This Football Manager 2019 adventure looks like it’s about to get a lot more exciting. Some impressive results in the previous chapter (which you can read here) have turned Lyn 1896 into serious challengers for promotion to the 1. divisjon.
There are 10 games left in the 2021 season, and Lyn are sitting pretty in their 2. divisjon group. The summer transfer window has come and gone with little movement at the Bislett, so Marit Enstad is clearly happier with her squad now than she was this time last year! Will stability be the key to success?
Just like last season, I’m going to split the run-in into two chapters. Part 4 is all about Lyn’s attempts to consolidate a strong position, and we’ll then find out in Part 5 whether they can seal the deal.
RAUFOSS vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 17)
Hei, det er Marit, and you join me in the middle of a promotion race. With ten matches to go, Lyn had a clear lead at the top of the 2. divisjon – three points ahead of 2nd-placed Asker, and with a much better goal difference. If we could hold our nerve in the coming weeks, we would surely be on our way to the 1. divisjon.
This chapter begins in mid-August with a visit to 5th-placed Raufoss, who had their own designs on promotion. This would not be easy, as the hosts’ 18-year-old attacking midfield starlet Per Olav Holtet made clear when he tested Alexander Vangen‘s goalkeeping abilities on the half-hour.
In Raufoss’ half, Ole Kristian Lauvli made a couple of saves to keep forward Simen Vedvik off the scoreboard. Another Lyn player did get the better of him in the 35th minute, when Adil Zahid‘s corner delivery was headed in at the near post by Benjamin Zalo. That gave us a narrow lead to take into the half-time break.
However, the hosts fought back in the second half, with their equaliser also coming from the head of a central defender. Lars Ranger had recently joined the club from Lillestrøm, and the 22-year-old got off the mark 12 minutes from half-time. As Stian Simenstad sent a right-wing free-kick into our box, Ranger outjumped Eirik Bækkelund to nod it home for 1-1.
Raufoss thus came away with a point, and we were lucky they didn’t emerge with all three. Zalo struggled to clear a left-wing cross from Simenstad in injury time, and Mikkel Frankmo cushioned the ball to forward Strahinja Latkovic, who had a pop from just outside our box. Vangen clawed it away, and we then survived Simenstad’s corner to extend our unbeaten run to 10 matches.
Asker failed to pounce on our slip later that evening, losing 2-1 at home to Lørenskog. The next day, they were beaten into 2nd place by Eidsvold Turn, whose 2-1 away win over Fram Larvik moved them to within three points of us.
Our challengers would swap places again the following Saturday, thanks to a couple more away victories. Lørenskog did us another big favour by winning 1-0 at Eidsvold, while Asker returned to 2nd after winning by the same scoreline at Stjørdals-Blink. All that meant we would extend our lead to four points if we won our next match on Sunday afternoon.
LYN 1896 vs ODD 2 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 18)
That next game was at home to Odd 2, who were bottom of the table with just three wins on the board. In fact, our out-of-sort opponents had taken only two points from their last eight matches, scoring three goals in that time. [Imagine if they ended Lyn’s unbeaten run right here! Football Manager’s Reddit community would be all over that!]
It won’t surprise you that we quickly set out our stall by attacking Odd. Mind you, it took us a little over half an hour to break the deadlock with a counter-attack. The tenacious Jesper Sandberg slide-tackled Odd’s veteran playmaker Jone Samuelsen to begin the move, which saw Kot Chol Tafesse take the ball upfield before playing Martin Trøen through. Once Martin wriggled away from the last defender, there was no doubting that he would score.
Ex-Lyn forward Svein Melfjord missed an equalising chance for Odd from a free-kick just before half-time. The teenager then hit the crossbar in the 58th minute, but by then, we’d already gone 2-0 up. Trøen had doubled his and our tally four minutes before then, finishing off Sandberg’s flick-on from Erik Lundanes Jonvik‘s floating cross.
It was effectively all over by the 69th minute, when Trøen completed a magnificent hat-trick. Winger Eirik Haugstad played an excellent searching ball from the halfway line towards the 26-year-old poacher, who outpaced his marker Erik Haugland and squirmed a shot in from a tight angle.
Shortly afterwards, though, another former Lyn youth graduate gave Odd something to cheer about. Just eight minutes after coming on as a substiute, and a mere 11 days after leaving the Bislett, Stian Bogsveen returned to hammer in an unstoppable shot from about 25 yards. I’ll admit that I raised a smile at the 16-year-old striker’s first senior goal, feeling like a proud mother.
I wouldn’t have been smiling if Odd had scored twice more after that. Thankfully, we didn’t lose our concentration, eventually holding on for a seventh home win in a row.
Eight games to go, four points clear of 2nd. The Bastionen had good reason for getting excited, not least because…
…we were now on our longest run without defeat since I became manager. How long could we keep the streak going for?
