I’ve been blogging for nearly eight months now. Do you know what the most-viewed article on Fuller FM is? Season 2, Part 2 of “Floreat Salopia”, which has already had close to 1,000 unique views.
The signs, then, are promising for Season 2, Part 2 of “Lyn On Me”. Marit Enstad’s sophomore season at Lyn 1896 has begun with an influx of signings who could hopefully lead them towards promotion after last year’s near-miss. If you missed the previous chapter, you can read about the new arrivals (and the departees) right here.
Let’s now hand over to Marit to see how Lyn get on in the opening stages of the 2020 season…
SEASON EXPECTATIONS
Hei, det er Marit! Before the 2020 league campaign begins, we’re going to look at the Season Preview. As you can see, we’ve come quite far over the past 12 months, and expectations are very high.
Firstly, the board expect us to get to Round 3 of the Cupen – a round further than we went last time. That looks easier said than done, especially as we’ve been given a tricky Round 1 tie away to another strong team from the 2. divisjon. Bryne finished 7th in Avdeling 2 last season and are managed by John Arne Riise – the former Liverpool and Roma left-back [and Craig Bellamy’s erstwhile golf partner].
As far as Avdeling 1 goes, opinions are mixed as to where we should finish. The board just want us to stay in the top half again, but the media are tipping us to come 3rd – behind only Rosenborg 2 and newly-promoted Odd 2. As reserve teams cannot go up to the top two divisions, that makes us the favourites for automatic promotion!
To further illustrate this, a top Norwegian newspaper named three Lyn players in their best XI for Avdeling 1. They are midfielder Marius Østvold (who’s suspended from our first league game), along with two loanees in defender Nicolas Pignatel Jenssen and winger Vegard Somdal.
It also turns out that our wage bill is higher than that of every club in the 2. divisjon (excluding the reserve teams, obviously), as well as many teams in the 1. divisjon. Our deadline day signings took that up to just over €6,000 per week, so we really are under pressure to go up!
In fact, the pressure was on from the very start. Our first league game was away to Nybergsund, who came 9th last season and were being tipped for relegation by many pundits. It wouldn’t look good if we slipped up early against them.
NYBERGSUND vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 1)
Oh dear. We stalled at the start against Steffen Iversen’s Nybergsund, who finished in mid-table last season but were among the favourites for relegation.
After a very poor first half in which we failed to take our chances, we fell behind midway through the second period. Left-winger Awat Cinho drilled the ball across our six-yard box for the right-sided Sofiane Dia to apply the finish. Just four minutes later, Cinho found the net himself, with the Iraq international’s strike from the edge of the area squirming underneath Knut-André Skjærstein.
Oskar Hansen did pull one goal back for Lyn from one of his customary free-kicks in the 82nd minute, after Martin Trøen had been tripped by defender William Lloyd. We didn’t deserve anything more than that, mind, as our passing was sloppy and our shooting was wasteful. There was a lot of hard work still ahead of us.
BRYNE vs LYN 1896 (Cupen – Round 1)
We then scraped past Bryne in the Cupen, though we were lucky not to fall at this first hurdle. Our hosts went ahead in the 16th minute, after Krister Wemberg’s long ball sent striker Vetle Myhre clear. Myhre got past our sluggish centre-half Andreas Østeraas and then rounded debutant keeper Alexander Vangen before tapping in the finish.
Redemption came just nine minutes later. Joakim Rishovd crossed from the left wing to Østvold, whose header was deflected into the Bryne net off Faroe Islands defender Rógvi Baldvinsson. [You remember Rógvi, don’t you, Bristol Rovers fans? NO?!]
The rest of the match was pretty disappointing for us, and Erlend Hustad had a disappointing debut up front alongside Trøen after coming on in the 70th minute. Fortunately, Vangen made a late save from home right-back Vegard Skjørestad to take the game to extra-time. After a few more key stops from the 30-year-old, the game remained deadlocked at 1-1 and thus would be decided on penalties.
Both teams scored from their first four penalties in a high-quality shoot-out. Trøen, Hustad, Østeraas and Østvold had all found the net for us, and winger Vegard Somdal continued the scoring run to put us 5-4 up. That piled huge pressure on Skjørestad to keep Bryne in the tie, but Vangen clawed his spot-kick away and sent us through!
