Who knew that the 1. divisjon would provide a different challenge to the 2. divisjon? Marit Enstad and Lyn 1896 have endured a rough start to life in the second tier following last season’s promotion, and there are already doubts over whether they can stay up.
Fortunately, the Cupen has offered the Bastionen some solace. Lyn have made it to Round 3 for the first time under Marit’s stewardship, and now they have the chance to slay Eliteserien opposition.
Feel free to read through Part 1 and Part 2 if you haven’t yet caught up with the story. If you have, then read on to see if Marit’s men can beat the odds…
LYN 1896 vs KONGSVINGER (Cupen – Round 3)
Hei, det er Marit, and this chapter starts with a huge match in Round 3 of the Cupen. Despite losing four of our first six games in the 1. divisjon, we were still confident of causing an upset against Kongsvinger.
The opposing manager was the former Blackburn and Manchester United defender Henning Berg, who inadvertently gave us even more motivation before kick-off. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Berg boasted that Kongsvinger were “a much bigger team” than Lyn and that they would put us in our place. We would see about that, Henning…
I think Berg regrets his comments now. We might have recently lost a home game 5-0 to Hødd, but we were MUCH better here! A starting line-up that included four teenagers – including Reidar Huus and Ingmar Larsen – in midfield beat the odds to book a place in Round 4!
We quickly took the game to Kongsvinger, with winger Yannis Moula missing a couple of early chances. Another Lyn youngster – 19-year-old goalkeeper Eivind Aalvik – then stopped a shot from visiting striker Henrik Kjelsrud Johansen in the 11th minute.
Then a couple of our older heads in defence came forward to silence the travelling suppoters. Joackim Olsen Solberg floated in another excellent corner, which Tobias Ødegård flicked in at the near post to put us 1-0 down after 28 minutes. Ødegård then made a couple of vital interceptions to keep us ahead at the break.
Then, in the 58th minute, an awful header from right-back Fredrik Pålerud proved even more costly for Kongsvinger. You never want to give Kot Chol Tafesse a clear view of the goal, and our Kenyan wizard punished Pålerud with an excellent 25-yard strike for 2-0. The next half-hour was all about retaining our lead, which we did effectively to complete a fantastic victory!
We now had one month to prepare for Round 4 – and an opportunity to surprise another Eliteserien team. Odd were 3rd under the management of Petr Cech and would be formidable opponents at the Skagerak Arena, but you just couldn’t write us off.
That was something to really look forward to in June. Before then, focus turned back towards our battle for league survival, as 14th-placed Lyn travelled to 16th-placed Jerv.
JERV vs LYN 1896 (1. divisjon – Match 7)
Jerv were one of the surprise packages of last year, finishing 3rd and reaching the play-offs as a semi-professional team. They turned professional at the start of this year but were having teething problems, sitting bottom of the table with two points from six games. If they could get a first win on the board, though, they would jump ahead of Lyn and put us in the automatic relegation places.
There was no first win for Jerv, but there was a first away league win this year for an Eirik Haugstad-inspired Lyn. Our right-wing stalwart thrived under pressure, and he wasted little time to get off the mark after just eight minutes. A deft volley from Fredrik Sannes‘ delivery into the six-yard box was blocked by home keeper Erik Hejer, but Haugstad made sure to drill in the rebound.
Mind you, Jerv were playing in a narrow 4-3-3 and were always likely to be a danger on counter-attacks. When a 23rd-minute attacking free-kick from Sannes surprisingly went wrong, the men in yellow left us feeling sick after an effective counter-attack. Before we knew it, Thomas Zernichow’s through-ball from midfield had found 17-year-old striker Ola Sletten, whose shot squirmed undeneath Aalvik.
We responded well to losing our lead. Haugstad thought he’d rebuilt it when he volleyed in a looping cross from Olsen Solberg in the 36th minute, but the referee’s assistant had caught him offside. Not to worry, said Tafesse, whose powerful strike from an incisive cross by right-back Markus Frydenlund seven minutes later did put us 2-1 up after all.
