Marit Enstad has worked miracles at Lyn 1896 since her appointment as manager in 2019. Five-and-a-half years on, it looks like she’ll have to deliver the good again to keep her team in the Eliteserien.
With nine games to go, Lyn are just outside the relegation zone, but they are far from comfortable. They also have the prospect of a first Cupen Final since 2004, provided they can beat 1. divisjon side Levanger on home soil in the last four. However, some of the Bastionen are fretting that Lyn’s cup exploits might be disrupting their league form at a pivotal stage in the season.
You can revisit Part 4 here if you want to catch up on the story so far. When you’re ready, we’ll rejoin Marit and her Nordic warriors in their battle for survival.
LYN 1896 vs STRØMSGODSET (Eliteserien – Match 22)
Hei, det er Marit, and things are getting a little tense here at the Bislett. We started September sitting just three places – and a couple of points – above the Eliteserien relegation zone.
This chapter begins with our fifth-from-bottom side hosting the team that was fifth-from-top. Strømsgodset might have battled against the drop themselves last year, but they were now within reach of a Europa League place.
We had a few disciplinary problems, but a 1-1 draw was a good result, all told. While we couldn’t record just a third home league win this season, we at least showed that we could match a formidable Godset side.
Strømsgodset were unlucky not to take the lead on 14 minutes, when a long-range swerver from Guinea-Bissau midfielder Francisco Júnior came back off our bar. The visitors would regret that miss 14 minutes later, when Svein Melfjord timed his run perfectly to volley in another of Eirik Haugstad‘s killer crosses.
We took a 1-0 lead into the second half, but only held onto it for another four minutes. We gave Raimundo Nonato too much space in our box, and the 21-year-old Brazilian striker took advantage by firing Eirik Ulland Andersen’s pass home.
Just like in our previous fixture at Bodø/Glimt, Lyn goalkeeper Eivind Aalvik made a couple of big saves late on to keep Strømsgodset at bay. That was only enough to get us a point this time, but we really would have been in trouble if we’d lost a fifth Eliteserien game at the Bislett.
LYN 1896 vs BRANN (Eliteserien – Match 23)
A fortnight later, though, we did lose a fifth Eliteserien game at the Bislett… and this was probably our most heartbreaking defeat yet.
7th-placed Brann’s recent league form had been patchy, but they flew out of the traps after just three minutes. Håkon Evjen opened up our defence with a floating right-wing cross to baby-faced midfielder Lasse Nordås, whose header crashed in off the bar and brought tears to our eyes.
Melfjord did kiss it all better, though not until the 57th minute. Kot Chol Tafesse sent a deep free-kick into Brann’s box, and Svein just about kept it from crossing the byline before having a pop at goal. His initial angled effort was parried by goalkeeper Christoffer Monty, but the rebound was tucked away, and we were level at 1-1.
Then the drama really started. Five minutes from full-time, the big Norway Under-21s striker Anders Aasenhus popped up for Brann with a clinical header from Kristoffer Løkberg’s corner. It looked like he’d won the game for the visitors… until we countered in the third minute of stoppage time. Niklas Helgesen made himself a supersub with a well-weighted centre to Melfjord, who converted his ninth goal in 10 games.
Alas, there were still a couple of minutes left, during which the visitors managed to steal victory. With just seconds to go, Finland forward Niklas Jokelainen dribbled into our box and struck a low shot that squirmed underneath Aalvik for 3-2.
Brann manager Håkon Opdal was graceful in victory at full-time, admitting that his team didn’t really deserve the win. That was still no consolation to us, obviously, as we remained in 13th and were now only one point above the relegation zone. For the first time in weeks, I really wasn’t confident that we could stay up…
VIKING vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 24)
…and a shocking collapse in Stavanger didn’t help. Viking were pushing for a European place, and they didn’t take long to assume control of this game. A close-range header from winger Eirik Wichne in the 6th minute was followed in the 17th by a vicious 25-yard strike from Kosovan playmaker Ylldren Ibrahimaj.
Over the next two minutes, we saw the good and ugly sides of our Croatian pressing forward Tin Zanchi. The good came when Tin beat the onrushing Viking keeper Truls Varner to a long ball from Marius Høibråten, allowing to place it into an empty net. That raised hopes of a comeback for all of 50 seconds… until Zanchi lunged in on home centre-back Ulrik Fredriksen like a madman and was sent off!
