Results from the 2nd round

Stabæk - Vålerenga 1-1
Not only did Kristoffer Hæstad score, he also blocked a shot on the goal line.
Stabæk's goal came in the 50th minute, when Pontus Farnerud showed great vision and class and passed perfecly to Johan Andersson, who had no problems in placing the ball behind Lars Hirschfeldt.


Kongsvinger - Odd 1-2


Hønefoss - Aalesund 0-2
Demar Philips scored two, and Aalesund are on top of the league with 6 points.


Haugesund - Strømsgodset 2-2


Lillestrøm - Tromsø 2-0
Tromsø hardly created anyhing, while LSK only needed 13 minutes to score two. Arild Sundgot scored the first on a pass from Anthony Ujah, before Ujah minutes later scored on a pass from Sundgot.

Sandefjord - Molde 3-1:
Molde had the lead at half time, but Sandefjord surprised after the break, and scored three in 17 minutes. Last year's silver winners have now lost their two first matches in the season.

Viking - Brann 4-0
Embarrasing result for Brann in this Vestland-derby, however, Viking scored a couple of beautiful goals, Ingelsten took it down on his chest before placing it behind Opdal, Ødegård and Nisja both scored on volley and the last goal came when Andreas a pass from Ulland Andersen(who had a great match as replacement for Sokolowski) found Birkir Bjarnason's head, who could score the last goal of the match.


Rosenborg - Start 3-3
A brillant pass from Steffen Iversen led to a penalty when Rade Prica was tackled by Bård Borgersen, and Rosenborg had the lead 1-0, but Roseborg's defensive line was unable to communicate, and Start could fool the offside trap again and again. Christer Kleiven did also score a candidate for goal of the year, with a howler from 20 meters. However, Steffen Iversen created great chances in attack, and Trond Olsen could score two equalizers for Rosenborg, and the very exciting match ended 3-3.


Watch the best goals of the round here.

Results from the 1st round

Brann 0 - 0 Haugesund
Haugesund keeper Per Morten Kristiansen made it difficult for Brann. Haugesund had a couple of shots as well, but they either went outside of post, or straight on the goal keeper.



Odd Grenland 2 - 3 Stabæk
Veigar Pall Gunnarson had to assists in his comeback, former Odd player Espen Hoff scored the winning goal for Stabæk in the 90th minute.



Strømsgodset 2 - 0 Kongsvinger
Marcus Pedersen and Fredrik Nordkvelle scored.



Tromsø 2 - 0 Hønefoss
Debutant Thomas Drage (18yrs) assisted Sigurd Rushfeldt's (37yrs) first goal for the season. Tommy Knarvik scored the other goal.



Aalesund 3 - 0 Lillestrøm
Daniel Arnefjord, Tor Hogne Aarøy and Diego Silva scored, but Aalesund's keeper Lindegård was the main difference between the teams.



Start 2 - 0 Sandefjord
Young Christer Kleiven did not only scored, but had a great game from the midfield. Rune Hansen scored the season's first own goal, a beautiful lob over Sandefjord's keeper.



Molde 1 - 2 Rosenborg
Three Swedish goal scorers (Runström, Prica and Lustig) in this snowballfight. Molde scored first, but Rosenborg improved a lot in the second half, and did what they needed to bring 3 points home to Trondheim.



Vålerenga 2 - 0 Viking
Two long range shots from Moa Abdoulaue, one with his left and one with his right foot. Not the best debut for Viking keeper Jarstein

League Prediction: 1st place

Rosenborg. (Last year: 1st in Tippeligaen)
+ The strongest squad, quality in all parts of the team.
+ The best defence in the league, including two of the best backs(Lustig and Dorsin), the three best central defenders(Demidov, Lago and Stadsgaard) and the very promising Simen Wangberg
+ Good players on the bench including a couple of young talents who have impressed during the pre season, (Sellin, Åsen, Bakenga, Wangsberg and Henriksen)
+ Has bought three good players: Moldskred(attack), Winsnes(Midfield) and Örlund(GK).