Jerv caused us a few problems in the second half as they tried to get back in contention. Sletten – a club-record €52,000 winter signing from Brann, not to mention a current Norway youth international – came close to getting them back level on a couple of occasions.
Going even closer was the on-loan Odd midfielder Mikael Ugland, who hit the post at the J.J. Ugland Stadion, which is named after an ex-Jerv player-turned-businessman. [Is it just a coincidence, or could Mikael actually be a descendant of Johan Jørgen Ugland? If you can tell me more, Norwegian readers, then please do.]
At the ground which carries the name of a now-deceased shipowner, Jerv soon found themselves all at sea. With 15 minutes left, Olsen Solberg provided another killer cross to Haugstad, who found the net for a third time – and legally for the second – to complete a 3-1 Lyn victory. We were back on form…
LYN 1896 vs ÅSANE (1. divisjon – Match 8)
…and when we’re on form, we’re ON FORM. Olsen Solberg was insane against Åsane, setting up two goals and scoring another to make a sorry sight of our mid-table visitors.
Our rout began in the fourth minute, when Haugstad’s right-wing cross was clinically finished by Martin Trøen. Another four minutes passed before Jokke claimed his first assist, hooking a corner to the near post for Benjamin Zalo to plant in a lethal header.
By the 13th minute, Åsane were probably wishing they hadn’t bothered making the lengthy trip across the country from Bergen. The energetic Jesper Sandberg exchanged square passes with Olsen Solberg before lashing in a 25-yard finish. Our first-half scoring ended there, but we weren’t quite finished.
Sandberg returned the favour to Olsen Solberg 10 minutes into the second half, sending the ball across the Åsane area for the 33-year-old to smash it home from 30 yards. That was Jokke’s last major contribution before he came off to a standing ovation and was replaced with the fit-again Oskar Hansen, who made his first league appearance this season.
Though the beleaguered visitors did get a late shot on target through frontman Filip Brattbakk, Aalvik was otherwise untroubled as he kept just his third clean sheet in nine outings.
LYN 1896 vs TROMSDALEN (1. divisjon – Match 9)
Our winning streak continued at home to Tromsdalen, who had started the season quite well and were in the play-off places. Statistically, we were more dominant here than we had been against Åsane, even if the final score didn’t suggest it.
While the first 20 minutes offered no reason for enjoyment, we did put together several promising attacks later in the first period. It wasn’t until the opening stages of the second half, though, that we broke through a tough away defence. Shortly after Trøen had headed one of his crosses against the woodwork, Olsen Solberg had better luck when finding Haugstad, who volleyed in what proved to be the winner.
Meanwhile, Aalvik had another quiet afternoon between the posts, with Olsen Solberg and Zalo superbly limiting Tromsdalen’s scoring chances. The visitors – and their loanee full-back, former Lyn youth player Martin Knudtzon – returned north empty-handed.
LEVANGER vs LYN 1896 (1. divisjon – Match 10)
Another of our former players had an unhappy reunion with Lyn the following week, when Henrik Lehne Olsen’s Levanger were beaten at home. They paid the price for some very wasteful finishing, though you could also say they were unlucky for hitting the woodwork THREE times.
The first half was frustrating for both teams, with our own Tafesse having a particularly bad time in front of goal. I brought Trøen on to replace him in the second half, and the change paid off after 64 minutes. Haugstad floated a cross into the penalty area, and Niklas Helgesen flicked it across the penalty area for Trøen to execute a tap-in.
After Martin’s opener, our goal led a charmed life as we somehow survived everything Levanger threw at us. Striker Magnus Lankhof Dahlby and left-back Simen Hagbø each hit Aalvik’s goal frame, though Eivind also needed to make a fantastic save in the 85th minute from Philip Ekeberg. He was again helped out massively by Zalo and Olsen Solberg – the latter of whom was named ‘man of the match’ for the third straight game!
We had started May in the relegation play-off place. Thanks to a run of four straight league wins, we ended it in a promotion play-off spot! This incredible surge also led to recognition from the NFF’s awards committee.
