Despite the usual early-season wobbles, Lyn 1896 are in a good spot after the first eight games of the 2021 campaign. Hopes remain high that this will be the year they finally get out of the 2. divisjon – in the right direction.
You can find Part 2 here if you haven’t read it yet. For those of you who are up-to-date, we’ll now check in with Marit Enstad as she takes Lyn into those pivotal summer months.
ASKER vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 9)
Hei, det er Marit, and this chapter begins with one of our biggest matches of the season so far. We were at the Føyka Stadion for a mouth-watering meeting with Asker, who held a four-point lead at the top of the table. Their excellent start was again largely down to Papa Sow – the division’s Top Goalscorer in 2020, who had begun this year with seven goals from as many starts.
If 5th-placed Lyn won this match, we would be just three points off the lead. On the other hand, a defeat would leave us nine points adrift, and automatic promotion would already be a tough ask.
“Herregud!” We were absolutely incredible, carrying out a game plan to perfection. Asker had a very short and wide pitch – 98 yards long and 93 yards wide, to be exact. Because of that, I gave my team the freedom to stretch play out wide and cause havoc.
The plan started coming together in the fifth minute, when winger Eirik Haugstad drifted past his marker Stian Molde and put a ball into Asker’s box. Though Adrian Danielsen tried to head it clear, the ball fell to our midfielder Mads Sande. Mads then dribbled into the area before unleashing a powerful finish.
We put our opponents under constant pressure later in the half, eventually producing a second goal just before half-time. Oskar Hansen‘s outswinging corner was nodded on by centre-back Benjamin Zalo to mezzala Adil Zahid, who crashed a volley in off the bar.
A dominant display continued with us making it 3-0 midway through the second half. After Kot Chol Tafesse‘s free-kick was deflected back to him off the Asker wall, the Kenyan forward struck a left-footer towards goal. Goalkeeper Bjarne Granrud could only push the ball towards a prowling Marcus Mehnert, who slid the rebound across the line.
Things were now going so badly for Asker that even their Senegalese goal machine Papa Sow was having an off day. Sow’s best chance to pull one goal back – and give his team a possible route back into the game – was wasted in the 71st minute. He got his head to Eric Kitolano’s cross from the right, but Lyn keeper Alexander Vangen easily claimed it.
We rounded off a five-star display with two more goals in the closing minutes. Firstly, substitute striker Martin Trøen teed up a second goal from Mehnert – a powerful hit from the edge of the area. The pair then swapped roles in stoppage time, as Marcus played a searching pass that Martin struck very sweetly.
Tafesse had played his part in my biggest win as Lyn manager, but that would be his last outing for us for a while. He would now leave Norway to link up with the Kenya team for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon. How would we handle his absence?
LYN 1896 vs LØRENSKOG (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 10)
Based on this performance… not brilliantly. Lørenskog were on a poor run of form and couldn’t get a single shot on target, but we didn’t look too hot ourselves and laboured to a narrow 1-0 victory.
Our star man was left-back Oskar Hansen, who was upstaging the on-loan Nikolas Walstad with some consistently strong performances. Oskar provided the inspiration for what proved to be the game’s only goal after just eight minutes. After Sande found him in acres of space, he did likewise for Eirik Haugstad with a delightful centre that was driven home from a tight angle.
A repeat of that goal was almost on the cards in the 34th minute. That time around, though, Haugstad’s shot from Hansen’s cross was blocked by Lørenskog goalkeeper Andreas Håskjold. That came barely a minute after Håskjold clawed away a long-range effort from Zahid, which proved to be our only shot on target.
We never really threatened to increase our lead in the second half, though we were thankful that Lørenskog fared even worse. One of their worst and costliest misses came in the 88th minute from a right-sided winger with the surname Fritzøe Östman. It wasn’t Tor, obviously, but it was his older cousin Adrian (at least I think they’re cousins).
I’m afraid that 2020/2021 was not a good continental season for Norwegian clubs. Poor performances in the Champions League and Europa League saw Norway’s UEFA club coefficient dropped four places to 24th, while the Eliteserien’s reputation also took a hit.