Despite being down a man, we initially managed to restrict our hosts’ scoring chances. Everything changed about 10 minutes into the second half, when a free-kick from Helgesen was intercepted by defender Milan Jacko [were his Slovakian parents fans of both Paolo Maldini and the ‘King of Pop’?]. ‘De Mørkeblå’ immediately surged upfield and hit us on the break, with substitute striker Thomas Steinsland making it 3-1.
That was the first of three goals Viking scored in six minutes. Noah Solskjær was next on the scoreboard on 59 minutes, thrashing in Vetle Haugen’s cross to get his first goal in a dark-blue jersey since signing from Sandefjord. Things got even worse three minutes later, with Jacko setting up a long-range drive from midfielder Usman Sale.
Haugstad halted the slide after 67 minutes by scoring from Andreas Uran‘s deep cross to get us a second consolation. However, Solskjær made sure his team had the final word by completing a 6-2 rout in injury time, shortly after hitting the post. While Noah celebrated scoring a brace, his father Ole Gunnar was sacked as Stabæk manager after a 2-0 defeat at Brann, so it was an… interesting Sunday night for the Solskjær family!
Meanwhile, Kristiansund’s 3-1 home win against bottom side Haugesund meant they leapfrogged both us and Stabæk into 12th. We were now 14th, and still only a single point ahead of Kongsvinger in the automatic relegation zone. At least we still had the Cupen to distract us from our troubles… for now.
LYN 1896 vs LEVANGER (Cupen – Semi Final)
Four days after our Viking thrashing, I made a big change to my starting line-up for the biggest match of our season. Aalvik was dropped from goal, and I gave just a second senior start to 17-year-old keeper Kasper Morthen. Another of our hottest prospects – 16-year-old pressing forward Vladimir Mølsæter – was named on the bench after missing the last three games through injury.
Even as the 7th-best team in the 1. divisjon, I expected Levanger to give us a battle – and that was what they did. Magnus Lankhof Dahlby hit our bar after just six minutes, and a dangerous header from defender Erik Hauge eight minutes later was nodded off the line by Lyn right-back Andreas Rishovd.
The first half was otherwise quite tepid, with Morthen having to do a little more work than Levanger goalie Simen Lillevik. August Erlingmark did test Lillevik early in the second half, as did Mølsæter shortly after his introduction in the 74th minute. Generally, though, we struggled to create chances, and Melfjord was having another of his off-days.
The first 90 minutes came and went with the deadlock intact, so extra-time was needed. That was when we started to show what we were capable of. In the 103rd minute, Tafesse latched onto a long punt out wide from Morthen and crossed to Melfjord, who chested the ball past defender Halvor Hovstad before powering it home. We were heading for the Cupen Final…
…or so we thought. Levanger came on strong in the second extra half, and with just 90 seconds remaining, they snatched an equaliser. Leading scorer Oskar Johannes Løken laid the ball off to right-winger Kevin Ogudugu, who quickly turned past Uran and curled in a 25-yard beauty. Morthen had been excellent all night long, but he couldn’t keep that out.
After 120 minutes, it was Lyn 1, Levanger 1. Penalties would decide a place in the Cupen Final.
Both teams scored their first four penalties before Levanger’s fifth taker – Spanish playmaker Adriá Mateo López – saw his effort pushed wide by Morthen. That meant Tafesse just needed to score his spot-kick to send us through. Unfortunately, he fired it too close to Lillevik, who clawed it wide and forced sudden death.
We’d blown our chance. Levanger wouldn’t miss another penalty, and although captain Benjamin Zalo briefly kept our hopes alive, Uran made the costliest miss from our seventh spot-kick. As Lillevik pushed Andreas’ strike away to his right, the visiting players and coaches streamed onto the pitch in delight. A 6-5 shoot-out win had put Levanger into their first ever Cupen Final and broken Bastionen hearts.
That was devastating. If we’d been anywhere near our best, we would’ve played Haugesund – who knocked out holders Stabæk 2-1 in the first Semi Final – at the Ullevaal on 1 December. It could be a very long time before we get another great opportunity to win our ninth Cupen championship.
We now had to turn our focus towards our next league game, which – as it happened – was at Haugesund. And we had to go there without Tafesse, who’d pulled his calf muscle in training. Great.