Though Olsen Solberg’s perfomances had been truly unbelievable, it was Haugstad who was named 1. divisjon Player of the Month for May. To be fair, three goals and one assist was an outstanding return for Eirik, who – at 28 – was just getting better and better!
Oh yes, and I got my first ever Manager of the Month award! [Oh dear. Those things are CURSED in England. I bet you’ll lose your very next game now, Marit…]
HAMKAM vs LYN 1896 (1. divisjon – Match 11)
Maybe Norway doesn’t have a Manager of the Month curse, Christopher. That’s not to say this wasn’t a straightforward sixth consecutive win. I rested up a few players before the huge Cupen game against Odd, but those who did feature nearly suffered a shock defeat at second-from-bottom HamKam.
The first half was very closely fought, with HamKam just about edging it. They got off the mark after 19 minutes, when a vicious strike from Ivar Sollie Rønning deflected into the net off an unlucky Zalo. Though we had a bright spell of play towards the end of the half, we remained 1-0 behind at the break.
Then came the second half, when we threw everything at our opponents. Though Adil Zahid had an excellent shot parried by keeper Stian Bolstad in the 52nd minute, Marcus Mehnert scored the rebound from a tight angle to equalise. We then pulled ahead 14 minutes later, as midfielder Gaute Høberg Vetti curled in an excellent strike after the hosts had failed to clear Joakim Rishovd‘s corner.
The match then ended as it began, with Big Ben getting on the scoresheet – this time at the right end. Zalo tapped in Ødegård’s flick-on from Zahid’s 89th-minute corner to give us a 3-1 lead and consolidate our place in the play-offs. HamKam did have a second ‘goal’ disallowed in the closing stages, but we took the spoils at full-time.
ODD vs LYN 1896 (Cupen – Round 4)
Three days later, we looked to follow up our earlier scalp of Kongsvinger by eliminating a second Eliteserien side from the Cupen. There was no sign of either Svein Melfjord or Stian Bogsveen at the Skagerak Arena (the former Lyn youth strikers were both injured), but we still expected an almighty battle. Could we survive the expected Odd onslaught and secure a Quarter Final spot?
Not quite… but it was a fantastic effort. For almost two hours, we looked every bit as competitive as – if not more so than – the 3rd-best team in Norway. Ultimately, Odd’s greater quality and experience won out against our tired boys in extra-time.
Attacks switched back and forth throughout the first half, during which we had the ball in the Odd net twice. When keeper Christoffer Monty parried a header from Zalo in the 12th minute, Trøen slid the rebound home, albeit from an offside position (typical Martin). Just before half-time, though, Haugstad kept himself onside to receive a low cross from Olsen Solberg and calmly give us a shock 1-0 away lead!
Come the 64th minute, Odd were starting to show their class. Right wing-back Eman Markovic sent an excellent cross into our area, where his left-sided partner Vegard Meling struck a beautiful volley with the inside of his left foot!
After we missed a series of opportunities to win the game late in the second half, the whistle blew with the scores still at 1-1. Extra-time beckoned, and after almost 25 attempts on goal, our legs were growing weary. It would take a superhuman effort to win the game in the next half-hour.
We kept the match level for the first eight minutes of extra-time… but then one honest mistake from Aalvik handed all the momentum to Odd. Eivind stopped a header from Sebastian Tounekti but could only spill it back to the 19-year-old striker, who put the follow-up in off our goalkeeper’s legs.
If it was any consolation, Odd’s third goal – which secured their place in the next round – was of higher quality. Tounekti’s 6ft 4in strike partner Tobias Lauritsen put us to bed in the 107th minute with a bullet header from another excellent Markovic delivery. That was Cech-mate from Petr and his team, and our Cupen fairytale was over.
Elsewhere, there was good news for the Eliteserien, as its reputation rose again after last season’s slump. Positive results for Norwegian clubs in Europe during 2021/2022 meant that the country’s UEFA club coefficient ranking climbed from 24th to 19th.
LYN 1896 vs TROMSØ (1. divisjon – Match 12)
Our next league game – at home to fellow high-flyers Tromsø – was my 100th competitive match as Lyn manager. The club marked the milestone on social media, where one supporter made this bold claim. Could I really take Lyn back into the Eliteserien sooner rather than later?
