Welcome back to my FM19 blog story with Lyn 1896, who are now halfway through their first season back in the Eliteserien.
I’m afraid reality has now started to hit home for Marit Enstad and her team. The last chapter – which you can find here – saw Lyn hit a rotten run of form. and plummet down the table. If you want an idea of just how incompetent their attack had become, think of Adama Diomande at Hull, or Azar Karadas at Portsmouth, or Alexander Sorloth at Crystal Palace.
Before I name even more Norwegian forwards who flopped in England, we’d better crack on with the story. After all, Lyn’s next match is perhaps their biggest yet…
PREPARING FOR MOLDE
Hei, det er Marit, and this chapter begins on the eve of our Cupen Quarter Final against the mighty Molde. Recent poor results with the 4-3-3 and the 4-2-3-1 had led me to a tactical rethink.
“Mine damer og herrer, Lyn spiller 4-4-jævla-2.”
So yeah, we’re going for a more direct, lower-risk approach… but we’re also going to press the opposition a bit more. That’s where having an extra centre-forward to put pressure on the defence could make a difference.
Looking through our team reports, I found that our players have above-average Stamina and Work Rate compared to other teams in our league. So far this season, though, we’ve been a bit too cautious when the opposition have the ball, allowing them to dictate games. That needs to change, otherwise we’re going down without a fight.
You probably noticed one big absence from our defence. Unfortunately, captain Benjamin Zalo strained his groin about a week beforehand. Winger Andreas Öhman remained on the sidelines with a knee ligament injury, while forward Niklas Helgesen – who’d scored in each of our previous four Cupen ties – was suspended.
Those were three big losses for us ahead of such a difficult fixture. It seemed that we needed a miracle to keep ourselves in the Cupen.
LYN 1896 vs MOLDE (Cupen – Quarter Final)
Turns out… miracles do happen!
Our more cautious approach paid off in the first half, as Molde wasted several chances to take the lead. The biggest culprit was 18-year-old striker Kristoffer Malmo, whose pace and cool finishing had attracted interest from several big Premier League clubs. That wasn’t really evident here, as Malmo had two shots saved by Eivind Aalvik, saw another two blocked, and also missed the target twice.
Having survived MFK’s onslaught, we hit them on the counter five minutes into the second half. A mistake by Malmo’s strike partner Runar Espejord chested the ball towards Lyn winger Eirik Haugstad, who pumped it up the left wing to find Svein Melfjord. Svein escaped the last defender and then dribbled into the box, where a cool finish delighted the Bastionen!
The next 40 minutes dragged on for what felt like an hour, as Molde tried everything they could to get back level. One defensive lapse in the final minute of regular time was all they needed.
As a late Lyn attack broke down, the visitors looked to give us a taste of our own counter-attacking medicine. When our centre-back Ole Jørgen Falk Larsen lost tabs on Malmo, substitute Leke James found an opportunity to play the teenager clean through. Malmo only had Aalvik to beat, and a low strike from the edge of the area did the trick.
It seemed like we’d blown our chance and would have to go to extra-time. That was until the third minute of injury time, when Falk Larsen headed in an August Erlingmark corner that just escaped Molde keeper Oliver Petersen’s fingertips! With that dramatic winner, we pulled off a big upset and moved a step closer to winning the Cupen!
We were now among four teams who would compete in September’s Semi Finals, where places in the end-of-year Final would be up for grabs. The other contenders were holders Stabæk, our relegation rivals Haugesund… and Levanger, who were the last surviving team from outside the Eliteserien. Guess who we got?
It’s Levanger – at home! It would be careless to get complacent about facing a decent 1. divisjon team, even if we’d won each of our last five meetings. Even so, this felt like a golden chance to put Lyn into a first Cupen Final for exactly two decades!
START vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 16)
We entered the second phase of our league campaign with a hard-fought draw at Start. Both teams had several shots on target in the opening half, but it was the hosts who drew first blood after 32 minutes. Midfielder Johannes Eftevaag lifted an excellent ball from the centre circle to former Liverpool youth striker Liam Millar, who raced past Christoffer Akermann before finishing.
Things weren’t going so well at the other end for Melfjord, who was substituted six minutes into the second half. On came Helgesen, who was one of several Lyn players to have shots saved by Start’s seemingly unbeatable goalkeeper Kristoffer Klaesson. Despite dominating possession and creating plenty of chances, we just couldn’t break through…
…until the 90th minute. Brage Karterud‘s deep left-wing cross was cleared by his opposite number Aron Sigurðarson, but Haugstad was first to the loose ball. After cutting inside, Eirik hit an excellent left-footer from the edge of the box to draw level.