STRØMMEN vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 19)
Seven days. Mid-table Strømmen were always going to be tricky opponents at their home ground, but the manner of our first loss in over three months had me feeling worried.
When we beat Strømmen 2-0 at the Bislett earlier this year, their midfielder Mathias Blårud received a late red card. Blårud would have happier memories of this match, in which he opened the scoring after just six minutes, tapping in centre-back Max Hallgren’s knock-down from Emil Sildnes’s free-kick.
Strømmen’s first goal was well-crafted, tbut heir second came about by accident. Lyn right-back Markus Frydenlund was in despair after messing up his interception of a long ball from Hallgren on the edge of our area. Home striker Truls Krabbesund Hansen was fully alert, stealing the ball before driving it home for 2-0.
Our own finishing was nowhere near as clinical, though that was largely down to the Strømmen defence consistently keeping us out of their box. Midfielder Mads Sande did produce our one highlight of the game in the 52nd minute, but his 20-yard strike ultimately meant little. We just didn’t have the creativity needed to break open such a stubborn defence.
Surprisingly, that defeat caused no damage to our four-point lead. Asker could only claw back two goals after falling 3-0 behind at home to Rosenborg 2. As for Eidsvold, a 92nd-minute own goal handed a 1-0 victory to Raufoss, who were now 4th and rapidly closing in on the top three.
UNDER-19S UPDATE
While our senior team were feeling jittery at the top of the table, there were no such nerves where the Under-19s were concerned. With local rivals Vålerenga and Stabæk now playing in the National Championship, our youth team were firm favourites to win the Oslo Under-19s Championship in 2021. They did exactly that, and then some…
Lyn hit the front from the start, winning an astonishing 29 of their first 30 league games (the only blip being a 1-1 draw at Skeid). When Anders Andersen scored four goals in a 5-1 thrashing of Asker, our youngsters secured the title – with four matches still to play. They would now go into the end-of-year play-offs, with the chance to be promoted to the National Championship for the 2022 season.
We had scored 109 league goals at this point, with striker Andersen getting 12 of them. Attacking midfield playmaker Kim Akselsen had 14 goals and 16 assists on his record, while Bogsveen had scored 19 times before his summer move to Odd. Other outstanding displays came from defenders Carl Erik Eilertsen, Eirik Melby and Marius Skorpen, and forward Stig Harald Reginiussen – all of whom had average ratings above 7.55.
IF the seniors win the league title with time to spare, then I might give a few of those prospects some first-team action in October. That obviously depends on us not throwing such a strong lead away in the final seven games…
LYN 1896 vs TRÆFF (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 20)
September began with some good and bad news before we hosted Træff. There were wins for Raufoss and Eidsvold Turn on Saturday, but Asker lost 3-1 at Hønefoss early on Sunday afternoon, with ex-Lyn midfielder Athit Berg scoring twice. [Athit Berg actually follows me on Twitter, so if you’re reading this, Athit… thank you!]
A few hours after Asker’s defeat, we were given an opportunity to build a six-point lead at the top. Standing in our way were Træff, who tore us apart 3-0 at the Reknesbanen back in May. Magnus Oltedal’s team were credited with having a very strong defence back then, but that record had recently been tarnished by a few horror shows…
…and this was another! With one of our most clinical displays this season, we trounced Træff to take another huge step towards promotion!
Oskar Hansen narrowly missed the target with one of his free-kicks in the eighth minute, but another Lyn favourite broke the deadlock eight minutes later. After Tafesse fired a close-range free-kick over the defensive wall and against the crossbar, Trøen made sure he was first to the rebound. A simple finish followed, which was enough to give us a narrow half-time lead.
Early in the second half, Tafesse had a couple of chances to make it 2-0. A 53rd-minute effort went high and wide, but his next attempt three minutes later was brilliantly hammered in from the penalty arc. Kot Chol was showing himself to be quite the long-range specialist!
Træff could’ve got themselves back in the game in the final 20 minutes, but Knut-André Skjærstein was having none of it. Our backup goalkeeper was back in the side, and he justified his selection by making strong close-range saves from wingers Alexander Jonassen and Lars Christian Moldestad.
Shortly after Skjærstein thwarted Moldestad, we went 3-0 up through a second goal from Trøen, who took advantage of a long through-ball from Joakim Rishovd. Our key man then played a key role in our fourth and final goal late on, smartly chipping a weighted ball ahead of the onrushing Zahid. Though Adil’s first shot hit the post, he tucked away the rebound to complete a stunning victory.
LYN 1896 vs ASKER (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 21)
Everything was coming together in our pursuit of automatic promotion. Two of our main rivals slipped up again in the following week, when Eidsvold Turn and Raufoss were shut out in home defeats to Rosenborg 2 and Træff respectively.
That meant our Sunday afternoon showdown with Asker was now HUGE. If we won, we would hold at least a NINE-point advantage on everyone else, with only 15 left to play for. A draw would leave us seven points clear, but if Asker inflicted just our second league loss at the Bislett this year, they would 2nd with just a four-point deficit.
