Although it eventually ended with victory in the first league game of the season, it took time before it took off in any way in Molde. Even against a team that has never played a European tournament before. Especially in the first half, Åge Hareide had a smooth team. – Now it has reached a stage, Arne, where you actually have to wake me up if you are going to make any statements. It’s just before I tip off, that is, said news’s football expert Åge Hareide to the fellow commentator in the first half. TIRED: Hareide commented on the match for news on the radio. Photo: Ole Martin Wold / NTB Hareide was left satisfied with what he saw at Molde’s home ground. In the end, the first half ended in 0–0. – We hope there will be more speed in the second half, so that I don’t have to wake you up in the second half? said commentator Arne Flatin. – Yes, now you woke me up, so I can answer your question. I hope so too, for the first half here … It’s almost better to see the paint dry, Hareide said during the break. SØVNIG: Hear Hareide’s verdict on Molde’s first half on news Sport on the radio. – Easy to throw away those comments The players themselves agree that the first half had potential for improvement. Molde player Kristian Eriksen watched the first half from the bench, and has the following to say about Hareide’s paint comment: – It is clear that it is easy to sit up and hurl those comments. You get a slightly better overview from sitting in the stands, or the bench for that matter. But then I think we use the break well to adjust different things. We’re not letting anything go in the first instance, so it’s certainly something we should include, says Eriksen to news. Goal scorer Ola Brynhildsen also admits that it was tough before the break. TRIO: Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik, Magnus Wolff Eikrem and Ola Brynhildsen. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB – It was a test of patience. We spent a little too long with the ball and stood on it a little too long. Bad moves across the board. They stood up well to us, but then it was really just a matter of being patient, because we knew that things would eventually open up, says Brynhildsen to news. – It is very tough in Europe. That’s how honest we have to be. It’s not just waltzing over layers. In the second half, we have full control. I think we have that all game. Then it is very difficult, and Åge knows that too, that the hardest thing is to break down teams that are low. I think we are doing that in a good way over time and we have good people who come in and make a difference, says Magnus Wolff Eikrem. – It’s not like there can always be a “but” every time we win. – Far below the standard Hareide’s expert colleague in Viaplay, Lars Tjærnås, also concluded that the first round to Molde was far below where they should be. – In my opinion, they played a first half that was far below the standard Molde has set for itself. Fortunately, things got better in the second half. Combined with the fact that Larne got tired, and then it ended with a result that Molde can be very familiar with, said Tjærnås on the Viaplay broadcast. Molde coach Erling Moe, on the other hand, is more satisfied – overall – and thinks you have to “take a breath” and think about the fact that they are playing in Europe. HAPPY: Molde coach Moe together with Halldor Stenevik. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB – You can have hopes and expect that out here there will be bangs and three or four goals scored every half we play. That is how it has turned out and we have helped to create it ourselves, says Moe at the press conference after the match. – We play a first half with good control where we soften, and then we get paid for it in the second half. We create scoring chances and things like that in the first as well, but we should have created even more. We have to give credit to a well organized 5-4-1 team coming here. They stand up and do their job, too. Overall, I am very satisfied today. What do you think of the entertainment value of the Molde match? Absolutely top A bit mixed Kept on dabbing like Hareide Picked up with the scores in the second half Show result Tame first half Molde were big favorites before the match in the series league. Opponents Larne are the first team from Northern Ireland to qualify for a European tournament. – It’s just about getting the first goal and then we know we’re going to score more. It was a bit of a “scrabble” at first, so to speak. Parts of others too, Magnus Wolff Eikrem told Viaplay after the match. But the first half of the match was little to write home about. Molde had the most ball, but managed very little in front of the Larne goal. Ola Brynhildsen came closest, chipping the ball over the goalkeeper, but was prevented by a Larne player who saved on the line. Molde’s assistant coach Trond Strande acknowledged during the break that the performance was not up to par. – It’s going too slowly with us. The intensity has to go up many notches. Greater rawness in our pressure. And we don’t use spaces when there are. We don’t borrow the ball, we own it, and then things go too slowly for us, Strande told Viaplay. – Absolutely dead right After the break, the team got another chance to deliver – and wake up Hareide. And five minutes into the second half it was for Magnus Wolff Eikrem. Kristian Eriksen served Eikrem from the penalty line, who hammered in the lead goal. – A perfect pass to Magnus, and Magnus from there… From there he is absolutely certain to die, said Hareide. – He probably last missed one like that in June 1993, said Viaplay’s football expert Lars Tjernås. BANQUET TO: Eikrem hit the spot and gave Molde a boost after the break. Photo: Svein Ove Ekornesvåg / NTB With just over ten minutes left in the match, the match seemed to be almost decided, when Brynhildsen also found the back of the net. A Larne defender threw himself in to prevent scoring, but the ball went straight to a teammate and bounced back to Brynhildsen. – Then he is rock-solid in his conclusion. Very good finisher, Ola Brynhildsen, said Hareide. The final minutes did not get any easier for Larne when Conor McKendry received a straight red card for a rough tackle on Isak Amundsen. The Northern Irish thus had to end the game with ten men. Molde’s Frederik Ihler took advantage of that, increasing the score to 3-0 over four minutes in overtime. Published 03.10.2024, at 20.38 Updated 03.10.2024, at 21.52
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– You actually have to wake me up – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