STJØRDALS-BLINK vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 11)
Our next stop was Stjørdal in central Norway, where we could only manage a 2-2 draw against newly-promoted opposition. Stjørdals-Blink had made a slow start to the 2. divisjon season but had now settled into a rhythm, taking 10 points from their previous five games.
The first half saw only a few significant highlights, but in the second, it was a case of, “Blink, and you’ll miss a goal.” After several unsuccessful attempts on goal, we needed a Hansen set-piece to break the deadlock in the 56th minute. His hanging-ball corner was headed to the far post by captain Anders Lübeck, whose centre-back partner Zalo nodded in his first goal since rejoining Lyn.
Six minutes later, though, Lübeck lost concentration – and lost us the lead. Anders failed intercept winger Jørgen Sollihaug’s header across our penalty area before it was hammered into the net by striker Franklin Nyenetue. 1-1 – game on again.
Fortunately, the hosts Blinked in the 79th minute and made a defensive error of their own. Hansen’s deep cross was poorly dealt with by his opposite left-back Henrik Rolland, which allowed young winger Yannis Moula to half-volley in his first league goal for Lyn.
That wouldn’t be the winner, though. Rolland made amends just seven minutes later, when his corner was headed in by substitute central defender Thomas Synnevåg, who salvaged a 2-2 draw for Stjørdals-Blink.
LYN 1896 vs ROSENBORG 2 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 12)
We then survived a fightback from Rosenborg 2 to return to winning ways. The first of our three goals came after seven minutes, and it came in quite some fashion. Walstad sent a 50-yard ball across the field to Haugstad, whose cross into the RBK box deflected off a defender before Jesper Sandberg smashed in a volley.
We were 2-0 up by the 13th minute, with Trøen getting the final touch to Lübeck’s flick-on from Sande’s corner. Sande then had a free-kick headed into the net by right-back Joakim Rishovd in the 39th minute, only for the offside flag to go up against our vice-captain. That didn’t matter, though, as Trøen headed in a 44th-minute byline cross from Haugstad to secure his brace and put us in complete control.
A 3-0 is never a safe one, though [as the Scotland women’s team found out last month]. Rosenborg pulled one goal back just before the break, when Robin Skrogstad cut a pass through a channel for midfielder Teodor Haltvik to score.
That made for a nervy second half in which we missed a number of chances to kill RBK off. Things got even more tense in the 77th minute, when right-back Roger Mo chipped a free-kick up to Haltvik in the six-yard box. Though Vangen got a glove to the initial shot, Haltvik slid the rebound home for his brace.
The momentum was now with our opponents. They very nearly completed the recovery in the final minute of stoppage time, when Robert Williams’ last-ditch drive from the left wing flew inches off target. We eventually held on for a priceless win, which left the top six looking like this:
With the two frontrunners having drawn their matches, we were now only three points off leaders Asker, and one behind Eidsvold Turn. If we bettered Eidsvold’s result in the next round of fixtures, we would climb into the play-off spot at their expence – and possibly even into the automatic promotion place.
HØNEFOSS vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 13)
This next match was much closer than the scoreline suggested. Hønefoss were battling relegation and just couldn’t make the most of their opportunities. By contrast, we were much more clinical when we needed to be.
Our best attacks in the first half both came from Hansen free-kicks. In the 25th minute, a delivery from our left-back was finished at the back post by Zahid, though from an offside decision. When Oskar next got a glimpse of goal about 15 minutes later, he went straight for it, curling this free-kick over the wall and past goalkeeper Øyvind Christoffer Knutsen. The long wait for another Hansen special was well worth it!
Oskar also set up our second goal on 62 minutes. After his initial cross to Haugstad was headed against the bar, he played the rebound short to Tafesse, who finished at the back post. This was Kot Chol’s first match back for Lyn since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he was left unused as Kenya went out at the Group Stage.
To complete a classy performance, a couple of substitutes increased our lead to 3-0 in injury time. Moula hunted down a long ball from playmaker Gaute Høberg Vetti and crossed to Mehnert, who claimed his sixth goal this season.
