If you’ve been reading “Lyn On Me” from the start, you’ll probably know that I usually publish five chapters per year (excluding the end-of-season reviews). However, the 2023 season has gone into extra-time for Lyn 1896.
It’s been a long, hard year at the Bislett, and now Lyn find themselves in a promotion play-off. If they can win a two-legged tie against the 14th-placed team from the Eliteserien, Marit Enstad and her team will be playing regular top-flight football next season. (If you haven’t read Part 5 yet, I’d suggest going back there to see how Lyn got to this stage before reading on.)
Three more hours of football stand between Lyn and the Eliteserien. Can they pull it off? We’re about to find out…
THIS IS IT
Hei, det er Marit, and welcome to the latest end to a season we’ve ever had at Lyn! After 30 league matches and two play-off victories, it’s now December – and we’re possibly two more games from promotion to the Eliteserien!
A fortnight after seeing off Fredrikstad and Levanger to win the 1. divisjon play-offs, we awaited the end of the Eliteserien season. Whoever finished 14th out of 16 would be our opponents in a two-legged Promotion/Relegation Playoff.
Aalesund (22 points) were already confirmed to be relegated in last place. Lillestrøm (25) needed to win their final game to have any chance of avoiding the drop, while Viking (28) and Sandefjord (29) were also in danger.
Lillestrøm could only draw 1-1 with Haugesund, which meant our local rivals were out of the Eliteserien for the first time since 1974. Sandefjord also had a 1-1 draw – at Kristiansund – and because Viking won 2-1 at Odd to secure survival, it was they who finished in the relegation play-off place.
Sandefjord it was, then! We were drawn as the hosts for the first leg on Tuesday 12 December, with the sides meeting for a second time at the Komplett Arena on Friday 15 December.
Usually, the Eliteserien team that’s ended up in this position comes into the Playoff in poor form. In fact, Sandefjord were unbeaten in their last five games, winning two and drawing three. If their form hadn’t picked up late on, they would surely have been relegated automatically.
Our opponents had three players worth looking out for. Captain Cornelius Bencsik was a 26-year-old winger/attacking midfielder with 11 goals and seven assists this year. The cool and composed 23-year-old striker Noah Solskjær had scored seven times in his best ever Eliteserien campaign. Right-back Aslak Witry’s crossing abilities and work ethic had interested a couple of Belgian Pro League sides.
It wasn’t hard to see why many people were backing Sandefjord to survive. We did, though, have a slight mental edge, having beaten them home-and-away before they pipped us to promotion last year.
We were also delighted to have inside-forward Kot Chol Tafesse and teenage midfielder Reidar Huus back from potential season-ending injuries. They steadily built up their match sharpness in a series of reserve friendlies, which meant I could name them on the bench for the first leg.
Sadly, just as Tafesse and Huus returned, we lost another player to injury instead…
Adil Zahid sprained his ankle ligaments in the last of those reserve friendlies, at home to Kongsvinger. The attack-minded midfielder had ended the regular season in great form, registering four goals and three assists, but he would be absent from our final two games.
LYN 1896 vs SANDEFJORD (Eliteserien – Promotion/Relegation Playoff, Leg 1)
Despite having great success with the 4-2-3-1 in our last game against Levanger, I switched to a more cautious 4-3-3 for this game. Sandefjord were fielding a formidable attacking line-up, and I didn’t want us to be caught short at the back and be completely out of the tie come the return leg.
I made two changes to the starting XI that beat Levanger so convincingly. Markus Frydenlund was replaced at right-back by Dariush Karimirouzbehani, while Gaute Høberg Vetti came into the midfield ahead of Jesper Sandberg.
While our team was entirely Norwegian-born, Sandefjord had drawn their players from all over the Nordic region – and beyond. There were three current or former Finnish youth internationals, a Swede at right-back, an Icelandic inside-forward, and a Spanish attacking midfielder (because why not?).
However, it was the Danish centre-back Niklas Vesterlund – formerly of FC København – who would make the biggest impact for Sandefjord. He’d waited nearly 18 months to score his first goal for the club, and his moment came just three minutes after kick-off. Right-back Johan Andersson’s free-kick was poorly dealt with by our left-back Andreas Uran, leaving Vesterlund free to blast in an early opener.
After conceding first, we had to stay calm and start putting the visitors under pressure. Sander Eng Strand sent a volley just off target after getting to a deflected cross from fellow midfielder Høberg Vetti in the 11th minute. Ten minutes later, a promising free-kick from Niklas Helgesen was hooked wide.
We started to test the goalkeeper a bit more late in the half, with Rasmus Leislahti having to deny both Uran and Sande. Meanwhile, Eivind Aalvik was also kept busy, but our young and dependable number 1 was up to the task and kept the half-time deficit down to 1-0.