- Manager Erik Hamren will leave in August, and Rosenborg has still not found a replacement. Romour has it they are going to wait until Stabæk's manager is a free agent, but how will a temporary manager affect the players?
- There is also a change that some key players will leave during the winter. Skjelbred, Demidov and Annan are wanted by several clubs.

Player to watch:
Gjermund Åsen(18yrs) has impressed both as a winger and central midfield in the pre season games, and could be the next great Rosenborg player.

League Prediction: 2nd place

Molde (Last year: 2nd in the league and the cup)
+ Jonevret is another great swedish manager.
+ Pape Pate Diouf has been good during the winter, as he has stepped out of the shadow of Mame Biram Diouf.
+ Thioune was brilliant in 2009, will he follow up? He has also had some groin problems this winter...
+ Dahle, Strandhagen, Meidell, Stamnestrø and Mame Diouf's little brother Mbar are some of the interesting talents in the squad.
+ Holm and Hoseth are solid central midfields.

- Jose Mota is on loan to Suwon Samsung Bluewings and M Diouf was sold to Manchester United.
- Goalkeeper Dørum Lilleback is injured, but Molde has borrowed Man United reserves keeper Ben Amos.
- Lacks good back up for the central defenders (Steen and Forren), Forren is likely to move to a bigger club this summer.

Player to watch:
Djibi Fall(on loan) looks like he is going to be another great Senegalese, like the two Dioufs and Makhtar Thioune. However, Molde will have to adopt their game a bit, as Fall is not the same type of striker as Mame.

League Prediction: 3rd place

Stabæk: (Last year: 3rd in Tippeligaen)
+ Jan Jönsson is an excellent manager
+ Diogo da Costa Oliveira looks like a quality replacement for Daigo Kobayashi, and they have bought Veigar Pall Gunnarson back from Nancy. The "Gunnarson and Nannskog duo" was the main reason why Stabæk won the league in 2008. Are they going to be able to recreate the connection they had back then, or is Nannskog getting too old?
+ Some of the best central midfielders in the league with Hauger, Farnerud and Andersson.
+ Jon Knudsen is a good keeper. Stabæk is going to need him in shape as

- They have lost many defenders, and this is going to be Stabæk's achilles heel this year.

Player to watch:
Diogo has been praised up to the skies, will he be the next Alanzinho?

League Prediction: 4th place

Viking (Last year: 10th place in Tippeligaen)
+ Åge Hareide is known to get good results in short time(as a club manager that is). Viking have played well this winter, and Hareide has found a system that suits the squad well.
+ With Jarstein on board Viking probably has one of the three best keepers in the league, but he needs a strong coach, as Jarstein is a player who demands a lot, and can at times have problems with his temper.
+ Patrick Ingelsten is an expensive, but exciting buy, and they haven't lost any key players. Nevland arrives in August.
+ A strong midfield (Sokolowski, Fillo and Bjarnason)

- Not the best defence, but they have a couple of good players(like left back Bertelsen) who could be solid if Hareide gets them to cooperate better. Lack a right back though, have tried to buy one, but haven't succeeded in finding any, however the supertalent Landu Landu could be ready for his break through if he gets the chance to play there
- The attack is quite thin, and they really need Ingelsteen to succeed.

Player to watch:
Martin Fillo has had a good winter, and might finally show us why Viking paid 10 million NOK for the former Czech under-21 Captain.

League Prediction: 5th place

Vålerenga (Last year: 7th place in Tippeligaen)
+ Playing manager Martin Andresen has finally decided to focus on just managing the team from Oslo East.
+ Has bought Lars Hirschfeld (Goalkeeper) and Andreas Nordvik (Central Defender). Not great players, but Hirschfeld was good when he played for Rosenborg, and Nordvik is still young and learning.
+ Lots of routine in the defence, but they might lack a bit of pace and other attributes needed to support the attacks. Will probably have less free kicks against them, as Erik "Panser" Hagen has left for Hønefoss.
+ Fellah, Singh, Dawda Leigh og Fuenmayor are all very promising, and Vålerenga is probably the club with the best young talents.

