In the first proper month of competitive football this season, we saw both sides of the meistarakeppni give the champion of champions trophy to the cup winners, plus the good and bad sides of the early rounds of this years cup. Besta deild got started towards the end too, so this lineup is slightly skewed towards those divisions, but we also have some players who impressed elsewhere. To start off, here’s how the full lineup looks:
Now let’s delve into each selection individually, starting with our keeper:
Rakel Lóa –
Grótta goalkeeper
Despite the gloves, Rakel is not a keeper in the traditional sense. The photo on the card is even from a match where she started in her more natural position of defender, but took on the challenge when the #1 got hurt in the 26th minute.
Across 3 subsequent matches playing between the sticks, Rakel conceded just 4 goals against the potent offenses of HK and Haukar, including a penalty shootout save against the former. Those heroics and the circumstances that saw her play in goal are what gives her the spot in this team.
Gunnar Vatnhamar –
Víkingur Defender
Gunnar not only scored the first goal of this years Besta deild, but he has also been a central figure in the defence that has earned the defending champions their early spot at the top of the table.
Kyle McLagan –
Fram Defender
Fram have had an undeniably strong start to the Besta deild campaign, to many people’s surprise including mine. With just 2 goals conceded by his defense in the first 4 games, Kyle earns his spot here. It’s also worth mentioning that those 2 goals were from the clubs that topped the table in 2023.
Asha Zuniga –
HK Defender
Inevitably I will become a broken record this season as the strike partnership for Fram is frankly unfair for their division. This bit isn’t even about them, but rather a defender from a team that shut them down completely. I wasn’t exactly sure who to single out from the HK defense that limited opponents to 2 total goals in April, But Asha was one of the ever-present forces among it.
Amanda Andra –
Valur Midfielder
I mentioned in a recent match recap that somebody told me before the season that Amanda Andradóttir was capable of winning the league for Valur all by herself. The rest of the squad is so talented that she would never need to, but her April form shows she is on course to be considered possibly the leagues best player.
Arian Ari Morina –
Ýmir Midfielder
Need I say more than that this player has 6 goals in 4 games from midfield? Admittedly half of those were against a team playing 11v11 for the first time ever, but he scored some much more clutch ones too, helping his team reach the Lengjubikar final.
Sandra María Jessen –
Þór/KA Forward
Iceland international and genuine legend of Icelandic football Sandra had 9 goals in Lengjubikarinn before April, and has started off the Besta deild campaign as her teams only goal scorer across the first 3 games. That would sound concerning if not for that tally being 7 goals and if 2 of those games weren’t wins. One of those wins was in May so doesn’t contribute towards this minor honour, but the 4-goal performance against FH alone should be enough reason to be placed here.
Halla Þórdís –
Haukar Winger
Halla was another player to blow up in Lengjubikarinn, surpassing her goal total across competitions from 2023, even including games for the youth team. A major difference from Sandra was that her final 2 games in that competition were in April, so we can consider her 4-goal performance against ÍH in the semi-final as part of her resumé for the month. Add to that her goal in the final and one against the ÍR team that pipped them to promotion last year in a very competitive 2.deild, and it’s been a super impressive start for the winger.
Viktor Jónsson –
ÍA Striker
Like Fram, ÍA raised a lot of people’s eyebrows after the first 3 games of the new Besta deild campaign. One of those was a 4-0 demolishing of HK at Kórinn, with Viktor getting a hat-trick. He also contributed a goal in the subsequent 5-1 defeat of Fylkir at Akraneshöllin and another when they lost to FH a week later.
Bjarki Sigurjónsson –
KÁ Striker
After another impressive Lengjubikarinn showing that doesn’t count here, Bjarki followed up by making the most of 3 matches in the Milk Cup – first a brace against Þróttur Vogum, then a hat-trick against RB. Most impressive of all though may have been his 2 goals against Besta deild side KR. The team from 4 divisions above may have scored 9 goals of their own, but KÁ took the first lead thanks to a curling free kick into the corner of the goal by Bjarki.
Vigdís Lilja –
Breiðablik Striker
The final piece of our April lineup puzzle is a striker who actually only has 3 goals for the month. Such are the smaller margins that warrant selection in a month where most leagues are yet to start, that I have to justify including arguably the biggest contributor to the team that has been virtually perfect so far. Those 3 goals come from 2 games of which her side won both 3-0, not to mention that their first match in May was also won by the same scoreline.
TEAM OF THE MONTH RULES
- One player per club, per month
- Must be based on performances in KSÍ matches in the given month
- Women’s and men’s categories, and all divisions and cups are treated equally
- Context is everything, so performances are weighted to that
- Goals scored aren’t everything, but it is the easiest metric for me to find evidence of, especially when it comes to lower leagues.
- Playing positions are somewhat flexible in order to fit the format
- I’m open to messages suggesting players for the team of a month if it’s before I have posted it, but not after.