August 27, 2008: Round 19 of the Formula Division:
(Note: Round 19 was played after round 20, as round 19 was postponed from 20 August to 27 August, because the Faroe Islands played against Portugal on 20 August)
HB Tórshavn - Skála 6-1 (2-0) 1-0 Andrew av Fløtum 2-0 Andrew av Fløtum (Pen) 3-0 Andrew av Fløtum 4-0 Jóhan Ejvind Mouritsen 5-0 Hendrik Rubeksen 5-1 Jónhard Frederiksberg 6-1 Hendrik Rubeksen
HB strolled to an easy 6-1 win over Skála who look doomed as they now are 6 points adrift of KÍ in 8th place, but as KÍ have a far better goal difference, the gap is effectively 7 points.
Maybe the 6 goals scored by HB could indicate a class performance, but really, it wasn't. Skála were just too poor. However, Andrew av Fløtum’s 2nd goal was not only class, but world class!
Because of sloppy play in HB's defence, Skála could have taken the lead after 4 minutes, but the effort went just wide of goal. Instead it was HB who took the lead a couple of minutes later. Skála's goalkeeper fumbled a long range effort, and Andrew av Fløtum was first on the rebound, but was brought down by an extremely clumsy Skála-challenge. Clear penalty. Andrew av Fløtum stepped up to take it himself and executed it to perfection.
Just before the half-hour mark, Andrew av Fløtum made it 2-0 with a spectacular goal. He got clear of two Skála defenders on the right about 7 metres from the penalty area and 7 metres from the touch line, and then he curled the ball into the top far corner of the goal. 10.0 for style!
Otherwise, not many points were given for artistic impression to either team in the first half. When Skála produced any threat - and that wasn't often, - it was mostly because HB were sloppy, giving too many balls away.
Within 2 minutes of the 2nd half Andrew av Fløtum completed his hat trick when he elegantly rounded Skála's goalkeeper to put HB 3 up.
This completely punctured Skála's hope for a comeback, if they ever had any such hope, and HB had it very easy getting to chances for the rest of the match.
In fact, Andrew av Fløtum was close to 4-0 almost immediately after his 3rd goal, but this time the goalkeeper made a fine save from av Fløtum's stunning volley from the edge of the penalty area.
Av Fløtum also owned his fair share of HB's 4th goal as he like a knife through hot butter carved his way past 3 or 4 Skála defenders in the penalty area before Jóhan Ejvind Mouritsen, who had just come on, fired the ball into the back of the net for a 4-0 lead.
Óbi then should have pulled one back for Skála when he was played completely through, one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but although Óbi had about 5 minutes to decide where to shoot, he sent his weak shot straight into the arms of the stretched Marcin Dawid in the HB-goal.
Instead it was HB who increased their lead to 5-0 in the very next attack when Hendrik Rubeksen was played clear in the penalty area.
Skála then got a consolation goal when they with a quick free kick got clear in the penalty area as they took advantage of a sleeping HB-defence. Jónhard Frederiksberg slotted home from the rebound after Marcin Dawid had parried the initial shot. This was Frederiksberg's first goal for Skála since his return in the summer.
But HB weren't finished scoring yet as Hendrik Rubeksen scored his second of the night when he again was played clear in the penalty area.
In injury time, HB were awarded another penalty when the referee spotted a illegal Skála-arm around the neck/chest of an HB-player in connection with a corner. Andrew av Fløtum stepped up again to take it, but this time he smashed the ball on the crossbar.
16 of HB's 38 goals this season have come against Skála. That's almost half. That also indicates that HB have found it difficult to produce the goals in other matches.
Skála meet KÍ next Monday. If KÍ win, Skála will be at least 8 points adrift of the crucial 8th place, and with Skála's poor goal difference in mind, those 8 points are really 9. But a win, on the other hand, will take them to within 3 points of KÍ in 8th place. Monday looks like a defining moment for Skála…
EB/Streymur - KÍ Klaksvík 4-2 (1-0) 1-0 Arnbjørn Hansen 2-0 Arnbjørn Hansen 3-0 Hans Pauli Samuelsen 4-0 Hans Pauli Samuelsen 4-1 Álvur F. Christiansen 4-2 Rógvi Jacobsen
On August 27 in 2006, we wrote in the match report from round 21, that “Indeed, if this was Formula One, the headline would probably say that "only a puncture can now stop EB/Streymur from winning the title"”.