We would have home advantage in Round 2, though a tricky tie with 1. divisjon side Mjøndalen awaited us. Before crossing swords with ‘De Brune’ in the final week of April, we had two more league matches to get through.
LYN 1896 vs RAUFOSS (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 2)
This was frustrating. Despite having more possession and creating more scoring chances than Raufoss in a hard-fought contest, we had to settle for just one point.
An entertaining first half somehow ended 0-0, though Marcus Mehnert had a goal disallowed for offside on the stroke of half-time. We eventually broke the deadlock nine minutes into the second period, thanks to our other star attacker. Trøen latched onto a pass from Adil Zahid before lashing in a lethal shot from 20 yards.
After missing opportunities to increase our lead, thoughts turned towards protecting it late on. We defended bravely until the second minute of stoppage time, when Stian Simenstad’s outswinging corner was volleyed in by Anton Henningsson to draw Raufoss level.
Team morale had taken another hit after dropping two points. We now had to recompose ourselves in time for our visit to Asker, who led the table after an extraordinary late comeback from 5-2 down saw them win 6-5 at Nest-Sotra!
ASKER vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 3)
Wow. I’m not sure what to write. Asker were absolutely clinical with their chances, while our defenders and attackers were just… erm, Christopher, can you help me out here? What’s the English for møkk, please? [Carl Jenkinson.]
Asker’s left-winger Sander Risan rose and shone early, with two goals in the first 15 minutes immediately putting us on the back foot. After converting Fisnik Kastrati’s through-ball at the near post, the 19-year-old headed in a right-wing cross from Hallvard Håskjold to make it 2-0.
Then it all went horribly wrong for Jenssen in the 26th minute. Our on-loan defender made a pig’s ear of Kinny Grewal’s cross into the box, leaving attacking midfielder Kastrati with an easy finish. At 3-0 behind, the game was surely up, even with an hour still to play.
We responded by throwing everything we had at Asker, only to be consistently denied by their defence – and the officials. Trøen and Mehnert each found the net in the 32nd and 80th minutes, but they were both flagged offside.
Absolutely nothing was going right for us, so it seemed appropriate that we should concede again in the closing stages. Jenssen couldn’t keep up with Papa Sow as Asker’s in-form Senegalese striker connected with right-back Josh Robson’s long through-ball and half-volleyed in the fourth and final goal. Our humiliation was complete.
My heaviest defeat as Lyn manager left us bottom of the division, with one point from three games, and a goal difference of -5. With things already going disastrously, I took desperate action.
Firstly, I told Østeraas to get out. To be honest, I almost didn’t renew Andreas’ contract in the winter because of his questionable concentration and positional awareness. Two poor early-season displays had confirmed my doubts, and I could no longer trust him.
I didn’t look far for Østeraas’ initial replacement, promoting 19-year-old central defensive prospect Mathias Aadnøy from Lyn 2 to the first-team. He made his senior debut four days later, when we hosted Mjøndalen in the Cupen and trialled a narrow 4-4-2 diamond. [Oh lord, this’ll go well…]
LYN 1896 vs MJØNDALEN (Cupen – Round 2)
Christ. This wasn’t so much a collapse as an avalanche… and it was all because Østvold twisted his ankle after I’d made my final substitution with five minutes left in normal time.
At half-time, I’m sure nobody could have foreseen the extraordinary turn of events. Mjøndalen were only 1-0 up, with left-winger Vamouti Diomandé scoring in the 10th minute from a deflected cross by Tonny Brochmann.
I ditched the diamond at the break, and returned to a 4-3-3 to give us more width and build up some more direct counter-attacks. The switch paid off in the 55th minute, when a breakaway ended with Eirik Haugstad powering in a through-ball from Trøen. The fightback continued on 74 minutes, when Joakim Rishovd‘s clever ball into the box allowed Mehnert to burst clear and score his first competitive Lyn goal.
We were now on course for a Cupen upset… until Rishovd went from hero to villain just three minutes later. After Vangen had pushed away Andreas Hellum’s volley, the striker was brought down by a clumsy tackle from our right-back. Vangen now had to try and stop Brochmann’s penalty, but he was sent the wrong way, and it was now 2-2.
