September 12 - 14, 2010: Round 21 of the Vodafone Division:

September 12

HB Tórshavn – FC Suðuroy 1-4 (1-1)
1-0 Milan Kuljic
1-1 Henning Joensen
1-2 Jón Krosslá Poulsen
1-3 Mamuka Toronjadze
1-4 Mamuka Toronjadze

Apparently 12 September is the day of football surprises. Twenty years ago, the Faroe Islands shocked Austria and the rest of the world with their 1-0 win in their first ever competitive international. Today, bottom team FC Suðuroy surprised champions HB who were beaten 4-1. – Maybe the result of today's match won’t echo around the world as the one in 1990, but this must be considered as one of HB's most humiliating defeats ever.

But nothing indicated such a result in the early moments of the match. Fróði Benjaminsen was released and got clear with the Suðuroy goalkeeper after only a couple of minutes, but Benjaminsen's shot went a meter wide of the goal.

But it didn't seem to matter as HB took the lead just a couple of minutes later. Vagnur Mohr Mortensen combined with Símun Samulesen who went to the by-line and made a low cross in front of goal where an unmarked Milan Kuljic fired the ball into the back of the net.

For a while, it seemed like it was just a matter of how big HB's victory was going to be as they created several scoring opportunities. However, the finishing was lacklustre.

Instead it was Suðuroy who equalized after 32 minutes. Suðuroy had a free kick 25 metres from the by-line and 5 metres from the touchline. Jón Krosslá Poulsen crossed the ball into the goal area where Henning Joensen headed the ball over HB goalkeeper Tórður Thomsen and into the goal.

A few moments later, Suðuroy almost took the lead from a replica free kick, but the shot was just wide of the near post.

Suðuroy threatened once more before half time as Jón Krosslá Poulsen was set up for a shot from distance, a bit to the right, but the shot went into the sidenetting. Krosslá Poulsen must surely be knocking on the door to get a chance in the national squad as he is a constant threat and gets a lot out of little, and has a fierce shot which is mostly on target. So many others have been given the chance in the national them, but who have neither impressed there nor in the league.

HB had most of the possession from the start of the second half and the opportunities to regain the lead were also created, but squandered, however. Pætur Jørgensen made all the difficult work correct as he broke into the penalty area, but the final delivery had no address, while the forwards were lined up to put it in. Fróði Benjaminsen was a whisker from heading in from a corner on the hour-mark, but the powerful header was stopped by the upright.

A few minutes later, HB were hit by a sucker punch as Suðuroy countered down the left through Georgian Mamuka Toronjadze who shrugged of the defender and got to the byline inside the penalty area to make a short cross to Krosslá Poulsen who put the visitors in front.

HB had an opportunity or two to get the equalizer, but either the finishing lacked quality or Suðuroy's Slovenian goalkeeper Stanislav Kuzma was up to the task.

As HB had to gamble and send more men forward, they were always going to be vulnerable to counterattacks, and twice HB survived the scare when both Palli Augustinussen and Kári í Lágabø were played clear.

However, Suðuroy struck twice through Toronjadze in added time to inflict HB one of their most humiliating defeats ever.

Apparently, HB needs to get off their high horse as they clearly have an attitude problem towards the bottom teams. In the first match of the season, HB were lucky to salvage a 4-4 draw in added time against the same opposition as today, and in late July, HB were beaten at home by B71 Sandoy. Also rock-bottom AB Argir managed a 1-1 draw at home earlier in the season. That's 10 points lost against the bottom three.

A win for HB today would have meant that they were no. 1 in the table, at least until Monday when leaders NSÍ Runavík entertain ÍF Fuglafjørður. The result of that match could easily decide the outcome of the title-race. Should NSÍ loose, they are still within touching distance, while a win will take them 5 points clear, and with their superior goal difference, that is effectively 6 points which will be almost impossible to make up in the remaining 6 matches of the league.

EB/Streymur - B36 Tórshavn 4-1 (3-1)
1-0 Arnbjørn Hansen
2-0 Arnbjørn Hansen
3-0 Gudmund Nielsen
3-1 Heini í Skorini
4-1 Arnbjørn Hansen

EB/Streymur cruised to a 3-0 lead in the first half an hour of the match. Gudmund Nielsen played Arnbjørn Hansen clear to make it 1-0 after 12 minutes. Hansen made it 2-0 with a terrific shot in off the post from an acute angle on 20 minutes before Gudmund Nielsen made it 3-0 on the half-hour mark.

Although Heini í Skorini, who had just come one, pulled one goal back for B36 shortly before the break, EB/Streymur’s win was never at threat. On the hour-mark, Hansen completed his hat trick to overtake Christian Høgni Jacobsen in the top scorer list by two goals. Hansen has scored 17 and Jacobsen 15.

B68 Toftir – B71 Sandoy 1-1 (1-0)
1-0 Ibrahima Camara
1-1 Thomas Hans Rubeksen

Senegalese striker Ibrahima Camara put B68 in front in the 12th minute after some ping pong in the B71 penalty area.

With 15 minutes remaining, Thomas Hans Rubeksen headed home from a cross from the right to grab a valuable point for B71. Only one point separates B71 in the lifesaving 8th position and FC Suðuroy in 9th position which means relegation.

B71 and Suðuroy meet in round 24.

13 September:
NSÍ Runavík – ÍF Fuglafjørður 0-0

ÍF gave HB and EB/Streymur a helping hand by drawing 0-0 with leaders NSÍ who have now only earned 3 points in their last four matches. Are championship-nerves creeping into the heads of the NSÍ players who have appeared so cool until recently?

ÍF were given a glorious opportunity to take the lead in the first half from the penalty spot, but NSÍ’s Hungarian goalkeeper Andras Gango saved from Andy Olsen. Maybe Gango knew where Olsen was going to shoot as they were team-mates at ÍF last season… And actually Olsen is originally an NSÍ player.

ÍF was generally the better team in the first half, but in the second half NSÍ took over. Árni Frederiksberg had NSÍ's best chance around the hour-mark, but his effort was cleared off the line by Bartal Eliasen.

14 September:
Víkingur - AB Argir 3-1 (3-0)
1-0 Finnur Justinussen
2-0 Páll Klettskarð
3-0 Sam Jacobsen
3-1 Jákup Dam

Víkingur strolled to an easy victory over AB who look more and more certain to be relegated as they are 7 points adrift of B71 in the crucial 8th position. That means that AB will have to win half of the remaining 6 matches of the league. That’s not going to happen, although AB will hope they can start by beating B71 in the next round on Sunday. Víkingur on the other hand have climbed to the other end of the table and are only 4 points adrift of table-toppers NSÍ. Víkingur entertain second placed HB on Sunday.

Víkingur decided today's match halfway through the first half with two goals in the space of two minutes from Finnur Justinussen and Páll Klettskarð. Ten minutes later Sam Jacobsen scored on a penalty to make it 3-0.

Jákup Dam scored a consolation goal for AB in the last minute of the match.