– Back then, EB/Streymur were leading the table by 5 points which increased to 7 with only 4 rounds remaining. However, that puncture did come as HB overtook them 2 minutes from the finishing-line on the last day of the season!
But as EB/Streymur after today's win are leading NSÍ in 2nd place by 10 points with only 7 matches remaining, it's tempting to write it once more, that only a puncture can now stop EB/Streymur from winning the title. And should they get another puncture, they should still be able to get the car over the finish-line on flat tires. This time it can only go wrong if they lose the steering wheel…
KÍ had very little to offer in the first half and played very defensively. But that didn't stop top scorer Arnbjørn Hansen giving EB/Streynur the lead just before the half-hour mark with a header after a perfect cross from Sorin Anghel on the right.
In the 2nd half, EB/Streymur went from 1-0 to 4-0 in the space of 6 minutes.
Arnbjørn Hansen scored his second of the evening 20 minutes into the second half after a perfect counterattack. From when EB/Streymur got the ball just outside their own penalty area, it took 9.0 seconds (Usain Bolt: beat that!) until Arnbjørn Hansen had scored at the other end with his 17th league goal.
4 minutes later, Hansen turned provider for Hans Pauli Samuelsen to make it 3-0. The recipe was exactly the same as for the 2-0 goal. A counterattack that this time took 12 seconds.
And 2 minutes later, it took EB/Streymur 6 seconds from winning the ball at the halfway-line until Hansen had released Samuelsen to score his 2nd goal of the match
This was at a time when KÍ otherwise had had their best period of the match until that stage.
Near the end, KÍ scored two consolation goals. First Álvur F, Christiansen poked home a rebound after Rógvi Jacobsen in two attempts had hit the post first, then the crossbar. And then Jacobsen headed in KÍ's 2nd goal in stoppage time.
Two of KÍ's key players, Serbian defender Milic Curcic and Brazilian forward Rodrigo had been benched because of disciplinary reasons. And in fact, Rodrigo wrote this message on his myspce profile yesterday: “Sorry but, bye bye Klaksvik ..“. So it looks like Rodrigo is history in KÍ. Update: This message was later changed to: "Sorry but, bye bye Klaksvik ... 2 more months and i am out ..." – So it looks like he's staying until the end of the season after all. Some diplomacy been going on…?
But also KÍ could become history. Because after tonight's matches, KÍ are placed in 8th position, just 3 points ahead of B71 in 9th place.
With a first half goal from Serbian Nenad Saric, ÍF bagged 3 vital points to break 5 points clear of the relegation threatened B71 Sandoy in 9th position. 13 of ÍF's 23 points have come against the top 5 teams. Of the top 5 teams, it's only NSÍ in 2nd place who ÍF haven´t beaten (yet?), but than can change as ÍF visit NSÍ on Sunday.
But maybe it wasn't too surprising afterall that ÍF beat B36 tonight, because with only 4 goals away from home, B36 is by far the least scoring away-team. The 2nd worse is, surprisingly maybe, HB Tórshavn with 7 away goals goals.
Víkingur - B68 Toftir 0-1 (0-1) 0-1 Brian Andresen
After Víkingur had dominated the first quarter of an hour, B68 worked their way into the match and got the upper hand in an otherwise poor match. The Dane Brian Andrésen, who was hired in the summer to shoot B68 out of the relegation zone, netted 10 minutes into the second half.
With the 3 points, B68 climb to 6th in the table, and with so many teams below them and with an 8 point-gap to B71 in 9th position, a lot most now go wrong for B68 if they are to be robbed for a place in the Formula division next season.
Having taken 18 points away from home, B68 are actually the highest ranked away team in the table. 18 of B68's total of 26 points have come from 1-0 wins. 4 of those away from home.
NSÍ had it easy against lowely B71 Sandoy. After a fairly even first 20 minutes, B71 punctured when NSÍ scored twice midway through the first half. Bogi Løkin set up Hungarian Karoly Potemkin to make it 1-0 before Serbian Aco Pandorovic 6 minutes laters doubled the lead with a header. Pandorovic, who usually plays in the full back position, had replaced the suspended Johan Troest Davidsen in central defence this time.
20 minutes into the second half Hjalgrím Elttør made it 3-0 after yet another assist from Bogi Løkin.
B71 are still in a stage where they have met the top teams over the last many rounds and on Sunday they visit HB Tórshavn in another difficult match. But then it gets a bit easier, at least on paper, and B71 will recon they still have a good chance to save their existence in the Formula Division.