Troy Perkins and Valerenga snapped their seven league match losing streak against mighty Molde while Clarence Goodson and Start slipped at home versus Brann.
Valerenga 2 - 1 Molde
Troy Perkins and Valerenga picked up their first Eliteserien victory in two months with a victory over Molde at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo on Saturday.
Perkins took his normal spot in goal for the hosts and went the whole way for player/coach Martin Andresen.
Brain Waltrip did not make the trip to the capital city with the visitors who waived goodbye to their title hopes following the loss.
The three points keeps Valerenga a comfortable six points above the relegation zone while Molde are seven points behind league leaders Rosenborg who still have a game in hand.
Mame Biram Diouf gave Molde the lead in the 18th minute when Magne Hoseth gathered in a quick throw-in and lobbed a chip perfectly into Diouf who outjumped the Valerenga defense to send a header past Perkins.
Luton Shelton used a spectacular individual effort to get the equalizer for the home team in the 39th minute.
The Jamaican forward gathered a loose ball outside the penalty area and dribbled across the field before angling towards goal and slipping a shot past the Molde defense and into the back of the net.
Shelton's goal gave Andresen's squad all the momentum they needed in the second half which saw the gamewinner come in the 71st minute courtesy of Jarl-Andre Storbaek.
It all started with a nifty give and go between Diouf and Harmeet Singh which gave Singh enough space to send over a cross to the waiting Storbaek who easily poked the ball in for the score.
The victory lifts Valerenga to 10th place in the standings with 28 points as Perkins and company next travel to 15th place Fredrikstad on the 13th of September.
Start 0 - 1 Brann
A second half goal by the visitors was the only scoring seen on Sunday at Sor Arena in Kristiansand as Start fell to Brann.
Defender Clarence Goodson got the start at defender for head coach Knut Torum and would end up going the full 90 minutes.
Goodson, who is traveling to Salt Lake City this week to join up with the US national team, would end up receiving a yellow card in the 52nd minute.
Fellow defender Hunter Freeman was forced to sit out this one due to suspension.
Torum had been hoping to see his squad bounce back from a humiliating three goal loss last week versus bottom feeder Lyn, but Start's offense could never find the final touch.
Goodson and his fellow defenders were diligent all match long in keeping dangerous Brann forward Erik Huselkepp off the scoring sheet however, one small lapse in the 72nd minute allowed Birkir Mar Saevarsson to slip in and score the gamewinner.
Some sharp passing by the visitors on the right side of the field gave Eirik Bakke a chance to loop a cross into the area as Saevarsson was able to stay onside and sneak underneath the Start defense to field the cross and easily score from close range.
The loss keeps Start stuck in sixth place with 32 points as a visit to Bodo/Glimt on Sunday September 13th is next up for Goodson and Freeman.
Rosenborg 4 - 1 Lyn
First place Rosenborg continued their impressive march towards an undefeated season with a thumping of Tyrel Lacey and Lyn on Monday at Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim.
Lacey made his second start in goal for Lyn head coach Gunnar Halle whose squad impressively hung with the Eliteserien leaders for the first 84 minutes of the match.
Halle's squad gave a stellar effort in the first half allowing only one goal which was scored by Steffen Iversen on a penalty kick in the 28th minute.
The Oklahoma native guessed correctly on Iversen's effort but was unable to reach out in time to deflect the shot.
Rade Prica doubled the margin for the hosts in the 62nd minute when his header off a Marek Sapara cross found the bottom left corner of the net.
Lyn got back in the game six minutes later when Davy Claude Angan rang a penalty kick off the left post and into the net cutting Rosenborg's lead in half.
The visitors pushed for an equalizer but failed to come through and ultimately succumbed to the first place team who tacked on another two goals in the 84th and 88th courtesy of Prica who earned himself a hat trick on the night.
Roar Strand's long ball into Prica six minutes from time went unchallenged by the Lyn defense that failed to correctly convert an offside trap leaving Lacey completely helpless as Prica extended the lead back to two goals.
The Swedish forward's third goal four minutes later was the result of another long ball into the area, this time by Abdou Razack Traoré, that was poorly defended by the Lyn back line giving Prica an easy chip-in over Lacey for Rosenborg's fourth and final goal.
The loss keeps Lyn in last place with 16 points as Lacey and company return home to face Aalesund on September 13th.
Notes
Attacking midfielder Mikkel Diskerud did not get off the bench in Stabaek's 1-2 win at Lillestrom.
Adin Brown watched Aalesund's 1-1 draw with Bodo/Glimt from the sidelines as the reserve goalkeeper on Sunday.
Matthew Allen took a seat on the bench on Sunday during Sandefjord's 2-2 draw with Viking.
Connor Tobin had to sit through another Nybergsund loss from the bench as the visitors were defeated by Sarpsborg 4-1. |
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