RECAP: WEEKEND NORWEGIAN ACTION Arch Bell - Sunday, October 11, 2009
Jay Needham and Alta's dreams of promotion all but ended Sunday afternoon with a defeat at Tromsdalen while Connor Tobin did not see time in Nybergsund's victory over Stavanger.
Tromsdalen 2 - 1 Alta
In a battle between two northern Norwegian teams, Tromsdalen used two first half goals to stave off Alta amid bone-chilling conditions at Tromsdalen Stadion in Tromso.
Jay Needham ended up starting again at central midfielder for head coach Aasmund Bjorkman and went the full 90 minutes.
It came to light over the weekend that Needham had been battling a strained hamstring all week long which he sustained in last Sunday's 1-0 victory over Notodden. The native Texan uncharacteristically had been substituted out of the match in the latter stages of the second half.
Heading into Sunday's road test against Tromsdalen, Needham evidently passed a fitness test prior to the match and was cleared to play.
In a surprise move prior to Sunday's showdown, Bjorkman elected to start team leading scorer Vegard Braaten on the bench. Braaten was brought in at halftime with Alta down two goals but the decision to not start the 14-goal man certainly raised eyebrows among the Alta faithful.
The two teams took to a field where snow had been piled up on the sides to allow for a proper playing ground. It was a sign that winter had indeed arrived to Scandinavia and that the players would have to deal with the freezing temperatures during the match.
Eirik André Yndestad put Tromsdalen on the scoreboard first in the 35th minute with a free kick from the left side of the penalty area which had been earned after a costly Alta foul. Yndestad's unleashed a shot that perfectly curled inside the far post to beat reserve goalkeeper Ivar Forn.
Just three minutes later, Aslak Sokki doubled the margin for the hosts when Alta defender Martin Overvik committed a turnover deep in his own area which led to a quick attack by the Tromsdalen offense resulting in Sokki's shot from 20 meters out that beat Forn.
Down two goals and with their promotion hopes starting to dwindle, Bjorkman substituted in Diomande Alassane and the aforementioned Braaten in hopes of sparking his offense to a score.
The striker from the Ivory Coast, along with the future Tromso man, were unable to kickstart the offense leaving Bjorkman to make one more change in the 69th minute when midfielder Christian Reginiussen got the nod to enter the match.
Heading into the last 20 minutes, as Alta were desperately seeking a goal, Needham's hamstring injury was noticeably beginning to tighten. But with all three substitution in the books, the team captain was forced to gut it out until the end.
Finally in the 83rd minute, Alta broke through with a goal by Yaw Ihle Amankwah. Needham played a short corner to Martin Andresen who crossed to Amankwah giving the defender an open shot which he fired through the Tromsdalen defense to cut the lead to one.
In the waning moments, the visitors thought they had an equalizer when Alassane poked home a shot following a long throw-in from Needham, but the referee ruled that Tromsdalen goalkeeper Eirik Sorensen had been interfered with and the goal was disallowed.
The victory for the hosts fulfilled the prophecy of Tromsdalen head coach Morten Pedersen who predicted earlier in the week that his club would claim the three points.
The loss for Alta now leaves them seven points behind fifth place Sarpsborg who beat first place Honefoss 2-1 by scoring two goals in stoppage time.
With just three matches left in the 1. Division season, Alta would need to win out while Sarpsborg would have to lose out in order for Bjorkman's squad to grab the final promotion playoff position.
Alta return home next weekend to square off against Mjondalen.
Notes
Connor Tobin did not see time as a second half defensive substitute in Nybergsund's 2-1 win versus Stavanger. The win lifts Nybergsund up to sixth place in the league standings, six points behind Sarpsborg.
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