A Víkingur Victory

Hopperational details
Date & Venue:  Friday 15 April 2011 at Sarpugerði, Norðragøta
Result:  Víkingur 3 NSÍ Runavík 2
Competition: Meistaradeildin
Hopping: Fourth game of the tour


Pre-match entertainment
A walk along the cliffs from Elduvík, part way towards Oyndarfjorður, with a pastry-based reward at the end.  If you look closely, you can see the path!  This used to be the Sunday morning route to church for the good citizens of Elduvík until they very sensibly built one of their own.

This match in one sentence
Víkingur, a goal down at half-time, hit three second-half goals and then restricted NSÍ to one further late consolation score.

So what?
Both teams have a win and a defeat for the season - this was the first match in the second round of games in the 2011 fixture list.  Víkingur are fifth and NSÍ are sixth (both have a GD of zero but the former have scored one more goal) but that will change over the weekend as the other matches of the round take place.


The drama unfolds 
Not a lot happened in the first twenty minutes, and the first clip duly shows not a lot happening, but the scenery is as nice as ever round here.  This match was played in relatively calm weather conditions.





The second clip reveals that Víkingur have been working on corners and set pieces this week, and my furtive excerpt will now become required watching for other coaches in the division.





They also had a goal disallowed when they caused confusion in the defence with a quickly-taken free-kick, and it took a great tackle from  NSÍ’s Jens Joensen to deny Símun Hansen a shooting chance.  Hansen had lost his marker on the half-way line and was bearing down on goal.  However, NSÍ had chances of their own and after 41 minutes they took one - Jann Martin Mortensen shot in from the right and the score stayed that way till the interval.  0-1 at half-time

The lead lasted only four minutes.  Sølvi Vatnhamar was in the right place at the right time to poke home his second goal of the season, and the home side took control of the game.  1-1


They took the lead with a cracking goal six minutes later, as Kaj Leo í Bartalsstovu’s long low shot found the net.  2-1  After only another four minutes, they scored again as Finnur Justinussen touched in a cross from the left.  3-1  A triple substitution soon followed for the visitors, perhaps a sign of some frustration from the bench.


The two-goal margin allowed Vikingur a degree of comfort but they had some defending to do as  NSÍ poured forward.  A deflected consolation goal for Jens Joensen came in the second of four added minutes and meant that there was a somewhat frantic finish.  Final score 3-2

Something random
An Englishman with a notebook at four different Faroese top-tier matches?  Well, I might have been an agent or a coach, and that has been the most common reaction from locals who realise that I am a visitor either when they see my WBA woolly hat or my camera.


This led to two conversations today which have helped me understand how the game is run and viewed over here, so thanks to Phil (a member of the coaching staff at B68 - I hope I heard his name correctly as he introduced himself!) and Martin (an EB/Streymur supporter).  I will share their insights in a future summative article in the blog nearer the end of the trip.


Learn Faroese through football
Friggjadagur  Friday
Verja  Defence
Trý stig  Three points


What Next?
Provisional plan for Saturday:
1300  2.deild menn (3rd tier) - FC Hoyvík II v FC Suðoroy II
1500  Meistaradeildin (Top tier) - HB v 07 Vestur
1910  3.deild menn (4th tier) - Giza v B36
The first two take place at the Gundadalur complex in Tórshavn, but on different pitches, and the last one is in nearby Argir.

Another Northern League Day

Seating!

View from the car park

Hopperational details
Date & Venue:  Saturday 9 April at Við Margáir, Streymnes
Result: EB/Streymur 2 Víkingur 1
Competition:  Faroese Meistaradeildin (Highest Tier).  This is the opening weekend of the new season.  The games are played on artificial surfaces because of the prevailing climate.
Hopping: Venue #385 on my lifetime list and the first of the trip.

Pre-match entertainment
The day started with a very pleasant flight with SAS to Copenhagen, including a view of Wembley stadium from the air.  There was time to sample a Danish pastry before the connecting Atlantic Airways flight to Vágar, the Faroese national airport.  I was tempted by the Lego Technic, but showed restraint.  As I walked to my hire car, a herd of sheep scuttled through the car park towards the terminal.  I have a good feeling about this trip.  I then had a leisurely and spectacular drive to the ground.  Streymnes is on Stremoy, one of the 18 islands, and is reached from the airport on Vágar by undersea tunnel.


This match in one sentence
EB/Streymur edged an encounter between two well-matched sides, but needed a disputed penalty winner just before the break.

Alex tucks away the penalty

So what?

This is the very first fixture of the 2011 season.  The league has 10 teams, and there are three more games on Sunday and one on Monday to complete the first round.  EB/Streymur were runners-up last year and will be remembered by Manchester City supporters from a Europa League fixture.


The drama unfolds 


Apologies for the camera shake - it was a bit windy!






Both teams made a cagey start - the conditions looked tricky with a strong and gusty wind across the pitch, but in the end it made less difference than I’d feared at the start.  Víkingur had the better of the early half-chances, but they were caught napping with a calm finish from Levi Hanssen, as shown in this next clip.  1-0



However, only four minutes later the home keeper was beaten to the ball in the air.  My notes gave it to a looping header by Hans Jørgen Djurhuus but the news sources have Sølvi Vatnhamar who may have got the last touch as defender Gert Åge Hansen tried an overhead kick on the line to keep it out.  1-1


Just before half-time, EB/S #14 Daniel Udsen made a strong run into the penalty area and was tripped.  The spot-kick was awarded despite the visitors’ protests and Alex José dos Santos stepped up to convert.  2-1 at half-time


At half-time … the children in the crowd had a kick about.  On this surface, it was fine.





The second-half was also very even, and both sides could have scored.  The visitors managed a sustained period of about ten minutes of pressure, but failed to score and the home side weathered the storm.  The home and away #23s both caught the eye.  EB/S’s Leif Niclasen caused a lot of problems on the right-wing.  Víkingur’s Niclas Niclassen was an experienced midfielder who won the ball often and rarely gave it away.  The home supporters seemed particularly delighted when he joined three home players in the ref’s book, so I expect he has “previous”, as they say.  2-1 at full-time

What I learned today
From the Atlantic Airways in-flight magazine:  the genetic makeup of the islanders is of great interest for medical researchers.  The population, for historical reasons, has a relatively uniform genetic profile.  The original settlers were from other parts of Scandinavia, perhaps fleeing persecution or taxation, with some from Britain.  It is thought that most of the women came from the British Isles.  It is easier for researchers to study the design of possible drugs and medicines with such a population.


Learn Faroese through football
Leygardagur  Saturday
Komandi dystir  forthcoming fixtures
Friskur vindur  Fresh breeze


What Next?
Newly-promoted 07 Vestur take on B36 of Tórshavn on Sunday afternoon.