A few hours, Eidsvold Turn suffered a shock 3-1 home defeat to Bærum – our next opponents, as it happened. We were now in 2nd at Eidsvold’s expense, and Asker’s 1-1 draw against Strømmen meant their lead was now down to a single point.
BÆRUM vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 14)
Bærum were also scrapping for survival, but a team who’d got just three wins all season almost got a fourth. They dominated possession and led 2-0 at half-time, but despite our counter-attacking away game not being at its best, we somehow came away with a point.
Our first-half troubles began after 12 minutes, when right-back Markus Frydenlund upended Mathias Aasand in the box. Markus’ opposite number – and dead-ball specialist – Andreas Elvestad then drove the penalty low and firm underneath Vangen’s dive to open the scoring. Another foul from Frydenlund on Aasand led to Elvestad doubling his tally four minutes before half-time, curling in an excellent direct free-kick.
I’m usually a calm and measured manager, but I really went at my team at half-time. The players responded by erasing our deficit within 10 minutes of the restart. Martin Holmen got us on the scoreboard with a low strike from just outside the area, before Moula headed home another delightful delivery by Hansen.
We bossed most of the second period and came very close to turning a 2-2 draw into a 3-2 win. Sadly, Tafesse had a couple of promising efforts saved by Sondre Midtgarden, who also frustrated Moula, Trøen and Zahid late on.
Asker took advantage of our slip, beating Træff 3-1 to restore a three-point cushion in 1st place. 3rd-placed Eidsvold Turn couldn’t go back level on points with us, though, as they let a 3-0 lead slip against Elverum.
MID-SEASON BREAK
With Lyn on a seven-match unbeaten run, the mid-season interval came at an unsuitable time for us. We now had three weeks to prepare for our next league match – at home to promotion rivals Eidsvold Turn.
The transfer window opened with little fanfare. My first order of business was to recall teenage midfielder Rune Bjørshol from his loan spell at Pors. Rune made eight appearances in the 3. divisjon but performed terribly, so I thought he would be better off rebuilding his confidence back in our Under-19s.
Things then went quiet until roughly a fortnight later, when both our Martins got injured in the same reserve match. Trøen pulled his knee ligaments and would miss our next two matches. More alarming was that Holmen twisted his ankle, ruling the experienced box-to-box midfielder out until at least September.
Otherwise, it was quite a productive few weeks on the training ground. One young player in particular fared better than most, with his development having come on leaps and bounds over recent months. Indeed, he was now attracting serious transfer interest.
Dan Tandberg might have been a 17-year-old with only six league games on his record, but he was blossoming into an impressive defender. Despite losing some of his resilience, he’d made great strides physically and had become tactically more responsible. Indeed, my assistant manager Daniel Westvang now thought Tandberg to be the second-best centre-half at Lyn, behind only Zalo!
Unfortunately, our wage bill – and the cost of running such a productive youth system – was taking a toll on our finances. We entered August sitting nearly €300,000 in debt, which would make it harder for us to reject any attractive offers for Tandberg. Sure enough, the vultures would soon start circling.
A bidding war began with us agreeing an initial €60,000 fee with Eliteserien leaders Brann for Dan’s services. Then our local rivals Lillestrøm – sitting in 5th place in the top flight – offered €65,000, to which Brann responded by upping their bid to €70,000. We accepted both offers, which meant our best prospect now had a big decision to make.
Before then, though, I gave Tandberg what would probably be his final start for Lyn. When we last hosted Eidsvold Turn in a relegation six-pointer last September, Dan had a disastrous game as we were beaten 4-3. Could he now come good in a match that would potentially have huge consequences on the promotion race?
LYN 1896 vs EIDSVOLD TURN (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 15)
We played this match on the Sunday afternoon after league leaders Asker had suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat at Elverum. That result meant we would overtake them on goal difference with a victory here. However, Eidsvold would take our play-off place and move into 2nd if they won, while a draw would keep them two points behind.
Well… this was a surprisingly one-sided contest, even if the final scoreline didn’t suggest it! We were all over Eidsvold from the start, attacking them relentlessly as we tried to strike a major blow in the promotion race.