HAUGESUND vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 25)
Having lost seven of their last nine league games, it wasn’t surprising to see Haugesund bringing up the rear. While FKH did give us a few early scares, it also wasn’t a great shock when we did start taking control, even if we were missing a few key players through tiredness.
Tafesse’s injury was good news for left-winger Brage Karterud, who created our first goal after 28 minutes. His cross was headed in by Helgesen, whose fifth goal of the season was his first in the Eliteserien. Niklas then helped to double our lead 11 minutes later, when his delivery across the box was finished by winger Andreas Öhman (starting his first game since June).
Our two-goal cushion only lasted until the 43rd minute. While Melfjord and Haugesund defender Benjamin Karamoko were both receiving sideline treatment following a clash in the Lyn box, the hosts’ 10 men got the better of ours. Sivert Stenseth Gussiås crossed from the left wing to Norway Under-21s striker Fredrik Dahl, whose headed finish wrecked our momentum.
Dahl did even more damage 10 minutes into the second half. Stenseth Gussiås’ free-kick was flicked on by midfielder Simen Aanonsen to Dahl, whose volley made it 2-2. Now it was ‘Araberne’ who looked most likely to win the game.
However, the game threatened to turn again in the 61st minute, when Haugesund defender Lucas Lissens went in two-footed on Helgesen. The 23-year-old Belgian was sent off, and we had half an hour to rebuild our lead. In that time, Karterud had a header saved by Per Kristian Bråtveit… and that was it as far as Lyn shots on target went.
We were lucky to snatch a point in the end. A superb fingertip save from the reinstated Aalvik denied Dahl a hat-trick goal just before full-time and kept the final score at 2-2.
That draw did at least take us back into 13th ahead of Stabæk, who lost 2-0 at Kristiansund. However, as you’ll see below, we remained only one point ahead of Kongsvinger in the automatic relegation places. With two months of the season still to play, we remained in a worrying position.
Of our final five fixtures, four are at the Bislett – and four are against other teams who could (at least in theory) still get relegated. If you didn’t consider our recent poor form, nor the fact we were even worse at home, you’d assume that was a good run-in, wouldn’t you?
As it was, even the most optimistic members of the Bastionen would’ve thought twice about betting on us to stay up. Winning those home games against Kongsvinger and Stabæk would be critical to our survival chances.
LYN 1896 vs KRISTIANSUND (Eliteserien – Match 26)
We kicked off October with a home game against Kristiansund – the team directly above us in the standings. This match saw Zanchi start his first match for Lyn since his sending-off against Viking. Things went so well for the Croatian that… erm, he twisted his ankle after just nine minutes and had to come off.
Karterud came on as Tin’s replacement, and he won us a penalty in the 27th minute after his dribble into the box drew a foul out of Finland full-back Juho Hyvärinen. Forward came Thomas Zernichow to try and put us ahead… but a very weak penalty was easily caught by goalkeeper Sean McDermott.
A miserable first half worsened after 36 minutes. Kristiansund’s other full-back Erlend Sivertsen sent a corner to the near post, where Jonny Bjøringsøy drilled it across our penalty area. Midfielder Ola Ytterbygd then found a big enough gap in our goal to drive the ball through a crowded six-yard box and put Uglan ahead.
Then, barely a minute later, it was 2-0 to the visitors. Ytterbygd went from scorer to creator by curling a beautiful delivery into our box, where former Malmö playmaker Amel Mujanic got past Rishovd to head home.
It would have taken an extraordinary second-half performance for us to turn things around. In truth, we were barely ordinary, giving McDermott hardly anything to worry about between the visitors’ posts. Another toothless attacking performance confirmed our fifth home defeat of the league season – and left us in real trouble.
Thanks to that latest loss, and Stabæk’s 3-3 draw with Viking, we were now back in the play-off place. Even more worryingly, Haugesund had drawn 1-1 with Kongsvinger, meaning that only goal difference separated us from the latter ahead of our forthcoming meeting.
And, of course, we would have to host Kongsvinger without Zanchi. Would anybody else like to get injured?
At least we had two weeks until our next game, due to the international break. During that break, Mølsæter made his first appearances for Norway’s Under-19s (scoring a hat-trick against Gibraltar) after being selected alongside Morthen.
