Five-and-a-half months have passed since Lyn 1896 last kicked a ball in anger in the league. Back then, they were simply relieved to have staved off relegation from the 2. divisjon. Now, though, a positive winter transfer window has improved the mood at the Bislett and left the Bastionen feeling optimistic.
If you haven’t yet caught up with Lyn’s transfer business, you can read about it all right here. Otherwise, let’s crack on with the 2021 season and join Marit Enstad…
SEASON EXPECTATIONS
Hei, det er Marit! After a fairly quiet transfer window in which we signed only five players, we’re ready to start our third season in the 2. divisjon. Before that, though, let’s look at what’s expected from us in 2021.
We are again seen by many media outlets as favourites for promotion, though Rosenborg 2 and Odd 2 are at shorter odds to win the title. They’re probably overlooking our struggles from last season and reckoning that we’ll show our true class this year.
Also, one Norwegian newspaper seems to like one of the transfer deals I’ve done, rating loanee Nikolas Walstad as the best left-back in the division. Nikolas isn’t costing us anything, but other signings have increased our annual wage bill to roughly €336,000. That’s still the highest in the division by some distance (excluding the reserve teams), so another year without getting promoted could be disastrous.
After coming close to sacking me a few months ago, the board are keeping expectations low. They again expect a top-half finish at worst, but if we just miss out on promotion, my job won’t be on the line. We kick off our Avdeling 1 campaign with a couple of tricky matches – Bærum at home, and then Eidsvold Turn away.
The board’s expectations for the Cupen are also unchanged, so failing to reach Round 3 would be a disappointment for them. For the past two seasons, we’ve been knocked out at Round 2 in extra-time by higher-league opposition. With a bit more luck, we could get over that second hurdle…
…but we’ve obviously got to clear the first one before then. The Round 1 draw was very kind to us, giving us a home tie against Sola, who play in the 3. divisjon. Could we get our season off to a winning start?
LYN 1896 vs SOLA (Cupen – Round 1)
I suppose you can call that a solid performance. Despite a stern test from our lower-league opponents, we once again made it through to Round 2 of the Cupen – and we didn’t need extra time for once!
Sola did a fine job of frustrating our attackers in the first half-hour and even drew a couple of saves out of our goalkeeper Alexander Vangen. Eventually, though, we took control six minutes from half-time. Lyn debutant Kot Chol Tafesse was dispossessed by a slide tackle from visiting full-back Ronnel Mathiassen, but the ball fell to Martin Holmen, who drilled it home from 25 yards.
Holmen almost scored again in the 64th minute, but he was stopped by Mathias Paulsen’s fingertips. That was one of several chances we missed to go even further ahead. Indeed, it wasn’t until the introductions of a couple of substitutes that we sealed our place in the next round.
The first sub to make his mark was left-back Joakim Rishovd, whose whipped cross six minutes before full-time was headed into the net by the in-form Eirik Haugstad. Sola were still reeling from that when another Lyn replacement – playmaker Gaute Høberg Vetti – marked his debut with an assist. Gaute intercepted a poor defensive clearance and slotted it through for Martin Trøen to complete a 3-0 victory.
We were rewarded with another home tie, this time against Eliteserien opposition. Two-time league champions Start finished 9th in the top flight last year and would be sure to give us a very difficult game at the end of April.
Before then, we had our opening two league matches, the first of which was against one of our bogey teams.
LYN 1896 vs BÆRUM (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 1)
Well… Bærum were one of our bogey teams – but not anymore! We took the game to them from the very beginning and eventually came out comfortable 2-0 winners.
The opening goal came after 17 minutes, and it won’t surprise you that Haugstad scored it. Mads Sande slipped the ball into the penalty area, and Eirik unleashed a powerful effort that Sondre Midtgarden couldn’t quite keep out. That was already the winger’s TENTH goal of the year – if you include friendlies, that is [nobody does].
Bærum rarely looked like getting back in the game after falling behind. They had two shots on target either side of the break, but Vangen made a couple of excellent saves from Mathias Aasand and Marius Løvhaug. I’d gambled on keeping Alex in goal ahead of Knut-André Skjærstein, but he really was justifying his selection here.
After spending some time trying to break Bærum apart again and secure victory, we succeeded through the excellent Haugstad in the 89th minute. From just inside the opposition half, he spotted Marcus Mehnert making a run into the box, and he sent in a delightful deep cross that Marcus half-volleyed into the far corner! Job done.
EIDSVOLD TURN vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 2)
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the job in our first away game. It wasn’t a terrible performance against Eidsvold Turn by any stretch, but the clinical finishing ability we showed through much of last year just wasn’t there.
Haugstad’s scoring streak ended here, with his best chance being saved by Peter Rusina after 38 minutes. Eidsvold’s Slovakian goalkeeper twice kept Trøen off the scoresheet in the second half, while his defenders made several great interceptions to keep us at bay.
