We’re getting to the business end of Marit Enstad’s first season in charge of Lyn 1896. Lyn are still right in the mix for promotion to the 1. divisjon, but the sale of a teenage starlet behind the manager’s back has rather soured the mood at the Bislett.
Will the good times return during the final 10 matches of the 2. divisjon campaign? Can Lyn qualify for the play-offs or even go up automatically, or will they have to settle for consolidation? Take it away, Marit…
HØNEFOSS vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 17)
Hei, det er Marit, and we start this chapter on a sorry note. 6th-placed Hønefoss hurt our promotion hopes with an excellent performance at the AKA Arena, though they benefitted from some typically poor Lyn defending.
HFK’s star striker Kristoffer Hoven first gave us hell in the 24th minute, flicking left-back Mats Holt’s cross in at the near post. Hoven found the net again a minute later, getting through a crowd of blue shirts to fire Joachim Edvardsen’s through-ball home.
The hosts went to sleep at 2-0 up, allowing our marksman Martin Trøen to grab one goal back from Henrik Lehne Olsen‘s incisive pass early in the second half. However, any hopes of another epic fightback would quickly be destroyed. Our captain Anders Lübeck intercepted a long ball from Holt, only to head it straight to Hoven, who gladly completed his hat-trick.
New loan signing Benjamin Zalo replaced Lübeck in the closing moments to shore up our defence, but the damage had already been done. A second straight defeat – and a fourth consecutive match without victory – saw us fall 10 points behind leaders Alta, and five adrift of 2nd-placed Fram Larvik.
LYN 1896 vs ØRN HOLTEN (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 18)
A week later, though, we returned to the Bislett with a revenge victory over Ørn Horten. Their midfielder Thomas Knutsen might have won the previous meeting in Horten, but he lost his head half an hour into the rematch. Knutsen felled our playmaker Adil Zahid with both feet in the centre circle and was immediately shown a red card!
That sending-off turned what had been a close match firmly in our favour. We broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute, with full debutant Zalo getting on the scoresheet against his former club. He converted a rebound from a blocked shot by holding midfielder Mads Pedersen, who doubled our lead just before half-time with a 25-yard stunner.
We continued to run rampant after the interval. Zalo bagged his brace on 49 minutes, finishing off fellow centre-back Faisal Dahir‘s flick-on from right-back Joakim Rishovd‘s corner. Our left-back Oskar Hansen then set up the goal that made it 4-0 after half an hour, with his cross being volleyed in by Eirik Haugstad.
Then we lost our way a little bit. Ørn midfielder Artan Brovina headed in the visitors’ third goal on 63 minutes. That was followed six minutes later by a fluke cross from 20-year-old Alex Krawiec that flew straight into the far corner of our net! [Ah, a good old FM13 special. Oh how I’ve missed those goals.]
Luckily, Ørn Horten could not remove the other half of their four-goal deficit. We held our nerves to secure a precious 4-2 victory and move a couple of points closer to Alta and Fram, who’d each drawn their matches.
LYN 1896 vs ROSENBORG 2 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 19)
This next match was quite an emotional one, not least for one of the Rosenborg players. Making his first appearance for RBK’s reserves since moving to Trondheim was a certain Tor Fritzøe Östman. Would the 16-year-old former Lyn winger come back to haunt us?
He didn’t. We tortured Tor and his new team-mates to push the pre-season promotion favourites deeper into a relegation battle. From the moment Knut-André Skjærstein saved a 12th-minute volley from his old young colleague, we always felt like this would be our day.
Another big moment came in the 23rd minute, when Lehne Olsen was tripped by Filip Brattbakk [that’s Harald Brattbakk’s son, Celtic fans] 30 yards from the RBK goal. The distance didn’t trouble Oskar Hansen, who drove his free-kick over the wall and beyond keeper Arild Østbø.
We then stormed into a commanding 3-0 lead early in the second half. A speculative effort from Lehne Olsen flew past Østbø in the 52nd minute. About three minutes later, Rosenborg defender Besim Serbecic was penalised for tripping Trøen, who scored from the penalty spot.
