From the penalty spot, Amahl Pellegrino scored the winning goal in the first extra time at Aspmyra, after what became a very nerve-wracking affair for home supporters used to victory. Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen was a relieved man after the match. – I said during the break that this team (Sepsi) is not easy to dig down. We dug them three meters down, but they rose again from the dead, Knutsen told Avisa Nordland after the match. In front of news, Glimt’s success coach elaborates on the drama at Aspmyra, which finally secured the group stage in Europe for the third year in a row in Bodø. – That means an awful lot. There are new sporting challenges, and the experience that the club and the players get is extremely important, says Knutsen. During the interview, match winner Pellegrino came up to Knutsen’s side. – It is not the first time he has been decisive. If you look at the numbers for “Pelle”, they are extreme. In and around 16 metres, he is world class, Knutsen continues. Supposed to have turned down a huge offer for the top scorer It’s only been a couple of weeks since the atmosphere was somewhat cooler between the top scorer and the club. The 33-year-old told Avisa Nordland that Glimt had turned down a large offer for the drama man. When asked about the extra-time penalty kick, which was worth over NOK 40 million, Pellegrino smiled slyly. – That was probably why they didn’t let me go when the offer came here earlier, he says to news. Because advancement to the group stage in the Serie Liga means that Glimt can smile all the way to the bank. Just to win the playoffs, as well as to qualify for the group stage, roughly NOK 42 million in prize money awaits. They are also guaranteed six games in the group stage. Here, too, there are millions to collect, if Glimt delivers on the pitch. A win gives around NOK 5.7 million, while a draw gives a scant NOK 2 million. Last year, Bodø/Glimt had NOK 410 million in revenue, of which around NOK 170 million was prize money from Uefa. Yellow bang start The home team was the best in the first match in Romania, but had to settle for only 2-2. In the opening minutes of Aspmyra, it looked as if Glimt would continue in the same vein. Barely a quarter of an hour into the match, Pellegrino put the ball in the net. But a VAR check concluded that the ball had been over the dead line ahead of the attack. But Glimt did not ease off the gas for that reason. Eight minutes later, there was a valid net buzz on Aspmyra. Pellegrino hit the ball into the field, and there the 178 centimeter tall Sondre Sørli poked the ball into the goal to make it 1–0. Sondre Sørli scored 1–0 for Glimt after 23 minutes and gave the home team an excellent start to the match. Photo: Mats Torbergsen / NTB A few minutes later, Pellegrino made it 2-0 after returning a shot from Patrick Berg. But again the VAR team had to act on a possible offside on the goalscorer, but settled on the fact that the Eliteserien’s top scorer was on the right side of the defence. Then Glimt seemed to sail easily into the Serieligaen’s group stage. Three minutes before the break, that would change. Two behind in five minutes A bit out of nowhere, Sepsis’ Andres Dumitrescu hit the ball into the box, where Isnik Alimi got a header. The finish was not of the hard kind, but Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin was unable to stop the ball from going into the goal. Thus there was tension in the match again, which Glimt had controlled. If the end of the first half was bad for the home team, the start of the second half was no better. Ronald Varga and Sepsi turned 0–2 into 2–2 in five minutes against Bodø/Glimt. Photo: Mats Torbergsen / NTB Roland Varga accelerated straight towards the Glimt defence. Although he was surrounded by yellow-clad fans, he managed to finish low past Haikin to make it 2–2. After that, the settlement changed completely. Suddenly, Sepsi was completely on par with the Bodo værings, and could have quickly run away with the victory at full time. VAR drama in extra time Extra time was needed to separate the teams, but it was not without drama either. At first, Pellegrino and Tobias Fjeld Gulliksen burned a great double chance, but then it would finally come loose. Again, Pellegrino finished from the favorite team on the left wing. Sepsis Nicolae Paun stretched out his arm to block the shot and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Pellegrino kept his cool when he took the penalty himself, sending Glimt up to 3–2. However, the joy was to be short-lived, because a minute later the ball was in the goal behind Glimt goalkeeper Haikin. Sepsi knocked the ball up, and Marius Stefanescu finished past the goalkeeper to make it 3–3. But again the VAR team had to act, which judged a fine offside on the Sepsi player. PS.: Brann is currently playing his return match against Dutch AZ Alkmaar. You can follow the match on the radio and in text form here.
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Bodø/Glimt struggled to the group stage in the Serie Liga against Romanian Sepsi – news Nordland