For 82 minutes, our efforts produced no rewards. Tafesse clipped the woodwork from a free-kick midway through the first half, while several Lyn players had shots saved by Peter Rusina. At the other end, the only major job our goalkeeper Knut-André Skjærstein had to do was to catch a simple header from Piotr Gawecki in the 36th minute.
It took a moment of magic from Tafesse seven minutes from time to earn us the three points. Despite being 25 yards from goal and in a difficult angle on the left wing, the Kenyan sensed an opening after receiving the ball from Sandberg. Kot Chol bent in a hopeful long-ranger, and Rusina was left stranded as the ball flew beyond his reach, sending us top of the 2. divisjon!
Tandberg put in a strong shift at the back to record a clean sheet in what was indeed his Lyn farewell. Three days later, he signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Brann, joining them for €70,000 plus 50% of his next sale. I’m sure Dan will go on to have a successful career, and I wish him all the best.
LYN 1896 vs FRAM LARVIK (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 16)
A week after scraping past Eidsvold, we recorded a SIXTH straight home win by destroying Fram Larvik. We were dominant from the ninth minute, when Sande’s long ball sent Mehnert bursting through on goal. A powerful finish earned Marcus his seventh goal this season, and he wouldn’t stop there.
Careless tackling from Fram earned them three quickfire yellow cards in the middle of the first half. Their plight got even worse in the 29th minute, when Tafesse drove in another long-range stunner – this time from a central position 25 yards out, and with his ‘weaker’ left foot!
Kot Chol was in the goals again after 64 minutes. Walstad chipped the ball over an unwitting Fram defence, allowing Tafesse to burst behind and finish at the back post. Mehnert matched his colleague’s double three minutes later, poking in a pinpoint drilled cross from left-winger Simen Vedvik to complete a 4-0 drubbing.
Though an off-target header denied Mehnert a hat-trick in the final minute, I was still delighted with a dominant victory. I was smiling even more once I saw the league table:
As 2nd-placed Asker had suffered a 1-0 defeat at Eidsvold Turn, we now held a three-point lead at the top of the 2. divisjon! With 10 games remaining, we were now the hot favourites to go up automatically!
ANOTHER STARLET LEAVES
You might have spotted that youth striker Stian Bogsveen came on as a late substitute in that thrashing of Fram Larvik. It was the 16-year-old’s first competitive appearance for Lyn… and it would also be his last.
A couple of months earlier, Stian signed a pre-contract agreement that would’ve seen him turn semi-pro with us on his 17th birthday next March. However, that didn’t stop other clubs trying to sign him on the cheap.
This really annoyed me. With about 12 hours to go on transfer deadline day, three Eliteserien teams each offered us €28,000 – and no sell-on clauses – to sign Bogsveen.
I would have rejected those offers and demanded a lot more, as I did with Tandberg and certain other youth graduates. Chairman Magnus Henriksen had the final say, though, and he went over my head and straight up accepted the bids. Within a few hours, Stian had accepted Odd’s offer and moved to Skien, much to my disappointment.
It’s a sadly familiar story. Exactly two years ago, Rosenborg snatched Tor Fritzøe Östman from us for very little compensation. Indeed, any Lyn youngster that shows any real potential tends to be lured away before they turn 18. This will keep happening year after year unless we make progress on the pitch and become more financially secure off it.
In other words, we need to get promoted this year.
Meanwhile, Tandberg’s earlier sale had left a central defensive opening, which I filled by promoting another talent from the Under-19s. You can expect to see 18-year-old Marius Skorpen get a few first-team opportunities before the season is out.
That might annoy fellow centre-half Eirik Melby, who’s arguably got more potential and has been scouted by several Eliteserien clubs. He’ll have to wait for his chance, though, as Skorpen deserves a proper look first. Marius is a bit older and mentally tougher than Eirik, and he’s having an excellent season with the youth team. Though his technical ability is still very raw, I’m prepared to overlook that.
Tandberg and Bogsveen leaving the club has ended this chapter on a rather sad note, but I’m sure you’ll agree that things have gone incredibly well! Lyn are unbeaten in nine games and finally justifying their tag as promotion favourites.
Can Marit’s men get the job done? Come back soon to find out!
“Takk for lesing!”
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