With Fritzøe Östman and the visitors wasting several chances to get back in contention, we cruised to a 3-0 win. That helped keep the pressure on Alta and Fram, who beat Raufoss 6-3 and Nybergsund 2-1 respectively.
LYN 1896 vs NYBERGSUND (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 20)
Another relegation-threatened team came to the Bislett a week later. Although we beat Nybergsund for a third straight home win, it wasn’t straightforward.
Box-to-box midfielder Marius Østvold put us ahead in the 8th minute, driving in a rebound after Lehne Olsen’s initial effort was blocked by defender Victor Wagner. Just over 10 minutes later, though, Wagner hit a long ball over our defence to pick out Nybergsund striker Aleksandar Cisic, whose 25-yard drive made it 1-1!
That could have dented our confidence, but we responded by retaking the lead late in the first half. Simen Vedvik played a long through-ball to Trøen, who got past the last defender and volleyed home his 14th goal of the season.
We battered our opponents with shots in the second half, though we didn’t secure victory until the closing stages. Vedvik cleverly rounded centre-back Mathias Laudal before smashing the shot that inflicted another defeat on Nybergsund and their new manager – former Tottenham striker Steffen Iversen.
ASKER vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 21)
Unfortunately, we couldn’t continue our winning run at Asker, despite a strong start. Hansen drew first blood in the 16th minute with one of his trademark direct free-kicks, even if it was a tame effort that goalkeeper Andreas Vedeler struggled to deal with.
We’d scored from our first shot on goal, and Asker did the same after 39 minutes. Their strike was one of greater quality, as left-back Kinny Grewal’s cross bounced in our box before wide midfielder Hallvard Håskjold unleashed a stunning half-volley.
Though the second half was almost all Lyn, Trøen wasn’t quite at his clinical best and couldn’t produce the goods this time. We had to share the points, though we could count ourselves lucky that the three teams around us – Alta, Fram, and a resurgent Hønefoss – had also failed to pick up victories.
ELECTION TIME
Lyn is fan-owned, so we function differently from a lot of clubs in – for example – England. We hold board elections every two years, giving our supporters the opportunity to vote for who they want to run the club.
Marius Solbakken was standing for a second term as chairman, though he faced strong competition from Magnus Henriksen, who ultimately won by a landslide. Here’s hoping the new boss doesn’t sell my best young players for peanuts.
Sadly, Magnus hasn’t promised any new investment for the club just yet. We really could do with some extra funds right now, though it’s encouraging that our spiralling debt seems to have levelled out at around €150,000.
MOSS vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 22)
Henriksen’s tenure could not have got off to a better start! Vedvik put us ahead against struggling Moss after just 58 seconds, powering in a stunning 25-yard finish that had been set up by Dulee Johnson.
The hosts battled bravely to try and equalise, but we floored them with a devastating counter-attack in the 36th minute. The move ended with Haugstad slipping the ball across to Johnson, who drove in his first goal of the season – and against his former club!
Haugstad’s trickery on the right wing caused Moss more problems in the 58th minute. He was scythed down two-footed by Thomas Klaussen, and the midfielder who inspired his team’s 3-2 victory at the Bislett in June was instantly dismissed!
That previous meeting was our only home defeat thus far this season. We completed our revenge mission on 77 minutes, when a volley from substitute striker Jonas-Alexander Bakken deflected in off veteran defender Anders Østli. That was Bakken’s first goal in this campaign – and it had come in his first appearance for nearly three months. Fair do’s.
These were the final four games for the top four teams in the race to reach the 1. divisjon. Though it would take a few slip-ups from Alta to stop them securing automatic promotion, the play-off place was still up for grabs between us, Hønefoss… and our next opponents, Fram.
LYN 1896 vs FRAM LARVIK (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 23)
If we were feeling any nerves in this huge game, they didn’t show. If anything, the occasion got to Fram Larvik, who sprayed a lot of their passes off target and struggled to retain possession. That allowed us to take the game to them and create several scoring opportunities, which we couldn’t take. Though Trøen did find the net from an Eirik Bækkelund cross in the 24th minute, he was flagged offside.