Then disaster struck, with a slide tackle from defender Sondre Solholm Johansen on Østvold left both players nursing ankle injuries. Marius came off worse, with his injury putting him out for at least a month. As far as this match was concerned, we now had to play through extra-time with 10 men – against a much stronger team than ours.
Our extra-time resistance lasted just six minutes, until a cross from Diomandé deflected into our net off an unlucky Erik Lundanes Jonvik. That was the first of five away goals in the space of 14 minutes, which turned a close battle into an unbelievable 7-2 victory for Mjøndalen.
A poorly-defended corner allowed Jibril Bojang to score his first goal three minutes before half-time. The tenacious pressing forward added two more after the break to complete a hat-trick, while midfielder Mads Gundersen also helped himself to a goal in between. Now that’s just cruel!
We’d now conceded 11 goals in two matches, and our misery was unlikely to get better soon. Our first match in May was away to Egersunds, who suffered relegation from the 1. divisjon last season but were being tipped for an immediate return.
EGERSUNDS vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 4)
Things didn’t get any easier at Egersunds, who were seeking an immediate return to the 1. divisjon. The Tigrene (Tigers) were also looking for their first win of the season, and Gambian striker Bob Sumareh put them on track after just 16 minutes by finishing Mads Nørby Madsen’s deep cross.
Despite that early setback, we showed great spirit to turn the game around with two goals either side of half-time. Firstly, a deflected cross from Rishovd was thundered in by Simen Vedvik to draw us level on 43 minutes. Then, two minutes after the break, Zahid popped up to head home a free-kick from Henrik Lehne Olsen.
Just like five days earlier, though, Rishovd cost us a 2-1 lead by conceding a penalty late on. Joakim’s needless push on Egersunds midfielder Sander Remme was fully punished by young forward Rasmus Løvseth, who confidently beat Skjærstein for the game’s second equaliser.
Though we didn’t capitulate by conceding five goals in 14 minutes this time around, failure to take maximum points still stung. We stayed in the relegation zone as we headed into our next two home games, both against promoted opposition.
LYN 1896 vs LØRENSKOG (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 5)
Considering we took two players off them in the winter, I was hoping Lørenskog had been significantly weakened. Not so. They made a confident start before Kosovo Under-19s midfielder Drilon Zeneli drove in the opener from 25 yards midway through the first half.
We got back on terms in the 33rd minute, though it wasn’t pretty. Midfielder Martin Holmen‘s direct ball from deep in our half sent Trøen through on goal. Our striker’s first shot was parried by goalkeeper Reidar Hvidsten, but the ball deflected off two Lørenskog defenders before falling back towards Trøen. This time round, he couldn’t miss.
Our Martins combined to find the net again in the 72nd minute, but Trøen was flagged offside after finishing Holmen’s flick-on across the six-yard box. That was the closest we would come to ending our winless run, though our solitary point was enough to take us out of the bottom three. Hopefully we wouldn’t be back there soon…
…and hopefully we wouldn’t be back in heavy debt soon. Chairman Magnus Henriksen and the board had invested €210,000 to help with the club’s running costs and stop our current predicament off the pitch from worsening. As for matters on the pitch…
LYN 1896 vs ODD 2 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 6)
The pressure really was on now. Things had got so bad that ex-Lyn defender Tommy Berntsen – who played around 150 league games between 2002 and 2009 – was calling our home match against Odd 2 “must-win”.
Here’s the scale of the challenge we faced. Odd’s reserves were in the top three, they were still unbeaten – and their main man up front was 17-year-old Lyn graduate Svein Melfjord. It seemed everything was set for the Skien-based club to compound our misery and keep us waiting for that elusive victory.
Or maybe not. Not only did we get our first win of the season, but we also got our first clean sheet, AND we thrashed one of the title favourites! Poor Svein’s probably wishing he stayed at Lyn now!
It took us 24 minutes to get up and running, with Trøen tapping in a cross from Hansen at the near post. Holmen then caught out goalkeeper Lorenzo Crisanto from 30 yards to double our lead with his first Lyn goal seven minutes later.