- Has lots of players with potensial who are capable of being great, however, the question is whether Andresen will be able to make the most of this potensial.
- Vålerenga has lost many profiles, without replacing any of them, Perkins, Andresen, Storbæk, Fredheim Holm and Wæhler.

Player to watch:
"Moa" Abdellaoue has signed a new contract and will hopefully play like he did in 2008.

League Prediction: 6th place

Odd (Last year: 4th in Tippeligaen)
+ Surprised last year with a 4th place, but the opponents will be more aware of the possible threat this year.
+ Manager Fagermo knows how to make the most out of the players he has got, even if this means playing dreadfully boring.
+ Arason is a solid goal keeper.
+ Good midfielders in Brenne, Bjørkøy and Samuelsen(from Viking), Lekven did also good last year.
+ Bentley is an exiting player, with good pace and technique
+ Has won 5 out of 7 matches in the pre-season

- Lacks a good defensive midfielder/deep lying playmaker. (Could Lekven do?)
- Many old players who have peaked several seasons ago, (like Fevang for instance)
- Needs to vary their tactics more, and not just play long balls forward to Kovacs.

Player to watch:
Fredrik Semb could be the next Odd profile if he gets the chance to play in the defence.

League Prediction: 7th place

Lillestrøm (Last year: 11th in Tippeligaen)
+Solid defense, however Lillestrøm lacks good backups in case of injuries, not too much pace in the defense either.
+Lots on speed on the flanks with Knudtzon and Elyounossi.
+ Many opportunities in attack. Anthony Ujah and Edwin are probably first choice, but Henning Berg could vary the tactics with the talent Sigurdarson, and the experiences Occean and Sundgot.

- The midfield is not creative enough, except from Igiebor who was quite brilliant last year.
- Many good players, but they have some problems connecting with eachother.

Player to watch:
Nosa Emanuel Igiebor (19yrs old) is great one-on-one in attacks, and is supposed to be the next John Obi Mikel and Mahktar Thioune

League Prediction: 8th place

Brann (Last year: 5th in Tippeligaen)
+ Two good goal keepers, but are they focused enough?
+ Huseklepp and Guastavino, two of the most creative players in the league. While David Nilsen is another type of attacker, which gives them a chance to vary their tactics. Huseklepp has also signed a new contract.
+ The signing of Erik Mjelde means more goal from the midfield.

- Has had a tendency of buying expensive players who are over the top rather than nuturing young talents, and are paying the price now with very few promising players.
- The defence consist more or less of attackers and midfielders who are forced to change posisions as Brann hardly has any good defenders.

Player to watch:
Guastavino's technique was why Brann bought him from Lyn one year ago. He didn't shine last year, but we think that he this year will be back to the level he had in Lyn. He and Huseklepp will make a terrifying duo for any defense.

League Prediction: 9th place

Tromsø (Last year: 6th in Tippeligaen)
+ Vegard Braathen is an interesting signing, played well for Alta last year, but he has got big shoes to fill.
+ Tommy Knarvik, Ruben Yttergård Jenssen and Helge Haugen on the midfield
+ Sead Ramovic is the best keeper in the league, Tom Høgli is one of the best backs, Yndestad is not bad either
- No good central defenders
- Too many new players
- Has lost keyplayers like Lars Iver Strand, Tore Reginiussen, Morten Moldskred and Joel Lindpere.
- Rushfeldt doesn't get any younger
- No good wingers

Player to watch:
Vegard Braathen, Tromsø is known as a club who finds good attackers, is Braaten going to be the next after Flo, Rushfeldt, Årst, and Moldskred?

