Pyro, pipe concert, stoppage in the game and former coach and players dressed in prisoner’s uniform at tifo. The “Battle for Northern Norway” contained almost everything an archrival settlement should contain, except goals. After the match, the Glimt coach was disappointed with both the execution of the match and his own fans. – They have to take that smoke away. It ruins the experience of watching the match. I am probably one of those in Norway who is most against that. What I mean about that, I think most people are bullshitting, says Knutsen to news after the match. That after the match was stopped several times, and already after only three minutes of play, as a result of pyrotechnics. It all led to a packed Romssa arena being told that the match could be cancelled, if the use of pyrotechnics continued. Smoke from supporters’ flares and pyro stopped the game for a few minutes. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB Guillotine and prisoner’s outfit When the smoke had finally settled, the home fans caught sight of Jostein Gundersen again. The centre-back who, after almost ten years in the TIL outfit, announced a transfer to the arch-rival from Nordland. Something the home supporters rewarded with a pipe concert at the slightest touch of the ball from the 28-year-old. – It was no shock. It was very clear at the start, and you can also close it out. It was impressive, they kept it up the whole match, says Gundersen with a smile. After the match, the former TIL player, with around 200 matches for Saturday’s hosts, acknowledged that it was special to be back in Tromsø. – There were a few extra emotions, but all in all a fantastic setting and a tough match, says Gundersen. When the players came out of the dressing room after the break, they were greeted by tifo from the home supporters in Forza Tromsø. There Gaute Helstrup, Daniel Bassi, August Mikkelsen and Runar Espejord were posed as prisoners in prison garb, with Gundersen beheaded by a guillotine. – I’m not going to lie: I saw it during the break when I came out, says Gundersen about the tifo. – What do you think about it? – I don’t care about it. This is football, and reporting should be allowed. For me, it’s going well. BACK: Former TIL player, now Bodø/Glimt player, Jostein Gundersen. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB Out with injury Bodø/Glimt came out of the dressing room freshest for the second half. TIL goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard conjured up several good saves. In the 60th minute, Glimt striker Kasper Høgh sat down and held the back of his thigh. The Dane was replaced shortly afterwards, with an ice pack lying around his thigh on his way to the bench. Kasper Høgh had to leave with a thigh injury after 60 minutes. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB – Can safely say that it looks like a hamstring injury. This can take time, says radio commentator Gunnar Grindstein. With only minutes left in regular time, Yaw Paintsil had the opportunity to become the match winner for TIL. The defender came alone with the goalkeeper, but Haikin got a hand on the ball. At the very end, the match was once again stopped by large amounts of smoke. – We are stronger now than in our Northern Norway’s best team will meet for the second time in 2024, this time in Tromsø. The teams also met in Bodø on 16 May, and then Bodø/Glimt took a convincing 4–0 victory. TIL coach Jørgen Vik believed before the match that “Gutan” will play better now. – We feel stronger now than we were this spring, both as a team and as individual players. After the end of the match, the 34-year-old had no doubt that the team performed far worse after the rest than before. – There is a lot to take forward, but we must strive to solve the second half better, says Vik. Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen also gives a similar description after the match. – We will be very neutral in what will be Glimt. We did not challenge a low-lying Tromsø team enough. We created little, there was little action. I think we improved a lot, and set more pace in the second half. Just as excited before the start of the match was Tromsø IL’s supporter group, which organized a supporter train up to Romssa Arena. Tense build-up For several players and a coach, the match in Tromsø will be a reunion with former supporters. The matches between Tromsø Idrettslag and Bodø/Glimt have been extra tense this year, largely due to several transfers from TIL to Glimt this winter. Both center back Jostein Gundersen and former head coach Gaute Helstrup went directly to Bodø from Tromsø. August Mikkelsen, who first left TIL in 2022 in favor of Swedish Hammarby, also dressed in solid yellow this summer. Last year, the talented Daniel Bassi also got on the plane south to Nordland’s county capital. This will be the first time that Gundersen and Helstrup will play for the away team after the transfers. This prompted some TIL supporters to hang a Quisling banner in the center of Tromsø earlier this week. This banner was hung at Kongsbakken in central Tromsø. Photo: Tove Jensen / news Jørgen Vik hasn’t taken much notice of the banners, and is mostly concerned with the next training session. But he is happy that there is some fire from the supporters. – There is great commitment around a match like this, and there is a bit of charm about it too. The season’s first sold-out match “The Battle of Northern Norway” on Saturday was the first match this season that Romssa Arena is sold out. It already happened three weeks before the match was kicked off. It means a lot to the coach. – It’s wonderful. That’s how we want it. We must also do everything in our power, says Vik. Published 19.10.2024, at 16.42 Updated 19.10.2024, at 21.25
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Tromsø against Bodø/Glimt – news Troms and Finnmark
