StabaekFotball

With their 2 – 0 victory over Bodø/Glimt yesterday, Stabæk secured the bronze medal for the 2009 season.

There is still the mathematical possibility that Stabæk can take the silver medal from Molde, but that requires that Stabæk defeat Sandefjord next Sunday with an almost a double digit number of goals while Molde lose at home against Lillestrøm. This combination of events is not likely to happen. But the end result is still that Stabæk has won a medal for the third year in a row (silver in 2007, gold in 2008 and bronze in 2009) – an incredibly strong performance.

Stabæk-TV: See the goals

Yesterdays match, though, did not turn out to be the festive event one could have hoped for. In a match that both teams needed to win (Stabæk to secure the medal, Bodø Glimt in order to remain in the premier division), one had expected two teams eager to attack and a lot of chances on both sides of the field. This did not happen. Bodø/Glimt lay low throughout the first half, and Stabæk were unable to create decisive chances. It was only in the first half’s last minute that Daigo Kobayashi was able to score yet another free kick goal – his 8th goal for the season.

The second half was at times a more spirited affair, but Bodø/Glimt did demonstrate why they will have to play in the second division next year. Almost no goal chances were produced by the players in yellow, and that in a “win or be relegated” match for them. For Bodø/Glimt’s trainer Kåre Ingebrigtsen and the rest of the team it probably was an extra long return trip home. “This was the match we had to win, but were not able to. The result is the Adecco league next year, unfortunately. It is tough”, says Ingebrigtsen. The team he led to a fourth place finish last year is relegated this year. The reason, according to Ingebrigtsen, is their lack of ability to win closely fought matches. “Last year we played a lot of tight matches, and we won many of them. We had a lot of matches were the ball hit the post and went in, while this year the ball has hit the post and gone out. In addition, we have not been able to win enough home games, and not won enough points to secure continued play in the premier league. We will just have to pull ourselves together and try and advance straight back up again to the top division next year”, concludes Ingebrigtsen before the long return trip home to Bodø.

Jan Jønsson was naturally a lot mot satisfied with the end result, but also he found the game a bit peculiar. “We had expected a more aggressive Bodø/Glimt, but they came out in a very defensive formation. The speed of play remained low and this was not the festive performance we had hoped to have given our audience. But we are happy with the 2 – 0 result and the three points that we had hoped for, and needed, in order to secure the bronze medal. To capture the bronze is a strong performance, particularly given our wavering start to the season. We knew it would be difficult to defend our gold medal from last year, particularly as new players that had to be drilled into our playing system, and we had a new arena and a new type of playing field that we had to get used to. But we did not allow this to stress us. We focused on our performance on the field, and after a little while our game began to take on a familiar form, particularly at home in Telenor Arena. We have had a fantastic season with the Champions League qualification as an extra bonus. We have an excellent platform to build on, with a lot of young, talented players. We are travelling to Sandefjord next Sunday in order to finish the season with our heads held high. And then we will see what happens with regard to the next season when this one is finished,” says Jønsson.

Stabæk-TV: Se målene her

Daniel Nannskog scored yet another impressive goal on a precise pass from Mix. He was very happy about capturing the bronze. “It is an impressive feat when you think back at the start of our season. We knew it would take time to rebuild the team, and we were not stressed about the fact that this season did not start in the same way as the 2008 season. We have step by step found our way back to the flow we had last year, and we began winning matches again. That we secure the bronze is impressive and something to build on for next season. And nothing would please me more than if we could challenge Rosenborg and Molde next year and fight for the gold medals”, says Nannskog. There is, though, no doubt that Janne Jønsson is an extremely important factor for continued Stabæk success. “Janne has done a fantastic job with Stabæk, and I really hope we are able to keep him here. He represents a football philosophy that suits me and all the other players on the team. Should we lose Janne, then I hope that we are able to continue to build on the platform that he has created, and not change to a new system. But now we will concentrate on our last match of the season against Sandefjord before we begin to think about a new season. But I am optimistic about the future”, concludes Nannskog.

It was possibly not a festive match, but the team did secure the points they needed for the bronze medal. That was an impressive feat given the results at the start of the season. Now there remains only the Sandefjord match next Sunday as we finish the 2009 season. Given that reigning league winners often end up in the relegation battle the following year we should be very grateful for yet another medal. It is no less than a very strong performance.

Match facts: Stabæk - Bodø/Glimt 2-0

Foto: Ole Marius Fjalsett