It was also a month to remember for Lyn alumnus Tor Fritzøe Östman, who – aged 21 – won his first senior Norway cap in a 0-0 home draw against Wales. I really feel like a proud mother right now…
LYN 1896 vs KONGSVINGER (Eliteserien – Match 27)
20 October was a critical date in our season. Having lost our last three games at the Bislett (if you counted the Cupen Semi shoot-out against Levanger), we knew that another bad home result would leave us in the bottom two.
If there was a reason to be optimistic, it was that Kongsvinger had not won any of their last 10 league games, picking up four points from a possible 30. Oh, and also that they’d not won away from home all year long – except in Round 1 of the Cupen against lower-league Tillerbyen.
So yeah… you could probably guess that it was Kongsvinger who opened the scoring. We had our chances, but KIL were clinical on the counter-attack in the 32nd minute. Glenn Kjærrgård finished a devastating move by prodding winger Kristoffer Normann Hansen’s square ball past Aalvik, much to the annoyance of our increasingly impatient fans.
I shared the Bastionen’s feelings when I criticised my team’s performance in the dressing room at half-time. We showed a bit more bite after the break, but it wasn’t until Tafesse came off the bench in the 58th minute that the tide really began to turn.
Four minutes after entering the game, Kot Chol’s wizardry on the left wing inspired our equaliser. His cross to Zernichow was half-volleyed into the net from 25 yards out, leaving Kongsvinger badly rattled.
From then on, it was almost all Lyn. Zernichow scored again in the 84th minute, flicking in a floated cross from left-back Filip Sjöqvist to put us 2-1 ahead. That lead was doubled to 3-1 a couple of minutes later, when Rishovd’s first assist for the club set up a strong finish from our supersub Tafesse.
We even had the ball in Kongsvinger’s net for a fourth time in stoppage time, when Öhman powered in a Melfjord through-ball, despite having twisted his knee earlier on. Sadly, the offside flag denied Andreas, but we weren’t to be denied all three points after a spirited second-half fightback!
We swapped places with Stabæk once again, following their 1-0 home defeat to Haugesund. That gave us a two-point advantage on our local rivals – and a three-point cushion on Kongsvinger – going into the final three games.
SOGNDAL vs LYN 1896 (Eliteserien – Match 28)
Our final away game of the regular season was at a snowy Fosshaugane Campus. Sogndal had recently lost six consecutive matches without scoring, but back-to-back victories over Brann and Kristiansund had pulled them out of a relegation battle. This was likely to be another tough contest as we scrapped for our own survival.
Five minutes in, we got off to the perfect start. Tafesse flicked an Uran corner goalwards, and Sogndal right-back Nikita Baranov – under intense pressure from Melfjord – could only turn it into his own net.
Other than that, we found it difficult to create openings in a tempestuous first period which saw five yellow cards. Though Mølsæter did find the net from Tafesse’s 30th-minute cross, Vlad was clearly offside, thus denying us what would’ve been a more comfortable 2-0 lead.
By the fifth minute of the second half, we were far from comfortable, having once again left a lot to be desired when defending a set-piece. Our defenders somehow allowed Sogndal midfielder Jaakko Oksanen to escape their clutches and finish a free-kick from ex-Atlético Madrid youth winger Juan Moreno. 1-1.
Eirik Bakke’s hosts now looked livelier and sharper than we did. They upped the tempo six minutes from time, when some incisive passing ended with Moreno snatching their second goal from teenage striker Þórir Jóhann Tómasson’s through-ball. They looked to have snatched victory…
…but there was to be one more twist, in the third and final minute of stoppage time. Helgesen put a last-ditch cross into the Sogndal box, hoping to find Melfjord. Tomas Krosshaug managed to intercept it, but the defender’s headed clearance dipped to Adil Zahid, whose vicious half-volley made it 2-2! The spoils were shared!
It was just as well that Adil had bailed us out there. 14th-placed Stabæk had beaten Kongsvinger 2-1 to go back level on points with us ahead of our derby clash the following weekend. Meanwhile, Haugesund’s 2-0 loss at Vålerenga left them on the verge of relegation after 15 years of top-flight membership.
So, if we beat Stabæk next week, and then take a point off Vålerenga three weeks later, we’ll be safe. A simple task, right?
My God, I’ve got a horrible feeling about this…
Ooh, what a cliffhanger to leave you hanging on! I’m nasty, aren’t I?
The Season 6 finale will go live on Friday at the usual time. Can Marit keep Lyn up, or or willtheir maiden Eliteserien campaign end in tears? Don’t miss it.
“Takk for lesing!”
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