We persisted with the counter-attacking system in the second half, before which I brought on Sandberg for Eng Strand, and winger Yannis Moula for Eirik Haugstad. Two minutes in, a blistering effort from Helgesen was palmed behind by Leislahti, but we wouldn’t threaten the flying Finn in Sandefjord’s goal again for a while.
Both our subs had problems midway through the half. Sandberg was booked for tripping Bencsik, while Moula took a knock in a firm tackle from Jaakko Oksanen. Yannis played on, but he made little impact and joined Jesper in the book just before full-time.
Then, on 66 minutes, the visitors had a chance to go 2-0 up. Andersson sent a corner to the far post, where the ice-cool Icelander Aron Elís Þrándarson flicked a header towards goal. Aalvik met it with another fine catch to keep us in the running.
That was followed by a late push from Lyn, which was to no avail. Vesterlund made another match-winning contribution by deflecting Svein Melfjord‘s 78th-minute hit-and-hoper behind.
Our biggest heartbreaker, though, came in the last minute of stoppage time. One final Lyn attack saw Moula send the ball across the box for our final substitute Tafesse, who was back in action two months after breaking his ribs. Unfortunately, the Kenyan forward only hit the post, and the full-time whistle blew just under a minute later, with us having lost 1-0.
Over 5,000 spectators watched that game, and the majority of them were travelling supporters who returned to Sandefjord happy. However, there was still some reason for optimism in the Lyn camp.
For one thing, we had actually played better away from home this season than at the Bislett. Our away record (won 9, drawn 1, lost 5) was the second-best in the 1. divisjon, while Sandefjord’s home form (won 3, drawn 5, lost 7) was the second-worst in the Eliteserien. This tie wasn’t over by a long way…
SANDEFJORD vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Promotion/Relegation Playoff, Leg 2)
Three days later, we made the 90-minute journey south to Vestfold for the biggest 90 minutes of our lives. If we could overturn that narrow 1-0 deficit from the first leg and defeat Sandefjord, Lyn would be back in the Eliteserien after a 14-year absence. 315 of our loyal Bastionen travelled down with us, hoping that this would be a Friday night to remember.
When I first read Sandefjord’s starting line-up, I honestly thought their manager Jostein Grindhaug was joking with us. Playing three strikers from the start seemed VERY risky when the margin for error was so small. I wasn’t complaining, mind, because their ultra-aggressive approach would play into the hands of my counter-attacking approach.
Also, while Grindhaug changed FOUR of his starting players from the first leg, I only swapped out TWO of mine. Frydenlund returned to right-back in place of Dariush, mainly because I thought I felt Markus could handle the pressure a bit better. I also dropped Helgesen from the left wing and restored Tafesse – a proven big-game player with seven goals and five assists to his name this year.
Another player who thrived in pressure situations was our right-winger Haugstad. Six minutes after kick-off, Eirik controlled a floated cross from Uran in the box. He then withstood pressure from two Sandefjord defenders to centre the ball to Melfjord, whose 21st goal of the season put us 1-0 up on the night – and level on aggregate!
A strong start was just what we needed, but it wouldn’t have mattered had the hosts quickly cancelled Svein’s opener out. Thankfully, Sandefjord’s shooting wasn’t up to scratch, though former Atlético Madrid striker Salomón Obama almost got a header past Aalvik in the 25th minute. Almost.
The other two Guttane frontmen also tested Eivind’s abilities in the latter stages of the first half. The goalkeeper had to catch a 29th-minute header from Solskjær before making two superb fingertip saves to deny teenager Gustav Stensrud Ness.
Meanwhile, Melfjord volleyed wide a great chance to double our second-leg lead six minutes before half-time. Even under pressure from left-back Jon-Helge Albertsen, Svein might have been expected to fire Andreas’ cross on target and at least force a save out of Leislahti. As it was, we remained 1-0 up at the break, and with the aggregate score at 1-1, it was impossible to predict who would win.
Just like in the first half, we started the second as the livelier team. Eng Strand and Sande each had tricky shots saved by Leislahti before the former decided to have another go, in the 55th minute.
As we forced Sandefjord back into their half, Høberg Vetti crossed from the right wing to Uran, who played it short to Eng Strand 30 yards from goal. For whatever reason, Sander decided to bend a shot goalwards… and it swerved through a gap in the home defence before beating Leislahti at his near post! We led 2-0 on the night AND 2-1 on aggregate!
We now expected Sandefjord to really come at us – and that was what happened. In the 62nd minute, our loanee centre-half Erik Haugland had to block an angled shot from Solskjær, who would try his luck again five minutes later.
After a rushed clearance from Aalvik was intercepted, the hosts counter-attacked with pace. Obama looked for the overlapping run of right-back Witry, who delivered a deep cross to Solskjær in our box. Our defenders were too late to get in the way of Solskjær’s low and powerful strike, which would have reminded some spectators of his dad Ole Gunnar.
