The season is only two rounds old, but the throne in the Eliteserien seems to have only two challengers – this year too.
Eliteserien: Molde and Glimt clearly the best
It is of course too early to conclude after only two series rounds, but already it seems that only Bodø/Glimt and Molde are able to challenge for the title in the Eliteserien. Before the start of the season, Brann was appointed as a possible title challenger, but 0-2 against Fredrikstad in the home opener is simply not good enough.
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The people of Bergen complained to the point of boredom about the östfoldingen’s taking up time every single time the ball was out of play, but Fredrikstad did nothing but show the wisdom and cynicism that is needed for a newly promoted team to take points away from home against a top team. Without stretching the comparison too far, we saw a cynicism from Fredrikstad that we have rarely seen with, for example, the Norwegian national team.
Full pot and zero behind
Eliteserien: Molde and Bodø/Glimt Leder An 3
International cynicism has been called for at national team level for over 20 years now, and it took a newly promoted team to show that even haughty Norwegians have the necessary damn insolence in them to take points against supposedly better teams.
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Brann is of course not out of the dance after only two rounds, but it is no coincidence that it is precisely Bodø/Glimt and Molde that are the only teams with a full pot at the start of the season. The duo were tipped by us as the top two teams when we reach the end of the season, and in addition to being the only teams with six points out of a possible six, Molde and Glimt are also the only teams that have not conceded a goal in the first two of the season Matches. The Bodøværingen got hot around the ears at times in the home opener against Viking on Saturday, but the reigning league champions held their ground and secured a 1-0 victory in the end.
Good start for newcomers
Eliteserien: Molde and Bodø/Glimt Leder An 4
When it comes to the newly promoted teams, it is pleasing to see that all three clubs that have made the trip up from the OBOS league have received points from the first two rounds. Kristiansund has impressed the most with four points, and a strong 3-2 win away to Lillestrøm in the series premiere, while KFUM has shown that they will probably not be a throwaway ball this year with straight draws against HamKam and Kristiansund. Next Tuesday, Kåffa will have the opportunity to challenge established Eliteserie opposition, when Strømsgodset will visit the capital.
And then of course we have Fredrikstad. The football fever is back in the plank town after last year’s promotion from the OBOS league, and the östfoldings could hardly have asked for a tougher baptism of fire in the Eliteserien. Reigning champions Bodø/Glimt waited in the first round, and as expected were too strong with a 2-0 victory. Not many thought it would go against last year’s league runners-up, Brann, on Sunday night, but FFK went ahead and won 2-0, thanks in large part to the aforementioned cynicism at the start.
New twist in a few weeks?
No one seems to be able to threaten Molde or Bodø/Glimt for their duopoly this season. The traditional heavyweights such as Lillestrøm, Viking and Rosenborg do not seem to have either the quality in the first team or the width in the stable needed to hang in there over a long season. Brann showed last year that on their day they are capable of beating anyone in the country, but Sunday’s home loss against Fredrikstad also showed that Brann still has a long way to go if they are to stand the distance over a 30-game season.
It may naturally happen that the table will look completely different in just a few rounds, that Molde and Bodø/Glimt have suffered their first losses of the season, and that things have evened out at both ends of the table. However, the early signs suggest that the title race in The elite series once again will stand between two teams. Norwegian football currently has no more clubs capable of fighting for the league gold, for so long.