It might. I thiiiink, though, that Follo will have to win the final to get there. If Strømsgodset wins, the extra European spot will be given to the team finishing fourth in the league.

(Oh yeah, Strømsgodset beat Odd 1-0 after extra time in the other semi final.)

Two consecutive draws for our beloved but crappy Lillestrøm now. First away to Haugesund, 3-3 after leading twice. Conceding two goals on set pieces doesn't fit our reputation, but neither does scoring two goals on long shots in the same game. Also, Haugesund maintains their unsuspected unbeaten record at home.

Controversy as Rosenborg barely scraped a 3-2 win in Bergen last Sunday, as they got a dubious penalty at a critical time in the second half. Nothing new about that... This was even more of a heated issue as Vålerengen had won their game in Stavanger the previous day.

Molde had won two in the trot after acquiring Uwe Rösler's services in the coaching department, but only got a 1-1 in Lillestrøm today. They should've been 4-0 up at half time, but keeper Magnusson was absolutely outstanding. Then we took a lead early in the second half through - of course - Anthony Ujah, but Baye Djiby Fall equalised towards the end.

Rest of week 25 to be played tomorrow (and one game on monday).

Not much of interest happening today, except Rosenborg dropping points in Drammen (against Strømsgodset) with a 1-1 draw and Vålerengen beating Brann 1-0 in Oslo two hours later.

Deficit between RBK and vif is now only 5 points with 5 games left to play, and guess what? Next week it's Rosenborg - Vålerengen in Trondheim... Much to be decided there.

In other news, Odd's 18 year old Torgeir Børven scored four goals today against hopeless Sandefjord.

So who will you be cheering for the Trondheim title decider?

As bizarre as it may sound, I wholeheartedly support Rosenborg in the run-in. I'll rather have another 15 years of total RBK domination than seeing Vålerengen win it once.

MachoMorten wrote:
As bizarre as it may sound, I wholeheartedly support Rosenborg in the run-in. I'll rather have another 15 years of total RBK domination than seeing Vålerengen win it once.

Heart ruling head, glad to see it and wouldn't have expected anything else from your goodself.

So whatever excitement was left in the league was thrown out this weekend, as Rosenborg defeated Vålerengen 3-1 at home after going 1-0 down in the first half.

Ghanaian world cup star and all-around arsehole Anthony Annan has been headlining all pundits since Sunday night, after being caught on tape while putting a finger in a Vålerengen defender's bum (!) while handling same defender's scrotum before a set piece in Vålerengen's box. The Norwegian FA (NFF) has said there will be no repercussions for him, as usual. Earlier this season, Annan bit an Aalesund player's nipple on a defensive corner. Weird guy.

Although they still have theoretical chances to survive, Kongsvinger will join Sandefjord on the second level next year, and Hønefoss will clinch the play off spot. Vålerengen and Tromsø will take the silver and the bronze respectively. The rest of the teams will finish somewhere between 4 and 13, all of them...

Lillestrøm took a rare away win and even kept a clean sheet as we beat sorry Sandefjord 1-0 away in front of 1100 spectators (half of which were us). Youngster Mathis Bolly got to start on the left wing and scored a screamer to win the game. Check it out here:

www.tv2.no/play/sport/fotball?progId=462097

MachoMorten wrote:
Lillestrøm took a rare away win
...and now they did something even more rare: Following up a win with another win. Brann was humiliated in the first half (3-0 at half time) and invited to an all-you-can-eat in the second (3-2 at full time) in a dramatic encounter which had the Canaries displaying the very best and the very worst they had to offer. Young Nigerian rookie Anthony Ujah scored his 11th league goal of the season.

Rosenborg and Vålerengen both won, as expected. Vålerengen's victory makes Rosenborg having to wait a week to celebrate the championship. Incidentally, the first match of the next week is the derby Vålerengen - Lillestrøm. Imagine the delight in being the ones to finally bury Vålerengen's title bid... Poetic justice. I can't wait.

Kongsvinger and Sandefjord both picking up a point, not helping them much. Sandefjord got some press after their away point in Aalesund, though. The reason? They had one - 1 - travelling fan in the away stand. The players all came over and shook his hand after the game, nice gesture (but then again, the least they could do).

I have to mention Haugesund too. They surprisingly achieved promotion a year ago and were expected to go down immediately, but as it stands they are actually 4th in the league, unbeaten at home (with one home game remaining).

Their striking duo Sørum/Djurdjic has scored 19 of their 46 goals so far. They've also introduced some exciting new talent to Norwegian football this year. Sadly, they are in a situation where they're gonna have to sell their stars if they get decent bids for them, and then they will probably collapse next year... But for now, they're impressive and enjoying it well.

