VALLE (VG) (Vålerenga – Haugesund 2–1) He was replaced when Vålerenga chased a goal in the series opener. On Sunday, Vidar Örn Kjartansson (32) showed that he still knows best when the ball goes in.
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With both Vålerenga’s goals, the Icelander thus secured a 2-1 victory after a chance-rich match at Intility.
– Perfect evening for me, but it could have been better. It could have been more comfortable for the team. We must learn and kill the battle. But three points … I am overjoyed, says the striker to VG.
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The charge for this year’s first home game has not been as good. Kjartansson has been feverish since Wednesday and only felt well again on match day. In the 0-1 loss to Molde last weekend, however, he felt refreshed, but then coach Dag-Eilev Fagermo took him off the field:
– Against Molde I felt perfect. We needed goals to equalize, so I completely disagreed with Dag-Eilev. It happens. Two strong personalities, says Kjartansson.
Also against Haugesund, the two-goal scorer was taken off in the second half, but then he felt dizzy and thought it was correct. The explanation for why he was picked off last, Fagermo says that he only explains to Kjartansson.
But he likes to talk about why the Icelander appears significantly sharper this year. The VIF striker spent only four minutes and five seconds of the Haugesund match on the same thing he needed eight games, 491 minutes and three months in last year’s season: Two league goals.
–– He has not been as well trained in Vålerenga as he is now. When we create a lot, he will score a lot, the Vålerenga coach guarantees to VG.
Against Haugesund, both Kjartansson and at least Vålerenga could score a lot more. That they were done with that bit when the clock showed only five minutes, one would never have believed as the sequel was.
– The first half hour was very fun, a terrific half hour where we drove over them. There we should have punctured the match, but we did not manage that, Fagermo states.
Both goals for his team came after a corner, the first before the minute was played. Vegar Eggen Hedenstad turned on the head of Ivan Näsberg, who headed down to Kjartansson. With a just right arrogant heel kick, the Icelander flicked into the lead.
On goal two, there was a corner from the opposite side and the opposite back: Leonard Zuta’s post disappeared out of the 16-meter, but Petter Strand was everywhere as long as he was ravaged as an inside runner. It was the Bergen man who fixed the corner before 1-0 – after only 20 seconds – and now he was in front again:
Strand caught the ball, swept past Haugesund’s Christos Zafeiris and Kevin Krygård and tipped into a blue penalty area. Of course, it was Kjartansson who was best placed, and the Vålerenga striker steered the other with his head.
– I think it was good. Very good start to the match, along with the rest of the team. Then it gets a little more messy after a while, with overall good, says Strand to VG about his home debut at Intility, where he also took half an hour as right back.
In large parts of the first half, Vålerenga ran the match properly. The duo Sahraoui / Strand was for Haugesund what Batman and Robin were for the villains in Gotham City – and it also looked like VIF’s new left offensive also had superpowers compared to the guest defense.
They combined, cut through and set up dangers constantly for the first half hour. That especially not Sahraoui net in this match, in between all the fun he does with the ball, remains as the first mystery of Easter.
Not least, he should have punctured the match at the position 2-1 in the second half. After a nice combination attack between Sahraoui himself, the substitutes Henrik Udahl and Tobias Christensen got the wing back in the dream position.
But he went to make it as playful as possible and swept the shot in the direction of the cross. It disappeared over.
– The first half hour there was only one team on the field, so to speak. We run over them and should have scored more. But we can not kill the battle. I have good chances, but I do not know why, but the ball will not enter, the young boy says to VG.
Towards the end of the first half, Haugesund reduced in a great way. A hard and precise crosser from the wing Aljoner Ndour gave reduction and new excitement. It could have been even stronger when Haugesund had more opportunities in the second half. But either Christos Zafeiris shot outside – or VIF goalkeeper Kjetil Haug stood in the way.
At the opposite end, Kjartansson replacement Henrik Udahl could decorate the victory result in overtime. But the goal kick hit the crossbar on the last and 16th goal chance of the match.
PS! Vegar Eggen Hedenstad had to go out with hoarding trouble early in the second half. The first reports afterwards indicate that it was not serious.
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