Fans at Aker Stadion were treated to a wild affair as Molde used three extra-time goals to defeat Troy Perkins and Valerenga in the semifinals of the Norwegian Cup in Molde.
Perkins started in net for Valerenga player/coach Martin Andresen and went the full 120 minutes in the defeat while Brian Waltrip did not suit up for the hosts.
After winning last year's Cup competition which enabled them to qualify for this year's Europa League, Valerenga had hoped a similar run in this year's tournament would erase the sour memories of a league campaign which went south during the summer.
Perkins and company got off to a good start when Harmeet Singh's terrific individual effort got 'Enga' on the board first.
Singh collected the ball around midfield and dribbled past a couple defenders before launching a shot from outside the penalty area that caught Molde goalkeeper Dorum Lilleback off-guard who could then only helplessly watch the striker start celebrating his long-range score.
The match changed dramatically in the 77th minute when Valerenga's Andrea Nordvik picked up a red card for a pushing Molde forward Mame Biram Diouf to the ground right in front of the Valerenga net.
The referee had blown his whistle signaling a stoppage in play but that did nothing to dissuade Nordvik from losing his cool and taking out his aggression on Diouf. The infraction reduced Andresen's squad down to ten and gave Molde a much needed penalty kick.
Magne Hoseth stepped forward to take the kick and barely beat Perkins who had guessed correctly.
Despite being a man down heading into the waning moments of the match, Valerenga still managed to put together an attack and Mohammed Abdellaoue gave the visitors the lead in the 82nd minute when he headed in Bojan Zajic's free kick into the area.
The celebration lasted only a minute as Pape Pate Diouf equalized courtesy of Vegard Forren's pass after Perkins had deflected two hard struck shots.
With the rain now pouring down as the match headed to extra time, Molde used their man advantage to increase the pressure and netted similar goals in the 95th and 105th minutes.
Pate Diouf broke the deadlock with a shot that slid just inside the right post past Perkins and then El-Hadji Makhtar Thioune doubled the lead beating Perkins in the exact same spot after a counterattack left the Ohio native complete defenseless.
Valerenga showed their heart by cutting the lead to one in the 117th when Dawda Leigh played a beautiful pass into Abdellaoue who then spun and fired a shot inside the far post to give the visitors hope with three minutes remaining.
Perkins' teammates desperately searched for a quick equalizer to send the match to penalty kicks but their strategy left the netminder vulnerable and it all came to a head when Molde tacked on goals in the 119th and the 121st.
Thioune got his second and Mattias Mostrom added the sixth as the hosts made the most of Valerenga's fatigued defense to put the match on ice.
Perkins and crew will try to regroup when they return to Eliteserien action on Sunday at Bodo/Glimt. |
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