Ranheim was in Kristiansand on Saturday afternoon, where the jumbo team Start stood on the other half of the track.
In the first five games of the season, the away team had only one win. Two draws and two losses meant that they were in 11th place before the start of the match.
The match ended 0–0, despite several good chances.
– That’s kind of how it’s been with us, says Ranheim coach Kåre Ingebrigtsen after the end of the match to Nidaros.
Close to Ranheim management
And it was a Ranheim team that dominated most of the first half. They had several good shooting opportunities, but the ball mostly went wide for the goal.
After 39 minutes there was a bonanza of chances like no other: A smooth cross from Mathias Emilsen hit Dennis Gaustad’s foot perfectly at the back post. But the finish was lax, and Start’s goalkeeper Mats Gulbrandsen Viken gave a rebound that was intercepted by Ranheim’s Gustav Busch Trend Mogensen. He passed the ball to John Hou Sæter, who from seven meters was unable to hit the target, but instead the ball clinched the head of one of Start’s defenders.
– It’s 0-0, but Ranheim was clearly the closest to scoring, said Direktesport commentator Glenn Thomas Faannessen when the teams went into the break.
Kåre Ingebrigtsen says that he thinks they are really good in the first half.
– We create a good number of scoring chances, but we somehow fail to put them on target. We even get past the goalkeeper, but they had someone on the line who saved too, he says.
The first big chance of the 2nd half came to Start and Alagie Sanyang after 51 minutes. The striker was played relatively open in front of Ranheim’s goal, but he had forgotten to take off his rucksack and shoveled the ball far over the goal.
– Smells a bit 0-0
In the time after this, Ranheim dominated the court game. But after 66 minutes it was only luck that prevented the home team from taking the lead:
Fabian Ness was left alone at around 16 meters and sent off a shot that Ranheim’s Simen Vidtun Nilsen gave a dangerous return on. In Ranheim’s favour, Mathias Grundetjern was unable to shuffle his feet and sent the ball aside for a goal from five metres.
– We have to take that away. At least they have to create their own scoring chances, says Ingebrigtsen about the miss from Grundetjern.
Five minutes later, Sanyang had another good opportunity. But both Erik Tønne and Jakob Tromsdal jumped in sacrificially and the ball went through them and out for a corner kick.
– I have a bit of the feeling that the match is tipping on a knife’s edge now, said commentator Faannessen after 82 minutes.
– It makes me a little reluctant to say it, but it smells a bit 0-0 right now, he said five minutes later.
There were also so-called “famous last words”. Because the match just ended 0-0.
– There are enough chances here for both teams to score, said Faannessen.
Here he wants improvement
Kåre Ingebrigtsen believes that they are not as dangerous in the second half as they were in the first 45 minutes.
– We almost have the ball more in this half, because they are exhausted. But we create a couple of scoring chances for them and enable them to score goals. In those periods where we are very good in the first half, we should have scored on them. As long as it was 0-0, it didn’t look like they were particularly interested in getting forward in the field, says the Ranheim coach.
He believes they must become more decisive in front of goal.
– There are quite a few who are not terribly used to scoring many goals. Dennis (Gaustad) is an example of someone who has come up with many goal chances, and it’s about standing in it, then it comes loose there. We still have to work on the quality of our penultimate and third-last pass, because then we break through and create even greater scoring chances, he says.
– Do you take anything positive with you from the match?
– Yes, that we control the game at the end. In the last 15 minutes they don’t really have anything. Then we are tough enough to try to create something ourselves. We stand tall and control, and I think it’s mature that this group dry away from home in Kristiansand. The fear is that in the last ten minutes at 0-0 we will go backwards and just defend ourselves, but we rather took hold and mostly had the ball.