Don’t expect it soon if this suggests anything. Many of those players who’d featured in the Odd epic were excused from this match, and a weakened Lyn side couldn’t do us justice against Tromsø.
Though we had far more possession than ‘Gutan’, they were far more adept at creating attacks. One particularly dangerous move in the 39th minute ended with their brilliantly-named left-back Storm Baltzersen thundering the ball home after a mistake by Rishovd.
The second half was slightly better from our perspective. While we did attack our opponents with more purpose, we came up against a fine young goalkeeper in Morten Sæther who just didn’t want to be beaten. Aalvik also showed his qualities in the Lyn goal every now and then, but the scoreline remained 1-0 Tromsø, and we suffered just our second home defeat this year. [At least it wasn’t 5-0 this time, eh?]
LYN 1896 vs ALTA (1. divisjon – Match 13)
We then visited Alta, who – you might remember – won our 2. divisjon group under the management of Øyvind Leonhardsen in 2019. Though Leonhardsen was long gone, his old team were in a play-off place and challenging for a first Eliteserien promotion… at least until we arrived at the Finnmarkshallen.
Going by some of the statistics, Alta were probably wondering how they hadn’t taken full control of the first half. Aalvik looked almost unbeatable in the Lyn goal, regularly stopping the hosts’ attempts. We left them even more stunned in the 36th minute, as Olsen Solberg’s deep corner delivery was headed on by Haugstad towards Zalo, who was left with a simple finish.
A couple of second-half scorchers put the points in our bag. Firstly, in the 55th minute, Tafesse used his dribbling ability to weave past a defender and power a shot in from the penalty arc. Seven minutes later, Alta left-back Juan Manuel Cordero’s trip on Haugstad gave our left-back a free-kick 30 yards out. Sure enough, Olsen Solberg rounded off yet another ‘man of the match’ display with a strike that deflected in off the wall.
Though Alta finished the game strongly, Aalvik and the rest of our defence continued to keep them at bay. They held on to secure a clean sheet, and a comfortable 3-0 win that further strengthened our position in the top six.
LYN 1896 vs FREDRIKSTAD (1. divisjon – Match 14)
The following week, we rounded off our June schedule with a seventh win in our last eight league games. Fredrikstad might have been nine-time national league champions (though not since 1961), but we showed no fear and pushed them out of the top six.
Ex-Lyn midfielder Lars Følstad almost gave Fredrikstad the lead in the 6th minute, but it was a current Bislett favourite who broke the deadlock half an hour later. After collecting the ball from Sandberg, Mads Sande struck an ambitious 30-yard effort that completely caught keeper Magnus Würtz off guard. In fact, Mads’ strike was so impressive that it was voted as the 1. divisjon Goal of the Week!
Things were a bit edgy in the second half before another Lyn hero put us further in the ascendancy in the 72nd minute. Trøen snuck behind the ‘Aristokratene’ defender Mads Nielsen to collect a superb cross from Tafesse and slip it in from a tight angle.
Martin would clearly take some stopping, though Mislav Leko overstepped the mark when committing a professional foul on him in the 83rd minute. The veteran Croatian’s moment of madness reduced Fredrikstad to 10 men, and while fellow stalwart Kjell Rune Sellin did pull one goal back late on, a full comeback was never likely.
Our latest victory leaves us looking very pretty in the 1. divisjon table at the end of June. We were third-from-bottom only two months ago, but now we’re third-from-top! Even more excitingly, we sit just two points off 2nd-placed Bodø/Glimt!
This is where the mid-season break comes in, which means we don’t play again for another three weeks. Will this hiatus kill our momentum, or can we power on towards an unlikely second promotion in a row?
Now THAT is how you turn a season around in two months, Marit! Relegation shouldn’t be an issue now, but now the question is: could Lyn make this a brief 1. divisjon stay for a different reason?
Come back soon to see if Lyn can continue their mid-season surge!
“Takk for lesing!”
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