The derby of derbies as far as Norwegian football is concerned kicks off at Saturday 16.00 GMT. Vålerengen (scum) vs. Lillestrøm (heroes). Sadly it has become an encounter between two teams with nothing to play for, and combined with being a Saturday's match the attendance is unlikely to exceed 15 000. However, the two teams' fan clubs will do theirs to beat their archrivals in the stands.

The only thing keeping this match interesting, apart from the rivalry, is that if Lillestrøm can avoid defeat, it will seal the championship for Rosenborg - ending Vålerengen's last ounce of hope, and at the same time spoil Rosenborg's celebration party at their match on Sunday.

As far as I know, the game can be streamed from vglive.no or TV2, but it's gonna cost about five quid or so. Probably not worth it. But if you do, be sure to cheer for the yellow and black! (Only in Norwegian thos sites, but that's what Google is for.)

Enjoy your day out then MM. Would you ever predict anything than a Lillestrom win?

As you know there is another derby tomorrow in Istanbul and we can safely predict a Fener win there.

I actually expect a medium-to-heavy defeat to day, as pretty much all of Norway does. But predictions is something quite different! 2-1 Lillestrøm ;)

It's quite a weekend for derbies indeed. Today we have this one and Red Star - Partizan Belgrade, tomorrow it's the Old Firm and Fenerbahce - Galatasaray. Madness!

2-1. Wrong way. In fucking injury time. After we had two penalty claims wrongly dismissed. I'll go get drunk now.

MachoMorten wrote:
Ghanaian world cup star and all-around arsehole Anthony Annan has been headlining all pundits since Sunday night, after being caught on tape while putting a finger in a Vålerengen defender's bum (!) while handling same defender's scrotum before a set piece in Vålerengen's box. The Norwegian FA (NFF) has said there will be no repercussions for him, as usual. Earlier this season, Annan bit an Aalesund player's nipple on a defensive corner. Weird guy.
To say the least.

Not much new after this week's fixtures, except Kongsvinger are definitely going down after a 0-0 against champions Rosenborg. Kongsvinger are also in deep economic trouble, let's hope this is not the end for them.

Lillestrøm claimed their 13th tie of the season, a new record in the top flight. Viking came to visit and took the lead through a cracking long shot. Veteran Arild Sundgot equalised in the second half.

Heartbreak for Haugesund, who finally lost a game at home. This was their first (and only) home defeat of the season, quite shocking to say the least. Molde, led by superhero Uwe Rösler, won 2-1.

Most teams have nothing to play for, so there's really not much of interest. Except that Vålerengen, who will finish second no matter what, got pissed on in Hønefoss of all places. Delightful.

Season is over, here are the results:

Rosenborg went unbeaten through the season and one quite easily in the end. Now a new reign of terror will begin as former Stabæk coach Jan Jönsson is taking over.

Vålerengen finished second with Tromsø taking third place. These and cup winners Strømsgodset will take the Norwegian spots in the Europa League.

Oh yes, Strømsgodset won the cup after defeating Division 1 ("Championship") side Follo 2-0 in the final. No one outside of Drammen seemed to care.

Down goes Sandefjord and Kongsvinger, and they will be followed by Hønefoss who lost their home game in the playoffs 4-1 to Fredrikstad. Only a miracle can keep them up now. In addition to Fredrikstad, Sogndal (Eirik Bakke's former club which he will also play for next year) and Sarpsborg will come up. The latter have never been in the top flight before.

Our beloved Lillestrøm finished 10th, in the middle of a batch of teams contending for the 4th place. In the end, not even close. The good news is that we were clear of relegation early on and that newcomer Anthony Ujah finished only two goals behind the league top scorer Baye Djibi Fall. We've struck gold in this kid.

Ricky Lenin wrote:
I'm not sure how I feel about Sarpsborg 08. It's nice for all my wife's family to have team to support in the higher reaches of the league but there seems to be something wrong about how its happened. 16 local teams merged in 2000 to create one team. I guess it's not franchising or anything but the lack of history is worrying.
Guess you'll have to step it up now, as they secured promotion a couple of weeks ago.

MachoMorten wrote:
Down goes Sandefjord and Kongsvinger, and they will be followed by Hønefoss who lost their home game in the playoffs 4-1 to Fredrikstad. Only a miracle can keep them up now.
No such miracle took place, as Fredrikstad won 4-0 in the second leg.

That's it for 2010, I'll either see you next year or not...

Thanks for the thread and updates!