The game’s big moment came six minutes into the second half, as one mistake from one defender undid our good work. Left-back Walstad was too slow to intercept his counterpart Johan Kolbjørnsrud’s square ball across our penalty area to Jon Erik Økland. Eidsvold’s long-serving attacking midfielder applied the finish, delighting most of those at the Myher Stadion.
Vangen made a couple of saves to stop the hosts from going further ahead, but his efforts were in vain. Our early-season momentum was gone, and that didn’t bode well for the midweek Cupen clash with Start.
LYN 1896 vs START (Cupen – Round 2)
Unsurprisingly, our Cupen adventure ended against Start, though not before we put in a brave performance to stretch our Eliteserien opponents to the limit.
Our visitors made the stronger Start, as frontman Ibrahim Mensah sent a header inches wide after just three minutes. Midfielder Sheriff Sinyan then had a troublesome effort saved by Vangen just before Oskar Hansen got our first shot on target – predictably, from a free-kick. Sadly, it was just too close to visiting goalkeeper Andreas Søndergaard.
Then, after 30 minutes, flamboyant winger Markus Aanesland produced a moment of magic to put Start ahead. Having taken the ball from just past the halfway line, Aanesland dribbled towards goal, jinked past Jesper Sandberg, and then struck a fantastic 25-yard shot.
Trøen couldn’t get us back level, and I substituted him in the 54th minute after he conceded a penalty from a shove on opposite number Kristján Flóki Finnbogason. Fortunately for Martin, the ex-Norway Under-21s right-back Erlend Reitan hit the post, and the score remained 1-0. We had another let-off soon afterwards, as Finnbogason was caught offside after heading in a cross from Kristian Eriksen [not that one, obviously].
We defended strongly to stop Start from going further in front [okay, Marit, I think that’s enough], but despite our best efforts, an equaliser was never coming. Tafesse and Haugstad each had late chances saved as we once again missed out on Round 3. One day, we’ll make it past that second hurdle. One day.
FRAM LARVIK vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 3)
We quickly bounced back at Fram Larvik, who continued their poor start under their new 30-year-old manager Tomas Skaret Halvorsen [blimey, he’s younger than me!]. It took us only three minutes to power ahead through midfielder Adil Zahid, who scored a stunning piledriver after battling to reach Mehnert’s pass.
There was more disappointment for Fram midway through the half. Winger Joachim Eriksen had a header saved by Vangen in the 19th minute. Seven minutes later, one of his team-mates – midfield workhorse Henrik Byklum – suddenly pulled a calf muscle and had to come off injured.
We largely kept the hosts at arm’s length during the second half, and then our attacking trio knocked them down in the 71st minute. Haugstad flicked the ball across from the right wing to Trøen, who then cut it through space for Mehnert to sneak behind a defender and tuck it away! A 2-0 win moved us up to 4th in the early standings, and we were back in business!
LYN 1896 vs RAUFOSS (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 4)
Then came another home game to forget – a 2-1 defeat against Raufoss. And to think it had started so well, with Hansen crossing to an unmarked Haugstad for the opening goal after only four minutes.
Our passing over the next quarter-hour was very wasteful, which allowed Raufoss to grab a foothold on the game. They launched an excellent quick counter-attack in the 18th minute, when their teenage left-wing playmaker Geir Kjærgård cut our defence open with a killer through-ball. Swedish striker Anton Henningsson got through a channel and powered in an angled shot to equalise.
The turnaround continued in the 35th minute, when Kjærgård got himself on the scoresheet. Erik Lundanes Jonvik‘s careless challenge on Bendik Rise gave the visitors a free-kick, which the 18-year-old lifted over the wall and beyond Vangen. [Sounds like Lyn needed to click into Geir and Rise to the challenge. See, Marit? I can do bad puns as well!]
Kjærgård didn’t stop there, with a robust challenge on Holmen injuring our box-to-box midfielder’s foot and ending his day early. Unfortunately, Martin’s replacement Høberg Vetti couldn’t inspire a Lyn comeback in the second half, and neither could Simen Vedvik in his first league outing this year. We had lost back-to-back matches at the Bislett and dropped to 7th.
ODD 2 vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 5)
We were much better against Odd 2 in midweek, inflicting another defeat on an inexperienced side who had begun the season poorly. For this match, I decided to start Vedvik as a left-winger and Tafesse as an inside-forward on the right flank. Playing in an unfamiliar position didn’t seem to rattle Kot Chol, who gave us the lead with a superb free-kick in just the fourth minute.
The ball was in the home net again eight minutes. Alas, centre-half Marc Vales was clearly offside when he headed in a lofted ball from Sande. Meanwhile, Marc and the Lyn defenders limited Odd’s equalising chances, though our old (young) friend Svein Melfjord flicked a couple of headers wide.
Then, seven minutes before half-time, Simen’s selection at left wing paid off. Odd centre-half Erik Haugland miscontrolled his interception of Walstad’s long ball to Vedvik. Quick on his feet, our wideman took possession and squared the ball across the box to leave Mehnert with an easy finish.