There was still time for Start to grab a late winner, though, and Lyn left-back Filip Sjöqvist gave them a great chance in injury time by pushing Millar in the penalty area. Right-back Erlend Reitan took the spot-kick… but he fired it straight down the middle, allowing Aalvik to push it away and secure us a point!
SARPSBORG vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 17)
Our first – and only – match in July was away to 7th-placed Sarpsborg, who beat us 2-0 at the Bislett earlier this season. We returned the favour at their place, with our two longest-serving players making this a memorable Monday.
Adil Zahid certainly wouldn’t forget his first Eliteserien goal 17 minutes in. The 26-year-old mezzala collected a square ball from Karterud and then dribbled past two blue shirts before hitting an excellent low finish.
Sarpsborg responded by finding the net on 42 minutes, but striker Christer Hågensen was caught offside after firing left-back Fredrik Langballe’s lofted pass in from a tight angle. Barely a minute after almost losing our lead, though, we should have doubled it.
Falk Larsen was fouled in the home box by Langballe, prompting the referee to give us a penalty. The last penalty he took in Sarpsborg last year was probably still orbiting the Earth, but Melfjord did better with this next effort. And by ‘better’, I meant Svein at least got it on target, though Aslak Falch tipped it behind.
While Melfjord continued to struggle in the second half, his strike partner looked more promising. Though he was naturally an attacking midfielder (a position I don’t use often these days), I’d reckoned that Max Oinas had the work rate and athleticism to be a useful pressing forward. 12 minutes after the restart, it appeared that Max had finally found his ideal position in my team.
Oinas tenaciously chased down an Aalvik goal kick and then dribbled into the box, where he eyed up his first senior goal. Falch’s fingertips denied Max, but the rebound was gobbled up by Haugstad.
Those goals from my last remaining Lyn originals put us on track for a first league victory since April. Though Særpingene teenagers Audun Lyngstad and Hågensen gave us a couple of scares later on by hitting the woodwork, we held firm to claim three precious points.
Those three precious points took us back out of the danger zone, ahead of Haugesund, who were held to a 2-2 draw at bottom club Odd. We also overtook Kristiansund on goal difference, even though they sprung an almighty shock by winning 1-0 at Rosenborg!
MID-SEASON MADNESS
Everybody now had a four-week break from the Eliteserien. That gave us some extra time to develop our new-look 4-4-2 into a pressing system that would hopefully deliver consistent results instead of being a short-lived wonder.
Meanwhile, the summer transfer window opened, allowing me to continue rebuilding my squad. Before I could register our new centre-half Marius Høibråten for league matches, though, I had to free up some squad spaces by letting players go.
One of those who moved on was Jesper Sandberg – our promotion-winning hero. The tenacious box-to-box midfielder had been a great asset for the last four years, but the Eliteserien was – unfortunately – a step too far for him. Jesper was sold to Jerv in the 1. divisjon for €23,500, leaving the Bislett with our very best wishes.
For defenders Dejan Corovic and Robin Lorentzen, their stays at Lyn proved to be rather shorter. Right-back Corovic had performed well in the early rounds of the Cupen but was a panic signing who had no business being in the Eliteserien. Similarly, centre-half Lorentzen never looked comfortable playing at a higher level than he was used to. Dejan and Robin were both released on free transfers at the end of July.
With Corovic gone, I could now go ahead and recall Dariush Karimirouzbehani early from his loan spell at IK Brage. Dariush was low on spirits after spending five months in a team who looked out of their depth in the Allsvenskan. I hoped returning to Lyn would bring the best out the 23-year-old attacking wing-back again.
I also allowed right-winger Yannis Moula to join 2. divisjon side Strømmen on loan for the rest of the season. Strømmen – whose squad already included another Lyn loanee in attacking midfielder Ingmar Larsen – were battling to stay clear of relegation. Perhaps Yannis’ pace and technique would give them what they needed?
Oh, and you know I said Oinas might’ve found his place in this Lyn team at last? Well…
…yeah. Max broke his leg in an Under-19s league game, and that’s his debut season done. Typical.
There’s no need to panic. These injuries aren’t the career-wreckers they used to be, and Oinas is still so young that it shouldn’t affect his development too much. I’m sure he’ll be back in good shape next season, ready to show everybody what he’s capable of.