Despite our dominance on the attacking front, it took us 76 minutes to make the breakthrough. Substitute midfielder Adil Zahid had been on the field for only a couple of minutes when he collected a free-kick from Bækkelund and dribbled into Fram’s penalty arc. Once there, the 21-year-old unleashed a stunning pop-shot that stunned the visitors.
Shortly after that, Robin Hofer Dahl headed Fram’s first shot on target into Skjærstein’s hands. He was almost immediately replaced up front by Stian Dyngeland, who himself had a great equalising opportunity in the 89th minute. Fortunately, his half-volley from Mahmoud Laham’s long ball cleared the bar, and we breathed a huge sigh of relief.
That was our fifth win in six games, and our second clean sheet on the trot (the first time we’ve achieved that feat this season, amazingly). It secured us a top-four finish, but how did the other challengers fare?
Alta needed two stoppage-time goals to beat Asker 5-3 and retain their five-point lead at the top. Lyn were realistically the only team who could now deny them automatic promotion, though even if we continued to win, we needed at least two of Asker’s opponents to do us favours.
We now led 3rd-placed Fram by three points, with 4th-placed Hønefoss a further point adrift after they lost 1-0 to Ørn Horten. As the new firm favourites to enter a play-off ‘Semi Final’ against a team from Avdeling 2, could we now handle the increased pressure?
NEST-SOTRA VS LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 24)
Our final away match in the regular season was a massive disappointment. Nest-Sotra were low on confidence after a poor run of form wrecked their hopes of an immediate return to the 2. divisjon. Meanwhile, our attackers were crippled by nerves.
I kept faith in the out-of-form Trøen, but he never regained his self-belief after an excellent chance in the 7th minute was saved by goalkeeper Andreas Lunde. Folstad, Haugstad and Østvold were also denied by the goalkeeper, but it was clear that our killer instinct from earlier this season wasn’t there.
Fortunately for us, Nest-Sotra were even more wasteful in front of goal – no real surprise for a team who’d scored once in four matches in September. The match thus ended in a goalless draw, which was my first in a league match.
Alta were also held to a draw – 1-1 at Nybergsund – so the title race wasn’t quite over, but we really couldn’t afford any more slip-ups. Meanwhile, victories for Fram and Hønefoss left us looking nervously over our shoulders.
Though automatic promotion was no longer in our hands, victory over Grorud would keep us on course for the play-offs. We put four goals past the relegation battlers at their place in June, so you’d think it would be simple…
LYN 1896 vs GRORUD (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 25)
Think again. This was much more of a battle, not least in midfield. After just six minutes, a robust tackle from Østvold broke Faysal Ahmed’s ankle so badly that it ended the 31-year-old Grorud playmaker’s career. As for Marius, he injured his hamstring in the process and was quickly substituted.
We went on to create a host of scoring chances, but converting them once again proved problematic. To give you an example, Vedvik had 10 shots at goal, but only two were on target.
Having dropped him in favour of the fit-again 17-year-old Svein Melfjord, I brought Trøen off the bench at half-time to try and break the deadlock. He sadly endured another horror show, though he was hampered by a calf strain sustained midway through the second period. The injury would keep our 14-goal frontman out for the rest of the season.
After a couple of scares, in which Grorud’s 17-year-old striker Lukas Håll hit the bar and then had a goal disallowed for offside, we eventually drew first blood in the 78th minute. Melfjord marked his comeback with an excellent cross to the head of Lehne Olsen, who appeared to have won us the game…
…until our defence fell asleep three minutes from time. Grorud full-back Ali Iqbal might’ve had a nightmare when we last faced him, but he brilliantly cut the ball across our backline for inside-forward Elias Hagen to finish. Had that late equaliser wrecked our hopes of promotion?