All of a sudden, our aggregate lead was gone, and now the travelling Bastionen needed a new hero to rally behind. Enter Sandberg, who had come onto the pitch two minutes earlier as a midfield replacement for Sande.
Less than a minute after Sandefjord had pulled one goal back, we went back on the offensive. Uran took the ball up the left flank and slid it across to Tafesse, who crossed towards the far post. Sandberg perfectly timed his run past Albertsen – who was busy marking Haugstad – and volleyed it home!
A deafening roar went up at the away end! We were leading Sandefjord 3-1 away from home, and if we could hold firm for the next 22 minutes, we would be promoted!
One more goal really would have settled us down, but Sandberg and Melfjord were each denied braces by Leislahti in the 79th and 87th minutes. Meanwhile, I rested Høberg Vetti and the brilliant Uran in the closing stages to give our defence some fresher legs. On came 19-year-old holding midfielder Huus… and 34-year-old left-back Joackim Olsen Solberg, for whom this would be his final game in a Lyn jersey.
Sandefjord’s need for a tie-levelling second goal got even more desperate in the second minute of stoppage time. Both sets of fans held their breaths as Witry sent a far-post cross to Stensrud Ness, whose header was plucked out of the air by Aalvik.
A minute later, our captain Benjamin Zalo tripped Solskjær to give away a free-kick 20 yards from goal. Eng Strand managed to block Enric Vallés’s free-kick and keep us ahead, but we weren’t out of the woods yet. It wasn’t until Haugland headed away a Witry corner in the fifth and final minute that we could start getting excited.
There was just enough time for us to launch one final assault and win a corner before referee Tore Hansen blew his final whistle.
Sandefjord 1-3 Lyn – Lyn win 3-2 on aggregate. We’d done it!!
GOING UP!
Next year, for the first time since 2009, Lyn will be playing at the top level of Norwegian football!
I’m not too sure I agree with that report over the “tremendous start” we made in April, when we were actually rock-bottom after losing our first three matches! It didn’t matter, though, because how you start a season isn’t as important as how you finish it – and we finished brilliantly.
Our achievements earned me a lot of praise from not just the Bastionen, but also my fellow 1. divisjon coaches, who voted me their Manager of the Year. 2nd place went to Håkon Opdal, who took Levanger into the top six before moving to Sogndal and securing them automatic promotion. In 3rd was Martin Foyston, who was unlucky not to reach the play-offs with newly-promoted Elverum.
My focus must now turn towards next season in the Eliteserien. I’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re to stay there for the long haul, and not go straight back down to the 1. divisjon after one year.
For starters, there are only a few players in our squad who I think are Eliteserien-quality. Aalvik has been rock-solid in goal over the last two years, and Uran has been very productive at left-back, while Tafesse and Haugstad are always handfuls on the wings.
Otherwise, there are so many areas where we need to upgrade on what we already have. We’ll also likely need to replace Melfjord’s firepower, because I’m sure Odd will want the young striker back in their first-team squad next year.
That’s where I’ll need some help from the board. The Eliteserien is now a fully professional league, and if we stay part-time, there’s almost no chance of us being competitive. Our current financial situation looks pretty good, and that’ll only get better in the top flight, so I’m sure we can now justify paying our players and staff full-time. It’s now up to our chairman, Patrick Madsen, to take us up that next step.
Meanwhile, it’s been another year of consolidation for Lyn Under-19s in their top division. Survival in the National Championship was touch-and-go for a long time, especially considering that we lost four of their first five games. Fortunately, we did just enough to stay up by two points.
The Under-19s will go into next season with a new manager. Kjell André Thu has just told us that he is leaving to become the new first-team manager of Ull/Kisa in the 3. divisjon. This comes less than six months after his assistant Geir André Herrem also left Lyn for a managerial job elsewhere.
All in all, 2023 has been a good year for all of us at Lyn 1896. Our red-and-white jerseys will be gracing the Eliteserien again next spring, and our players will be pitting themselves against the likes of Molde, Rosenborg and Vålerenga. Though they’ll only have a month’s holiday before returning for pre-season training, I’m sure they’re feeling positive about beating the odds again in 2024…
…or maybe they’re not. Okay, then…
It’s taken a bit longer than we were probably expecting, but after five seasons, Marit has taken Lyn up from the 2. divisjon to the Eliteserien! The struggle makes the success even sweeter – and that is why we love Football Manager, isn’t it, ladies and gentlemen?
You can relive a glorious 2023 campaign when I publish the season review on Friday. Before Lyn officially take their next step up, though, I want to take some time away from the blog – in fact, I need to take some time off.
The truth is, I’ve not been very well lately. If you follow me on Twitter, I’ll keep you in the loop regarding my health and let you know when everything’s back to normal on the blog. I hope you’ll understand.
“Takk for lesing!”
Fuller FM 
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