Oinas’ injury left us with an attacking vacancy, which I filled by taking former Croatia Under-20s forward Tin Zanchi on loan from Slaven Belupo for the rest of the year. The 21-year-old come to my scouts’ attention in Denmark, where he had scored 10 league goals for second-division Koge in the 2023/2024 season just gone.
Tin is not a natural finisher by any means; his strengths lie in his physicality and his remarkable work ethic. In other words, Zanchi is a good pressing forward alternative to 16-year-old Vladimir Mølsæter, who has improved a lot over recent weeks but is still quite raw.
LYN 1896 vs MOLDE (Eliteserien – Match 18)
Just over a month after knocking Molde out of the Cupen at the Bislett, the big boys were back in town for league duty. They made their intentions clear after six minutes, when right-back Widar Sørøy scored direct from a free-kick following Haugstad’s trip on left-back Andreas Vindheim.
Another Sørøy free-kick eight minutes later was caught by Aalvik, whose long punt kicked off a quick Lyn counter-attack. Within moments, Haugstad had swung the ball into the six-yard box for Melfjord to get his name back on the scoreboard.
That was one of only three shots we had all game. Kot Chol Tafesse‘s 31st-minute free-kick went just over the bar, and a close-range effort from Erlingmark early in the second half was saved by Markus Pettersen. Though we weren’t threatening MFK all that much, we at least did a good job of withstanding their own attacks… for the most part.
Molde pressed our defenders hard in the closing stages, eventually forcing a mistake in the final minute, when captain Zalo was rushed into gifting them a long ball. The visitors quickly moved the ball forwards before a thunderbolt from substitute striker Thomas Thun snatched them a late 2-1 win.
That was a gutting result for more reason than one. A 1-0 away victory for Odd over Kristiansund the following evening moved them up into 13th, and put us back in the relegation play-off place. We wouldn’t have long to wait for a shot at revenge, though, as we hosted Odd a week later in what you might call a relegation six-pointer.
LYN 1896 vs ODD (Eliteserien – Match 19)
This was oddly one-sided, as we battered Odd 4-0! The undisputed star of the show was our on-loan Oddrane striker Melfjord, who scored two goals and set up the other two against his parent club.
The rout began after just five minutes. Full debutant Zanchi lifted an excellent ball up the left flank for Melfjord, who turned past veteran defender Fredrik Semb Berge and then squared the ball across the box. The recipient was midfielder Thomas Zernichow, who volleyed in his first competitive Lyn goal!
Things got worse for Odd later in the first half, particularly for their pair of teenage Brazilians. Firstly, right-back Antônio broke his collarbone in a 12th-minute collision with Tafesse. Goalkeeper Sócrates Simão had a nightmare of another kind just before half-time, spilling a tame Zanchi header square into the path of Melfjord! Svein couldn’t miss, and we were 2-0 up!
Any hopes of a second-half comeback from the visitors were effectively seen off three minutes after the restart. Melfjord secured his brace with a back-post finish from a fantastic cross by the evergreen Haugstad.
Midway through the second period, I benched Zanchi and gave Mølsæter another run-out. My faith in the 16-year-old was rewarded after 84 minutes, when Vlad drove in Svein’s through-ball for his first ever league goal! What a way to complete an emphatic win, which lifted us back up into 13th.
DEADLINE DAY
The final day of the summer window saw us sell one right-back and sign another. Dariush’s return to Lyn didn’t last long before Tromsø came in with a €26,000 offer that I honestly couldn’t refuse. As much as I enjoyed watching the former Iranian youth international last season, he just wasn’t top-flight quality.
Ironically, Tromsø had signed Karimirouzbehani to replace another former Lyn right-back. You remember our former youth graduate Martin Knudtzon, don’t you? Well… the 21-year-old had been poached by Gutan’s 1. divisjon rivals Lillestrøm for €38,500. We got a small piece of that because of the sell-on clause we inserted into the deal that sent Martin north four years ago, which was nice.
So, with Dariush gone, who would come in to challenge Markus Frydenlund as Lyn’s starting right-back?
It’s a familiar name – but a new face – at full-back. In case you’re wondering, this guy isn’t related to our former vice-captain Joakim Rishovd, who’s now 30 – and already retired from football.