A nine-minute hat-trick of sorts from the Martins was completed by Trøen in the 33rd minute. Our number 10 used his pace to get past defender Eirik Asante Gayi and convert an excellent delivery from Haugstad, who completed the first-half rout just before the break. Lehne Olsen drifted a free-kick into our box for Rishovd to flick to the back post, where our winger put us 4-0 ahead!
The second half saw no more goals, but it did see a flurry of yellow cards. Our only real disappointment was that we lost Holmen to a groin strain just before the hour following a firm tackle from Jesper Romsdalen. The 29-year-old’s injury put him out for a month, though it coincided with our other box-to-box midfielder Østvold’s return to fitness following his recent lay-off.
An eight-game winless streak stretching back to last October was over, and we could now think about pulling ourselves up the table. Next up was a visit to an inconsistent Bærum side who dashed our play-off hopes last season. We wanted revenge…
BÆRUM vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 7)
…and we very nearly got it! In the end, though, we had to share six goals with Bærum and curse our inability to close another game out.
It was the hosts who struck first on 18 minutes, with Erblin Llullaku lifting the ball over our shaky defence for opposite winger Mathias Aasand to apply the volley. We were behind for just four minutes before captain Anders Lübeck brought about an equaliser, meeting Rishovd’s corner with a powerful header.
Lübeck was the inspiration for our second goal, in the 41st minute. A long ball caught Bærum’s defence out, and Trøen calmly finished past onrushing goalkeeper Sondre Midtgarden. Annoyingly, parity was restored almost immediately when 18-year-old striker Philip Ekeberg headed in another killer cross, this time from left-back Andreas Elvestad.
The heavy scoring continued just over halfway through the second period. Trøen claimed his second and our third goal when he latched onto Hansen’s defence-opening pass and neatly cut it beyond Midtgarden’s reach. Martin then tried to claim a hat-trick in stoppage time, but he was well offside when he volleyed home after Mads Pedersen‘s ambitious shot came back off the bar.
The scoreline therefore remained 3-2 Lyn… until our late defensive resistance was broken in the final few seconds. Elvestad chipped the ball into our box, where midfielder Ola Scheele Moe scored from a tight angle to snatch a draw for Bærum.
EIDSVOLD TURN vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 8)
There was then further frustration on our travels at newly-promoted Eidsvold Turn. We were lucky to leave the Myhrer Stadion with a point, and it was just as well, because defeat would have seen us replace Eidsvold in the relegation zone.
The first Turn-ing point came after 25 minutes, when Trøen missed a close-range volley from Haugstad’s cross that could’ve put us 1-0 up. Barely half a minute later, it was the home team who led by that scoreline, thanks to Piotr Gawecki’s calm low finish from our penalty arc.
Despite our best efforts, we didn’t get ourselves level until the 60th minute. Turn defender Mats Brenden’s clearance of a Hansen cross only went as far as Lehne Olsen, whose tame shot from 30 yards somehow beat goalkeeper Peter Rusina.
That was followed 11 minutes from time by a THIRD goal from outside the penalty area. Imagine my disgust when ex-Lyn midfielder Dulee Johnson – whom I had a very difficult relationship with – restored his new team’s lead with a stunning rocket.
I was thinking about putting rockets up my players’ rumpeballen in the dressing room when we scored a bizarre equaliser just four minutes later. On his comeback from injury, Østvold tried his luck with a shot from 30 yards out. It hit the post – and then an unwitting Rusina’s chest – before deflecting into the net! It wasn’t the prettiest way to secure a 2-2 draw, but we had to take anything we could get.
We end May sitting just above the drop zone – obviously not an ideal position for a team with higher aspirations. Seven points currently separate us from the play-off place, but if we can stretch our unbeaten run over the summer, we could cut that deficit down in no time. Our schedule gets a little easier in June and July, so don’t rule it out.
Hmm… things could be going better, that’s for sure. Please come back next week to see if the men (and woman) in red-and-white can shake off their early-season blues.
Before I go, though, I just want to share this with you:
To give this some context, Goal posted a tweet asking its followers to pick a player to take a 25-yard free-kick. I suggested our very own Oskar Hansen, and one of my Norwegian readers forwarded this to Oskar himself, who liked the tweet! This Lyn experience has just become even more amazing!
“Takk for lesing!”
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