, each registering maximums. Malmö’s very own gladiator Mårtensson finished with 5.5 from midfield and was arguably the games’ most prominent figure. The major highlights of the quarter centred, however, around Jarred Bath. Two excellent goals, the first on the burst through a pack after a perfect tap from Osterkamp and the second, an audacious banana kick from near the boundary. Aalborg battled hard in the face of the Malmö onslaught and were rewarded with a second goal from Thomas (?), who impressed on debut. All other forays in to Maulers defensive were repelled by the Malmö backline with Tony Persson outstanding at full-back.

With the lack of bench taking its’ toll on the Danes, the final quarter followed the pattern of the third with Malmö scoring heavily whilst Aalborg managed to register just one goal in reply, a spectacular soccer effort from the tightest of angles from Farums’ Nicolai Secher. Special mention must be made of the Malmö trio who turned out for the opposition. Their selflessness ensured the game would go ahead and they all performed admirably in their first games in DAFL

Port Malmö, while content with a strong showing and a convincing win, know sterner challenges lie in wait, starting next weekend with the first of four regular season clashes with the Saints of Helsingborg.