PREVIEW: WEEKEND NORWEGIAN ACTION Arch Bell - Thursday, August 20, 2009
Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek take aim at Troy Perkins and Valerenga while it is now or never for Jay Needham and Alta at home against HamKam.
Stabaek - Valerenga
Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek return home on Sunday to square off against Troy Perkins and Valerenga at Telenor Arena in Baerum.
After seeing 20 minutes of action in Thursday's Europa League loss to Spanish powerhouse Valencia, Mikkel Diskerud will likely be featured as a second half substitution for head coach Jan Jonsson.
The three goal loss at home for Stabaek have essentially ended any hopes of advancing in the tournament so Jonsson's group will turn their attention towards the domestic campaign where a berth in next year's Europa League is still very much at stake.
Stabaek currently sit in fifth place with 32 points in the Eliteserien and are locked in a race with five different clubs who are wrestling for two European spots.
Valerenga come to town looking to stave off any potential pitfall towards relegation and will need the help of Perkins who will get the starting nod at goalkeeper from player/coach Martin Andresen
The lone bright spot for the Oslo club this year has been a run to the semifinals of the Norwegian Cup which has helped temper the disappointing league campaign and early Europa League exit.
Andresen will hitch his wagon to leading scorers Mohammed Abdellaoue and Bengt Sæternes to provide the atatck for the visitors.
Jonsson will be able to count on a full squad while Valerenga defender Erik Hagen is out for the rest of the year due to hip surgery.
Lyn - Start
Hunter Freeman and Clarence Goodson travel with Start to the nation's capital on Sunday to take on cellar dweller Lyn at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.
Both Freeman and Goodson will assume their usual positions in the back line for head coach Knut Torum.
Sunday's match may also serve as the Eliteserien debut for Lyn goalkeeper Tyrel Lacey who was signed by the club last week.
Lacey is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma and played his collegiate soccer at the University of Tulsa prior to his arrival in Scandinavia.
Start are one of the five teams in the chase for a spot in next year's Europa League and will have a golden opportunity to claim three points against last place Lyn.
Since the nightmarish six goal loss to Molde, Start have rebounded nicely and taken back control of their season which coincided with Goodson's return from Gold Cup duty.
The combination of Mads Stokkelien and Bernt Hulkser will serve as the impetus for the Start attack as the two have combined to score 16 goals on the season.
Lyn's disastrous season continues to sputter along as they are seven points away from the next club in the league standings.
The lone bright spot for head coach Gunnar Halle is a defense that has been tolerable at times when locking down opponents.
The addition of Lacey may give the squad a boost and turn their thoughts to rebounding in next year's 1. Division to then regain a spot in Norway's top flight.
Halle will only be without defender Thomas Jacobsen who is injured while Torum will have access to a full squad.
Alta - HamKam
Jay Needham and Alta's season could very well be on the line when they host HamKam at Finnmarkshallen Arena in Alta on Sunday.
Needham is expected to get the starting nod from head coach Aasmund Bjorkman however it is not know if Bjorkman will elect to return the Texas native to orchestrate the midfield or drop him back to anchor the back line.
The former Southern Methodist standout started the season at defender before moving to central midfielder only to return to defender in last week's defeat at Honefoss.
After surging towards the top five of the 1. Division standings, Alta have dropped their last two matches getting outscored 5-0.
The goal scoring exploits of forward Vegard Braaten have been brought to a halt so the hosts will hope to have the lethal passing of Needham hook up with Braaten to produce a winning result.
Alta are in the midst of a mindboggling league race which sees them three points away from the relegation zone, yet two points shy of the last promotion playoff position.
HamKam head coach Vegard Skogheim would like nothing better than to secure three points of his own at the difficult Finnmarkshallen to give his own squad a boost towards the promotion chase.
Forward Roman Kienast leads the way for the visitors with a solid eight goals on the campaign.
Skogheim will have to deal with a plethora of injuries as Marius Gullerud, Pål Strand, Truls Hagen and Rome Kien are all unavailable for Sunday's encounter while Bjorkman will have a full squad available.
Nybergsund - Bryne
Nybergsund hope that a return to the friendly confines of Nybergsund Stadion on Sunday versus Bryne will finally yield its first win.
Defender Connor Tobin was back in the starting lineup in last week's defeat at Haugesund and is likely to get the nod again for head coach Ola Brenden whose job may be in jeorpardy should the bad results persist.
Nybergsund are now on a six match winless streak which has seen them lose five of those matches mostly by lopsided scores.
Only a home draw two weeks ago HamKam have yielded any points for Tobin and company.
Brenden's squad started the 1. Division season in the promotion spots but have now fallen to 12th place in the league standings and sit just one point ahead of the dreaded relegation zone.
Leading scorer Tore Andreas Gundersen will try to recuperate some of his goalscoring magic that was on display in the early parts of the season and look to lead the home team to victory.
Bryne come to town full of confidence knowing that they have beaten their foes already this season when head coach Mons Ivar Mjelde's squad hung a 4-1 victory on Nybergsund.
The visitors currently sit in eight position with 27 points in the league standings.
Both coaches are not reporting any major injuries or suspensions.
Notes
Brian Waltrip will not be suiting up for Molde's home match on Saturday versus Aalesund where Adin Brown is currently with the reserve team hoping to return to first team action soon following his heel injury.
Matthew Allen will be watching from the sidelines during Sandefjord's road match at Brann.
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