League Prediction: 10th place

Strømsgodset (Last year: 12th in Tippeligaen)
+ Jostein Flo and Ronny Deila in charge have chosen to focus on young talents.
+ Great players in the attack with the most promising attacking duo in the league with Jo Inge Berget(The Fernando Torres look-a-like from Lyn) and Marcus Pedersen(The Norwegian Wayne Rooney), plus Øyvind Storflor, the king of assists.
+ Decent midfield.
- Have lost their creative midfielder and captain Fredrik Winsnes and need someone who can lead and motivate the team
- Young squad with lots of potensial but little routine. Only 6 players who are older the 23 in the squad!
- Adam Larsen and Lars Stubbehaug are both promising, but probably the weakest keepers in the league.


Player to watch:
Jo Inge Berget(19yrs) Tecnique, vision, speed and finishing!

League Prediction: 11th place

Aalesund (Last year: 13th in Toppeligaen)

+ Magnus Sylling Olsen is a good signing, this means that Aarøy won't have to score ALL the goals.
+ Fight hard against better teams.
+ The best defense and goal keeper Aalesund has had in years. Good attacking backs and solid central defenders.
- Still too dependent on the giant Thor Hogne Aarøy.
- A couple of players with potential, but their current ability is just not good enough.


Player to watch:
Herrera is skillful and determent, the back contributes both in attack and defence, can be the big profile in this years Aalesund team.

League Prediction: 12th place

Start (Last year: 9th in Tippeligaen)
+ Mads Stokkelien was the biggest surprise last year, can he preform at the same level this year as well?

+ Good first eleven
- Few good substitutes, will suffer if any of the key players are injured or match banned.
- The defence is to reliant on Goodson, when he is injured(as he often his) they struggle to keep the opponents from scoring goals.
- Both Goodson and Bolaños are likely to be sold during the summer, will they find replacements?


Player to watch:
Christer Kleiven (21) is reported to be the next Hæstad, Strømstad and and Marius Johnsen(!)

League Prediction: 13th place

Hønefoss (Last year: 2nd in Adeccoligaen)
+ Has signed amongst other Paul Obiefule (Lyn), Davy Claude Angan (Lyn), Kristjan Örn Sigurdsson (Brann), Madiou Konate (Ankaragücü), Erik Hagen (Vålerenga), good players with experience from Tippeligaen.
- Hasn't impressed anyone in the pre-season
- It's going to time to establish a good connection between all the new players.
- Lacks a good goal scorer.


Player to watch:
Umaru Bangura, great midfielder with loads of potential. The 22-year-old from Sierra Leone, is capable of doing magic with the ball in his feet. This years Thiounne?

League Prediction: 14th place

Haugesund (Last year: 1st in Adeccoligaen)
+ Scores a lot of goals, Last year Thomas Sørum scored 24 goals in 29 matches.
+ Great enthusiasm in the city of Haugesund, are going to be strong at home.
+ Has bought exciting players, rather than exciting names(like Hønefoss), could Pelu and Savolainen show why Rosenborg brought them to the club in 2008.
- Goal keeper Kristiansen and the central defenders Tronseth and Skjerve are probably not good enough for this level,


Player to watch:
Joakim Våge Nilsen: 19-year-old left back who played regularly on the team last year, and even made it to the team of the year.

Viking signs Jarstein and Nevland

Viking has bought Rune Almenning Jarstein from Rosenborg. Rosenborg wanted to sell him as Jarstein did not want to risk being 2nd choice after Daniel Örlund, and refused to sign a new contract.

25-year-old Jarstein is currently 2nd choice as National Team Keeper, behind Jon Knudsen.

Jarstein has signed a 4 year contract.

Erik Nevland will arrive this summer, when his contract with Fulham expires

Viking is also interested in signing another Fulham player, the right back Fredrik Stoor.


Rosenborg has signed 22-year-old Erik Bråthen from Fredrikstad as a replacement for Jarstein.