April 13, 2009: Round 02 of the Vodafone Division:

HB Tórshavn – EB/Streymur 1-0 (0-0)
1-0 Milan Kuljic

Both teams threatened with corners around the 10-minute mark, but generally few scoring opportunities were created in the first half where HB saw more of the possession, but without creating much. EB/Streymur were not very interested in going forward and their counterattack was hampered a lot as striker Arnbjørn Hansen started on the bench because of injury. But EB/Streymur still created at least as many scoring opportunities as HB in the first 45 minutes.

It could have become costly for HB when the defence played the ball straight to EB/Streymur’s Hans Pauli Samuelsen who rushed forward and fired a low shot that was deflected and went straight on the HB goalkeeper.

HB’s best chance of the first half came after a free kick which EB/Streymur didn’t clear properly and Milan Kulijic’s (?) downwards header forced René Tórgaerð to make a diving save.

Later Fróði Benjaminsen should have done better when he had a clear sight of the EB/Streymur goal, but he blasted the ball well over.

At the other end Hans Pauli Samuelsen on the left then combined well with Alex dos Santos who fired a low shot into the side netting. – However, HB-goalkeeper Símun Rógvi Hansen had the shot covered should it have been inside the frame.

Moments later Hans Pauli Samuelsen tried to curl a free kick from 25 metres into the top left corner, but it went a meter wide.

HB’s best move in the half was when Johan Ejvind Mouritsen combined well with right back Pætur Jørgensen who went to the byline and put in a fine cross to Rógvi Poulsen who didn’t connect properly with the ball in front of goal.

The last few minutes of the half produced two red cards – one for either side.

First it was EB/Streymur-forward Gudmund Nielsen who was given march-orders after he had tried to score with his hand from a Bárður Olsen free kick. Nielsen had received his first yellow in an off-the-ball incident with HB left back Poul Thomas Dam earlier in the half, when also Dam was given yellow.

A few minutes later it was Dam who earned himself an early shower when he brought down Alex dos Santos in full raid.

Playing 10 against 10 seemed to suit HB better when the match was resumed after the interval. Always-energetic Rógvi Poulsen on the left hand side got clear of his defender and cut back to Milan Kuljic just inside the corner of the penalty area, were Kuljic bombarded the ball straight into the near top corner. A fabulous strike!

HB then retreated and left the initiative to EB/Streymur who had most of the possession during the last half an hour. However, EB/Streymur produced very few scoring opportunities.

Twice Rumanian forward Sorin Anghel went down in HB’s penalty area. Especially Anghel’s second "fall" produced heavy appeals for a penalty, but the referee deemed Anghel to have dived and gave him the yellow card. – Maybe Anghel’s reputation as an "easy faller" didn’t help him in the incident.

Midway through the second half, EB/Streymur produced their best move of the match when Alex dos Santos was set up to shoot from the edge of the penalty area in centre of goal, but his flat shot went wide of goal.

EB/Streymur’s high crosses produced little danger as goalkeeper Símun Rógvi Hansen caught them well. – Except for one early in the half which he misjudged that could have given EB/Streymur the lead.

70 minutes into the match EB/Streymur brought on an half-injured Arnbjørn Hansen, but that changed little.

HB also had a couple of chances in the second half and near the end they were cheated for a clear penalty. - No doubt that the referee was doing some "averaging" here!

The referee added 5 minutes of stoppage time, but although it was an anxious wait for HB, they held out and bagged the 3 important points to put them first in the table which they lead on goal difference ahead of neighbours B36 Tórshavn.

EB/Streymur maybe paid the price for being too defensive in the first half instead of going for a win. HB are still not playing particularly well, but they are constantly improving.

But it’s almost sad to see how much the attractiveness of play has deteriorated since the 2006 season when these two teams played some fantastic matches.

ÍF Fuglafjørður – B36 Tórshavn 1-2 (0-2)
0-1 Klæmint Matras
0-2 Jákup á Borg
1-2 Bartal Eliasen

After an early opening goal from Klæmint Matras, Jákup á Borg doubled the lead towards the end of the first half thanks to a blunder in the ÍF defence.

In the second half defender Bartal Eliasen was moved forward and early in the second half he reduced the deficit with a header after a free kick. ÍF dominated in the second half and Eliasen should have equalized later in the match when he was clear, but his shot hit the upright.

As it still early days, it’s – not yet – a catastrophe to be in the relegation zone with no point after only 2 matches, but if ÍF cant beat AB Argir next Sunday, then the alarm clocks should start ringing.

B68 Toftir – AB Argir 1-0 (0-0)
1-0 Ahmed Keita

After an even first half, B68 improved in the second and broke the deadlock with an acrobatic header from Senegalese Ahmed Keita a quarter of an hour from the end. AB had a couple of chances earlier in both halves, but Vlada Filopovic in B68’s goal made some fine saves from clear AB-players.

It’s already looking gloomy for AB although only 2 rounds have been played yet, but next Sunday’s match against ÍF Fuglafjørður could be key to AB’s faith. Anotherloss and AB will find it difficult to recover.

KÍ Klaksvík – Víkingur 2-2 (1-0)
1-0 Ivan Joensen
1-1 Súni Olsen
1-2 Finnur Justinussen
2-2 Tórður Lervig

KÍ took the lead after only 8 minutes with a goal from only 17-year-old Ivan Joensen. But around the hour-mark, Víkingur turned the match around by scoring twice in 3 minutes.

But deep into the 5 minutes of added time, KÍ rescued a point with a goal from Tórður Lervig who had come on just a few minutes earlier.

Although draws don’t lift you much up the table, KÍ’s two points so far have both been won against teams that were expected to be near the top.

07 Vestur – NSÍ Runavík 1-4 (0-1)
0-1 Bogi Løkin
0-2 Óli Hansen
1-2 Hendrik Rubeksen
1-3 Hjalgrím Elttør
1-4 Karoly Potemkin

NSÍ more or less decided the match with two goals shortly before and after half time although 07 Vestur brought some excitement back into the match when they reduced the score 8 minutes from time. However, there wasn’t to be any upset, as NSÍ scored twice in the dying moments.