The first half was as tense as you’d expect from two teams not willing to give up ground in the promotion race. Though we looked more comfortable in possession, Asker worked harder and were more adept at creating scoring opportunities. They took one of them in the 43rd minute, with a mini-scramble in our area ending in a 15th goal of the season for Papa Sow. It took a deflection off Nikolas Walstad on the way in, but they all count.
Our response was to get a quick equaliser just before half-time. Rishovd cut inside from the right wing and cross the ball into the six-yard box, where Trøen got above defender Adrian Danielsen to head in his 11th goal this term.
Danielsen would get his revenge in the 56th minute. We failed to fully clear a dangerous free-kick from Kinny Grewal, which allowed winger Eric Kitolano to have a pop at goal. Though Trøen got his body in the way, he could only deflect the ball to Danielsen, whose fierce half-volley left us trailing again.
While defensive issues were putting our title hopes in some doubt, we could always rely on one man to pull us back level. In the 71st minute, Sande nodded a Walstad throw-in back to the on-loan left-back, who sent a perfect cross into the danger area. Trøen headed in his second equaliser of the afternoon, and the match was nicely poised at 2-2!
Martin was seeking a hat-trick of headed goals in the 76th minute, but Asker goalkeeper Bjarne Granrud caught well to make sure he wouldn’t get his wish. Midfielder Martin Holmen – making his first appearance in two months – was also thwarted by Granrud late on, while Vangen denied Kitolano a dramatic winner for Asker. Neither team would strike a decisive blow in the end, but a 2-2 draw was a fair result.
I was absolutely fine with a draw, which kept us seven points ahead of Eidsvold and Asker in 2nd and 3rd respectively. With our nearest rivals consistently dropping points, we found ourselves in a very strong position.
ELECTION DAY
Our biennial board elections took place in mid-September, with Magnus Henriksen standing for a second term as chairman. I had a good relationship with Magnus and wouldn’t have had any problems with him staying on… but many of our fans clearly felt otherwise after he sold Bogsveen on the cheap.
His main rival – local businessman Patrick Madsen – was elected by a large margin. He therefore became the third Lyn chairman of my three-year reign as manager, with Henriksen having replaced Marius Solbakken in 2019.
Patrick was joined on the board by two new directors, while Christoffer Grønner was re-elected for a second term. The new regime could not promise any new investment immediately, which was a shame, as we were continuing to lose money very quickly.
However, Patrick did give me a new contract, running until the end of next year. I received an initial €100 pay rise, though my new €1,100 salary will be further increased by 20% if we get promoted. Sweet.
ELVERUM vs LYN 1896 (2. divisjon, Avdeling 1 – Match 22)
After four consecutive Sunday kick-offs, we returned to Saturday action with a trip to Elverum. Though they only had slim hopes for promotion, they weren’t really worrying about relegation either in their first season back up. One of the key men behind their mid-table placing was 18-year-old Niklas Helgesen, who had scored 12 league goals and was attracting interest from several managers (myself included).
Another Elverum teenager who had enjoyed a fine season was goalkeeper Lars Schriwer. He made two fantastic stops in the 14th minute to keep the deadlock intact, clawing Tafesse’s free-kick off the line before saving Haugstad’s follow-up. Schriwer also kept out a Trøen strike from the edge of the area in the 32nd minute.
Elverum’s main attacking threat came from midfielder Petter Mathias Olsen, who struck our post five minutes from half-time. Remarkably, Olsen missed THREE chances to open the scoring two minutes into the second half! His first was a scuffed volley that Anders Lübeck blocked. His next attempt was pushed back to him by an uncertain Vangen, but it wasn’t third time lucky when Olsen fired the ball high and off target.
Vangen was by far the busier keeper in the second half. Schriwer was given nothing to do as we struggled to create openings against a side that we’d beaten in each of our previous four meetings. A solid home defence held out, and we had to make do with a goalless draw.
While that was happening, Eidsvold’s late-season collapse was continuing with a 1-0 defeat at Odd 2. Asker also lost later in the weekend – going down 2-1 to Bærum – while Raufoss could only draw 0-0 at Strømmen. Indeed, our three challengers had done so poorly of late that another trio of teams were now breathing down their necks!
What a sight that is. Four games left, and we are EIGHT points clear at the summit! We need just five more to secure promotion as Avdeling 1 champions – but our goal difference means a win and a draw would basically be enough!
We can’t surely throw this away, can we?
Well… this is as close as I’ve ever come to getting a team promoted on FM19. I’ve thrown away a four-point lead in a promotion race with Shrewsbury Town before, but choking on an eight-point advantage really would be cruel.
So, can Lyn get this job done, or will the Football Manager gods conspire against me again? We’ll find out the answer to that question next week. You WILL NOT want to miss the Season 3 finale, that’s for certain!
“Takk for lesing!”
Fuller FM 
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