Viking had most of the ball at the start of the match, and FFK had problems setting their own game. In the defensive game, the red and whites were compact and solid, but after 25 minutes the mark slipped on Djibril Diop.
Viking captain and former FFK player Zlatko Tripic pulled free at the right corner flag and hit the back post. There, the Senegalese Diop had got free, and was allowed to finish undisturbed. On the half volley, the Senegalese thumped the ball into the net behind Fischer and Viking took the lead 1-0
Soon after, Sander Svendsen combined well on the right and hit Salvesen, who stormed into the field. Philip Aukland got a toe on the ball before it hit Lars-Jørgen Salvesen and it all ended with a clumsy finish that went over Jonathan Fischer’s goal.
Strong end to the 1st half
Five minutes before the break, Vikings Jost Urbancic poked the ball on to Salvesen in a duel with Julius Magnusson. Salvesen was then suddenly alone with Fischer, but the Danish cage keeper stood firm and saved the shot expertly with his chest.
Magnusson was lying down after the duel, but after some help from a physiotherapist, the FFK captain continued the match.
Soon after, Stian Stray Molde and Oscar Aga elegantly combined down the left side, and Stray Molde scored with his left foot. In the box in front of the goal, Mai Traore stormed forward, and was only a few centimeters from getting a foot on the ball which had caused major problems for Viking goalkeeper Patrik Gunnarsson.
FFK finished the 1st half the strongest and Morten Bjørlo showed off his shooting foot on a free kick from about 20 metres. Gunnarsson in the Viking cage only had to look on after the shot, but unfortunately for Bjørlo, the shot was a few centimeters too far to the left of the goal.
Red card and equalizer
Just before the hour mark, Patrick Metcalfe hits a long ball from his right-back position. Traore started in the back room and was brought down by Viking stopper Diop. Immediately it could look like Traore was offside, but the linesman kept the flag down and the referee blew a free kick to FFK. As the system man in the Viking defence, Diop received the red card for bringing down Traore.
The guests thus got just over half an hour with one more man, and it shouldn’t take many minutes before FFK took advantage of the advantage. After a free kick, there was a bit of chatter and chatter in the field and Maxwell Woledzi had two shot attempts. Both shots were blocked, but the last attempt ended up at the feet of Oscar Aga, who hammered the ball into the roof of the net. Thus it was 1-1 and the game was turned.
After 70 minutes, it was almost unbelievable that FFK did not take the lead. Stray Molde took down a cross at the back post and hit back into the box where both Aga and Traore stormed towards the goal. Both threw themselves after the ball, but from a lying position, Aga was unable to get a proper push in the end and it was an easy ball for the Viking goalkeeper to pick up.
FFK took over the court game according to the recipe after the expulsion, but Viking were dangerous on the counterattack. With barely a quarter of an hour left on the clock, Tripic tried with a finish from 17-18 meters after great combination play by Viking. Fortunately for FFK, the finish missed the target by the necessary centimeters.
Youngsters Imre Bech Hermansen and Filip Stensland were among the players who came on for FFK and got important minutes against Eliteserie opposition. In the final minutes, Simen Rafn also came on the field and got his first minutes on the field after the cruciate ligament injury he suffered last summer.
Photo: Alexander Larsen/Viking Football