Our failure meant it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, but Alta made extra-sure of the title – and automatic promotion – by demolishing Moss 6-1. Fortunately, the damage further down wasn’t so bad. Fram Larvik remained a point behind us after drawing 0-0 at Elverum, while Hønefoss’s 2-1 home defeat to Rosenborg 2 left them three points adrift.
Here’s the situation going into the final day. If we defeated Bærum, we would qualify for the play-offs. If we drew, but Fram Larvik failed to win at home to Alta, that would be enough as well.
If we lost and Fram didn’t win, there would still be a chance for Hønefoss to leapfrog both of us into 2nd. They would need to win at Asker with a FIVE-goal swing from us to sneak through, otherwise we would hold on.
LYN 1896 vs BÆRUM (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 26)
Bærum also had something to play for in this match – namely their 2. divisjon status. Only an away victory would give Luke Torjussen’s team a chance of staying up, and they would battle until the bitter end for survival. The referee handed out 11 yellow cards – six to the yellow-clad visitors – in something that looked more like a scene from ‘Game of Thrones’ than a football match at times!
Each team did show a different kind of aggression every now and then. We looked more lively in the first half, getting four shots on target. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get the better of goalkeeper Sondre Midtgarden, while centre-back Rasmus Isegran made a series of vital interceptions.
Our nerves started to fray in the second half, and not just because Bærum were becoming more confident in possession and taking the game to us. While Fram Larvik were now out of contention after losing 2-0 to Alta, the same couldn’t be said about Hønefoss. They were 3-0 up on Asker, which meant that one more goal for them – and one for Bærum – would lift HBK into 2nd.
[You can see where this is going, can’t you?]
In the 81st minute, Skjærstein had to push away a free-kick from Bærum midfielder Jan Christian Aubert. The danger wasn’t completely cleared, though, and Aubert put the ball back into box just moments later. He picked out frontman Erblin Llullaku, who struck from the edge of the area. We were 1-0 down.
Worse news came in the 87th minute, when we heard that Hønefoss had scored a fourth goal at Asker to move above us. We now had to equalise, and we almost did that just moments later. Rishovd’s cross from the left found Haugstad, whose cool headed finish sent the ‘Bastionen’ wild… until the referee’s assistant raised the offside flag.
That call completely demoralised us, and the final blow was dealt deep into stoppage time. A poor clearance from 16-year-old debutant right-back Martin Knudtzon was intercepted by Llullaku, who drilled the ball into the box for Ola Scheele Moe to apply the finish. Bærum had won 2-0 away from home to secure their survival, but we had lost a play-off place on goal difference.
FAEN! We threw it away! [The story of my FM19 life.]
There could be no excuses. After enjoying such a strong late-season run, we really should have continued building momentum in those final three games. Instead, we became careless and complacent, and now it’s led to this.
Still, I suppose you can call this first season a success. When I became manager after our promotion from the 3. divisjon, we were simply expected to stay clear of a relegation battle. But for one extra point or a few more goals, we would have ended up in the play-offs.
The board are certainly satisfied, as they’ve offered to extend my €1,000-per-week contract for another year. I’m very happy to stay on, and I will do all I can to try and make 2020 a promotion season. Indeed, I told the players before they broke up for the winter that we would be aiming for the play-offs at least:
It’s fair to say most of the squad think I’m being too bold… but I’m not worried. Most of our star players (Lübeck, Østvold and Trøen) share my ambition, and I’m sure they’ll get the others on side by the time we return to league action next April.
In the meantime, there’ll be a clearout of the remaining dead wood from our 3. divisjon days. I’ll also look to strengthen a few key areas with new signings (particularly in defence) whilst being careful not to plunge the club into a financial crisis. After all, it’s still less than a decade since our last one sent us crashing out of the top leagues.
I’m sorry that today’s chapter has ended on a rather disappointing note. Promotion wasn’t the be-all-and-end-all this season, though, so I’m still quite satisfied with how things have turned out.
Keep a look-out for a 2019 Season Review, which will be released at some point over the next few days. I will then take a short break from this story before the 2020 season updates begin on Monday 10 June.
“Takk for lesing!”
Fuller FM 
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