June 12 & 13, 2010: Round 11 of the Vodafone Division:
June 12
NSÍ Runavík - FC Suðuroy 2-1 (1-0) 1-0 Klæmint A. Olsen 2-0 Debes Danielsen 2-1 Jón Krosslá Poulsen (pen)
With a magnificent 7th victory in succession, NSÍ have once again taken the top spot in the table, although HB Tórshavn could reclaim the number one position on Sunday, should they beat Víkingur.
Forward Klæmint Olsen put the home-team in front just after the first quarter of an hour as he in two attempts managed to beat Suðuroy's Slovenian goalkeeper Stanislav Kuzman who had made a fine save from Olsen's initial effort.
NSÍ had a host of opportunities to increase their lead, but had to wait until the 75th minute to make one count. A long goal kick from goalkeeper Andras Gango was headed forward to Debes Danielsen who got clear and beat the goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
Although Jón Krosslá Poulsen pulled a goal back from a penalty towards the end of the match, it only served as a consolation as NSÍ's win was never at threat.
If this serves as a foretaste of the cup final where these teams will meet again on 6 August, it's going to be a very one-sided final as ÍF's performance today looked like a shadow of their impressive 3-0 win away to Víkingur in the 2nd leg of the semi-final on Tuesday evening. Maybe that match was still in their legs, but as EB/Streymur also played on the same evening, when they beat B36 to qualify for the final, that excuse shouldn't count.
EB/Streymur took the lead inside the last 5 minutes of the first half when David Udsen's magnificent through-ball beat ÍF’s off side trap which midfielder Pætur Dam Jacobsen took full advantage of to set up Gudmund Nielsen for an easy tap-in from close range.
Had EB/Streymur – and especially Nielsen – been sharper, or Jákup Mikkelsen in the ÍF goal less sharp, EB/Streymur could easily have been 3 or 4 up by that time.
Having missed a great chance for an equalizer in the first minute after the restart, ÍF instead went 2-0 behind two minutes later. David Udsen was involved again as he this time made a perfect cross from a free kick over ÍF's defence where Arnbjørn Hansen was ready to poke in.
Udsen's vision and subtle touch was also responsible for EB/Streymur’s 3rd goal 25 minutes through the half as Arnbjørn Hansen was released with another delicate through-ball, and alone with the goalkeeper, Hansen made no mistake to make.
Daniel Udsen from Denmark signed for EB/Streymur ahead of this season from Danish 3rd level club Vanløse, but has been injured throughout the season and just recently started playing again. However, he’s not more Dane than he has a Faroese grandmother and is therefore edible to play for the Faroe Islands.
Having lent out the top spot in the table to NSÍ for 24 hours, HB clawed back the spot by beating Víkingur 2-0.
The rather small crowd in Gundadalur witnessed few scoring opportunities in the first half, where HB had the better in an otherwise tight affair. Víkingur played with many men behind the ball and HB found it difficult going forward.
HB’s best chance fell midway through the half when Símun Samuelsen was released and squared the ball to a clear Milan Kuljic in front of goal, but the shot was saved on the line.
Víkingur’s threat came from a cross or two and a following scramble. Otherwise the game was just as uninteresting as the games in the world cup so far!
But it took HB only 5 minutes from the start of the second half to take the lead – well helped by Lady Luck. HB had a free kick 5 metres outside the penalty area which Símun Samuelsen took, and just like 50 of his last 100 free kicks have gone straight into the wall (the other 50 have gone over the goal), this one also hit the wall, but this time he was lucky as it was deflected off Tór-Ingar Akselsen and deceived Geza Turi in the Víkingur goal.
Víkingur had a glorious chance to get the equalizer 7 minutes later as they were awarded a penalty when Milan Kuljic made an unnecessary and clumsy challenge on Súni Olsen. However, Súni Olsen missed form the spot as he fired the ball on the post. – Maybe Víkingur should have respected the old rule of not letting the same man take the penalty which it was committed against.
And statistically, that miss had to come, as relatively very few penalties have actually been missed this season. In 2008 25.7% of all penalties were missed, and that tally increased to a staggering 36.6% in 2009. Before Olsen’s miss today that figure was only 11.8% and increased to 16% after today’s miss.
Víkingur had a lot of ball possession after the goal as HB dropped back to defend their lead, but rarely tested Marcin Dawid in the HB goal. Súni Olsen went closest for Víkingur with a header and at the other end Andrew av Fløtum forced a save from Geza Turid.
As Víkingur moved big defender Altli Gregersen forward towards the end of the match, the defence suffered and in the 90th minute Andrew av Fløtum released Levi Hanssen who got clear with Turi who saved from the first attempt, but the rebound bounced straight to Hanssen who scored on his second try.
B68 Toftir - B36 Tórshavn 1-0 (1-0) 1-0 Óli Olsen
Both teams started the season strongly but soon hit bad form. Before today’s match B68 had only earned 1 point from their last 5 matches while B36 had earned only 5 points from their last in 7 matches.
And judging by today’s match, it is not a coincident, as both teams had little to offer.
B68 scored what proved to be the winning goal 8 minutes before half time when Øssur Hansen’s pass played Óli Olsen clear for an easy finish. Ndende could have increased the lead with a header, but B36 were saved by the bar.
B36 improved in the second half, but their nearest attempt was a shot on the post by Róaldur Jacobsen just before the hour-mark.
B71 Sandoy - AB Argir 1-0 (1-0) 1-0 Kristin Ebbe Thomsen
B71 earned 3 priceless points and moved 5 points above the relegation line as they beat AB in the clash of the bottom. Substitute Ebbe Kristin Thomsen scored from a solo effort and a fine shot in off the post the first time he received the ball in the dying moment of the first half. Will B71 really prove all experts wrong and manage to avoid relegation?