Wow. I can’t believe Joakim couldn’t find a new club after we released him at the end of 2022! Anyway, back on topic…
I’d been following Andreas Rishovd very closely since he was a teenage prospect in Strømsgodset’s reserve team. Though he signed for Jerv last year, he’d put in some decent performances in the 1. divisjon and came up on my radar when a couple of deals for other options fell through.
Defensively, Andreas is still a little raw, but he’s a fine athlete and an intelligent player. He’s also a perfectionist who constantly strives to better himself, so I’m expecting him to become a very effective right-back over the coming years.
With two players coming in, three moving out, and Oinas injured for the season, we now had 23 players registered for Eliteserien matches. That left us with two spots left to fill.
Tor Gulbrandsen had been in good form in the Cupen and for our reserve team, so he was back in league contention. It feels like we’ve been waiting for Tor to break through since his debut in 2021, but his progress has been more steady than spectacular. Having just turned 20, it’s about time the pacey winger started fulfilling his potential.
I also promoted 16-year-old midfielder Tommy Mathisen to the senior squad after some stunning performances for our Under-19s, who were launching a surprise title challenge. In 16 appearances, Tommy had recorded an average match rating of 7.32 and covered more distance than any other player in the youth league.
ROSENBORG vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 20)
Next up was a trip to Trondheim, where we couldn’t quite beat Rosenborg, though we did give the Eliteserien champions a bloody nose. We opened the scoring against the run of play after just nine minutes, when Haugstad supplied Melfjord with another sublime cross that was half-volleyed home. Svein was now on 10 goals for the year!
That goal was enough to give us a narrow half-time lead, though if it hadn’t been for some fine goalkeeping by Julian Faye Lund, we could have been further ahead. At the other end, Aalvik was similarly impressive in stopping Polish hotshot Adrian Zagorski from equalising four minutes from the interval.
Rosenborg upped the ante after the break, as their French connection turned the game on its head within the first six minutes. Firstly, on-loan Monaco inside-forward Mateo Roux’s header deflected off Zalo and fell kindly to striker Bocary Sangaré, whose shot clipped the post before beating Aalvik. Roux then got on the scoreboard with an excellent strike set up by left-back Elias Hovland.
Our big chance to equalise came in the 60th minute, when RBK defender Bjørn Inge Utvik’s weak interception of a killer pass by Mølsæter allowed Melfjord to race through on goal. Sadly, Svein fired his shot straight at Faye Lund, and we struggled to threaten the hosts again. Back down to 14th we went…
BODØ/GLIMT vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 21)
…until we beat mid-table Bodø/Glimt away from home, with new right-back Rishovd helping us to a clean sheet on his debut. We survived a wave of early attacks from Even Sel’s side, with Aalvik doing fantastically to deny the likes of Iceland midfielder Samúel Kári Friðjónsson and 17-year-old striking starlet Jens Nerdal.
It was our own boy wonder up front who opened the scoring 27 minutes in. Out of almost nothing, Høibråten pumped a long ball over the Glimt defence and to Mølsæter, who was one-on-one with goalkeeper Ricardo Friedrich. ‘Vlad the Impaler’ struck quickly, calmly and decisively to beat the Brazilian from just outside his penalty area.
Friedrich prevented Mølsæter from scoring again in the 56th minute, before frustrating Melfjord 11 minutes later. Those two moments aside, the hosts all but dominated the second half – so much so that I still can’t quite believe they didn’t score!
We could thank Aalvik for that, having ended the match just like he started it. Eivind produced some great late saves but saved his best for the final additional minute, when he somehow got his fingertips to a wicked swerving shot from right-back William Mikalsen.
Our yo-yoing continued, and August ended with us in 12th place, though we were still far from comfortable. We really need to become more consistent – especially at home – otherwise we will remain in serious danger of relegation.
As we prepare to enter autumn, though, there are still reasons to be hopeful. Not only do we have a Cupen Semi Final to look forward to, but in Mølsæter, we have an exceptional striking talent who could fire us to safety. We just need to keep him fit…
“HVA I HELVETE ER DET SOM SKJER?!”
Things are looking up for Lyn, even with their top teen sensations nursing long-term injuries. Marit’s switch to a 4-4-2 has reaped its rewards and given the Bastionen fresh hope that survival might just be on the cards again.
Join us again on Monday, when Lyn continue their pursuit of Eliteserien safety, as well as attempting to reach their first Cupen Final in exactly 20 years. Opportunity knocks.
“Takk for lesing!”
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