Norway hit Belgium for six

Norway hit the ground running in their first qualifying match to reach the 2005 UEFA European Women's Championship, turning on the style in a 6-0 defeat of Belgium at the Kristiansand stadium in Group 2.

Guldbrandsen opener
Norway, the reigning Olympic champions, attacked hungrily from the outset and took the lead in the 14th minute when Solveig Guldbrandsen found space in the box to head the opener. The home team stayed in complete command during the rest of the first half and were disappointed to be unable to increase their lead before the interval.

Classy Klaveness
Five minutes into the second half, however, Uni Lehn scored the second with a fine effort and Dagny Mellgren collected the third eleven minutes later to finish the game as a contest. The best goal of the afternoon went to Lise Klaveness, whose angled shot from distance in the 66th minute left the Belgium goalkeeper with no chance. 

'Important game'
Norway rounded off an impressive performance in added time, picking up two more goals through Kristin Edner and Linda Ørmen, who was also on target from outside the box. Despite the result, Norway coach Åge Steen saw room for improvement. "I was not satisfied with the first half, but after the interval we stepped up the pace," he said. "It was good to win this one as it was our most important game for some time."

Dutch next
Norway face the Netherlands on Thursday at the Idrettsparken stadium in Mandal. Belgium's next qualifier is a home fixture against Denmark on 5 October.