The game was basically already over at the break, as the hosts rarely threatened to fight back in the second period. The final score remained 2-0 Lyn, despite substitute Zahid having a couple of promising efforts saved by goalkeeper Elias Haug. Our star men Haugstad and Trøen stayed unused on the bench, earning some much-needed rest before the visit of Strømmen five days later.
LYN 1896 vs STRØMMEN (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 6)
Strømmen might have been relegated from the 1. divisjon only last season, but they looked far more second-rate than second-tier at the Bislett. This was a surprisingly straightforward win for our boys as we climbed up to 4th – only one point off a play-off place.
While Walstad had started the season inconsistently at left-back, Hansen took this chance to show that he was still in hotter form than his younger colleague. The 26-year-old set up both our goals, the first of which was a thunderous strike from Sandberg midway through the opening half.
Strømmen were soon having to defend against a wave of Lyn attacks. Matters weren’t helped when their left-back Victor Grodås sprained his ankle late in the first period. They had more woe in that position after 55 minutes, when Hansen curled a first-time delivery for Trøen, whose header ended his five-game goal drought. Was that the moment our number 10 got his campaign up and running?
Our opponents gradually became more frustrated, and they started collecting yellow cards like Panini stickers. Indeed, a couple of poor challenges on Sande and Haugstad saw midfielder Mathias Blårud collect TWO of them, leaving his team having to see out the match with 10 men.
The match ended with the ball once again in Strømmen’s net. Hansen’s injury-time corner was nodded to the far post by Anders Lübeck and finished by Vales, who then had a goal disallowed for offside for the second straight game. It didn’t matter, as we still claimed our fourth league win this season – all by the same 2-0 scoreline.
TRÆFF vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 7)
Our next fixture was a potential banana skin against Træff, who came up from the 3. divisjon last season and were already staking a claim for successive promotions. After losing their opening game 2-0 at home to Asker, they had gone for a safety-first approach and kept five consecutive clean sheets.
Actually, make that six consecutive clean sheets.
It was one of those days for our midfielders and forwards, who just couldn’t break down a resilient backline. As for our own defenders, it appeared that they had gone back in time to 12 months ago.
Træff took the lead in the 22nd minute, as the skilful attacking midfielder Edvard Khachatrjan drilled in a low shot from distance. We seemed to have cancelled it out five minutes later, when Tafesse flicked Hansen’s lofted free-kick across the six-yard box for Trøen to head it in. Unfortunately, Martin was caught just offside.
Meanwhile, Træff unsettled us further with some robust tackling. Five players collected yellow cards, which was actually more than the number of fouls we conceded. While our hosts were getting very competitive, maybe we were looking a little soft.
The match slipped further from us in the 72nd minute, when Vangen was beaten from outside his penalty area by another midfield player in Andreas Druzkowski. Our goalkeeper’s nightmare ended with him conceding a third goal in stoppage time. Winger Alexander Jonassen unlocked our defence with a floating cross to striker Jonathan Rinne, who completed our heaviest defeat of the season.
LYN 1896 vs ELVERUM (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 8)
Another promoted side then awaited us at the Bislett, and we only just scraped a victory against Elverum. Things had looked like they would be more comfortable when we took the lead in the third minute. Rishovd crossed first-time into the box for Mehnert, whose square ball to Vedvik was tucked away for Simen’s first goal of the campaign.
This was Skjærstein’s first appearance in goal for us this season, having been given an opportunity to impress after Vangen was trounced at Træff. He didn’t make the most of it, conceding a soft equaliser after 10 minutes. Elverum winger Lars Klaveness dribbled at our defence and then hit a tame shot from the edge of the box, which Knut-André helplessly flapped at as it evaded his reach.
Four minutes later, though, a stroke of luck put us back ahead. Elverum’s centre-halves had a moment to forget, as Ferdinand Trondsen’s headed clearance fell towards Holmen, whose long-ranger was deflected into the net off Sturla Opseth.
After seeing three goals in the first 14 minutes, you might have expected a goal glut. Not so. Though we relentlessly attacked our visitors and registered 32 shots at goal, only nine were on target. Lone frontman Mehnert was particularly poor, as four of his shots were blocked and the other three missed the net.
To be honest, though, most of our attempts were hopeless efforts from the edge of the box. The same could be said of Elverum’s shots, which were more scarce – particularly in the second half. A late calf injury to midfielder Kristian Eggen proved critical, reducing them to 10 men for the final few minutes of a match that had been on a knife edge.
We finish May sitting in 5th place – just two points off in-form Træff in the promotion place. Asker’s great entertainers lead the way by four points after winning seven of their eight matches, with Papa Sow once again providing plenty of goals. As it happens, our next match is against the early frontrunners at the Føyka Stadion – but that’s for another time.
That’s not bad going for the first eight games of the season. Lyn have already put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone and can now look up the table, rather than down it.
We’ll pick this up next week, when we hit the midway point of the season and head into summer. Until then, enjoy your weekend – and enjoy all the big international finals going on in Lyon, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro this Sunday.
“Takk for lesing!”
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