Chapter 266 Incredible Form
Coach Johansen was all smiles as he followed the progress of the game from Rosenborg's technical area. His mind was at ease since his players had managed to hold on to their two-goal advantage despite being under a constant barrage of attacks from Red Bull Salzburg. Hope had already bloomed inside him since they were almost winning the game with a clean sheet. As long as they could defend well and hold on for the next ten or so minutes, they would secure the much-needed three points. That way, they would be a step closer to achieving the almost impossible dream of qualifying for the next round of the Europa League.
*FWEEEEEEE*
It was at that moment that the referee blew the whistle and pointed towards the corner flag. Sadio Mane, Red Bull Salzburg's winger, had just made yet another crazy run through the flanks before unleashing another attempt on goal from the outside of the 18-yard box. It had been another tense moment for Coach Johansen and his players. However, Daniel Örlund, Rosenborg's goalkeeper, had been alert and reacted promptly to push the ball out of play with his fingertips for a corner kick.
The Red Bull Salzburg players were obviously in a hurry to restart the game. They quickly organized themselves to attack the corner in a matter of seconds. And without any dilly-dallying, Kevin Kampl, Red Bull Salzburg's right-winger, matched their urgency and floated in a teasing cross into the crowded box.
What followed was another critical moment for Rosenborg. Alan, one of Red Bull Salzburg's two center-forwards, jumped high and planted a header towards the goal from around the penalty spot.
TENSION!!! PRESSURE!!!
The ball flew towards the top right corner like a bullet, thus eliciting another wave of thunderous cheers from the home fans. However, Daniel Örlund, the Rosenborg keeper, was alert once again. He jumped high and managed to direct the ball out of play with a heavy punch. As a result, Red Bull Salzburg had once again failed to score in the 84th minute.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle and pointed towards the corner flag again. Kevin Kampl didn't waste even a second sending a lofted corner ball into the box. However, that time around, Yerry Mina, Rosenborg's center back, managed to outjump the entire crowd of players within the box to send the ball faraway towards the right flank with an imposing header.
It was then that Tobias Mikkelsen, Rosenborg's right-winger, reacted and chased after the ball like the wind. He relied on his incredible pace to reach it close to the touchline on the right flank before any other player on the pitch. Without losing a moment, he brought it under control with an outstretched boot before taking off like the wind towards the other side of the field.
Another Rosenborg counterattack was on.
Christoph Leitgeb, one of the Red Bull Salzburg midfielders that hadn't participated in the corner kick, soon came to close Tobias down. However, the right-winger fed the ball past him and then beat him for pace. He continued darting along the touchline so fast like a bullet train on the rails and managed to make it to the final third in only a matter of seconds. His pace was extraordinarily out of this world.
Coach Johansen could already feel his blood boiling with anxiety as he watched Tobias end his run with a grounded pass diagonally towards the box. What a chance! It was another rare precious opportunity for Rosenborg — one which the coach wanted his players to capitalize on and seal the game.
The goddess of luck seemed to be with Rosenborg that day. Tobias' cross managed to dart across the entire pitch and make its way into the path of Nicki Nielsen, who was arriving at the far post. And of course, the ever-reliable Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg's center-forward, didn't disappoint when it came to matters within the box. He pounced forward like a flash before tapping the ball into the back of the net with an outstretched boot.
Red Bull Salzburg 0: Rosenborg BK 3!!
Coach Johansen roared out loud, punching his fist repeatedly into the air to celebrate the goal. He was beyond excited since the impossible had just happened.
His team had scored the third goal against a Europa League veteran team in the 87th minute. What a night! He couldn't remember the last time he'd been that excited.
"Guys!" He roared out loud after his players had finished celebrating the goal. "Focus and defend! Let's do our best to prevent the opponents from scoring. Only three minutes plus added time remaining. Defend! Defend and Defend!"
Coach Johansen continued roaring out his commands at the pace of a machine gun throughout the remaining few minutes of the game. He ensured that his players stayed in a proper defensive shape, weathering Red Bull Salzburg's barrage of attacks. He was determined to maintain his first clean sheet in the Europa League.
A few moments later, Coach Johansen let out a pent-up breath of air after noting that the Rosenborg players were quite receptive to his commands. They followed his instructions to the letter and defended as if their lives depended on the game. As a result, they managed to hold on to their three-goal advantage until the sound of the final whistle resounded across the Red Bull Arena.
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The entire Rosenborg team spent the night at the Altstadthotel Amadeus Hotel after the match. All the players were all in a jolly mood as they had just hammered Red Bull Salzburg 3:0. Moreover, they'd kept their hopes of qualifying for the next round alive by gaining their first three points in the Europa League. So, they spent a couple of hours celebrating in the hotel bar and only went to bed very late that night.
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The next day.
The Rosenborg players returned to Trondheim by plane in a triumphant mood. They then utilized the entire Friday to recover from match fatigue before diving back into serious training the day after.
Since they'd already won the Tippeligaen and were without any pressure, the training session that Saturday was a light one. The players only went through simple team drills to prepare for their final Tippeligaen match for the season against Lillestrøm Sportsklubb before calling it a day.
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Sunday, November 10, 2013.
The Rosenborg players boarded an afternoon Scandinavian Airlines flight at around 1:00 PM and then headed to the city of Lillestrøm. On reaching Lillestrøm, they enjoyed a light meal that served as their lunch before resting for an hour. After that, they traveled by bus to a nearby training ground to put in a few hours of additional training. They spent almost two hours warming up their muscles — and soon it was the time for the match against Lillestrøm Sportsklubb.
For that match, Coach Johansen benched most of the first-team players. The likes of Zachary, Mike Jensen, Thomas Partey, Nicki Nielsen, and Mikael Dorsin could only watch the clash against Lillestrøm Sportsklubb from the sidelines. Despite that, Rosenborg still started the match with a bang and took the lead very early in the first half. By capitalizing on a mistake made by one of the Lillestrøm SK defenders, John Chibuike, Rosenborg's left forward for that match, netted to give the visitors the lead just after eleven minutes of gameplay.
However, the Rosenborg field players didn't take the foot off the gas even after scoring the first goal. Pushing for a second, John Chibuike came close once again, banging a header on the woodwork, before Jonas Svensson, Rosenborg's midfielder, grazed the post with a free kick.
Excellence!! Brilliance!! Teamwork!!
The Troll Kids were on fire throughout the entire first half and early stages of the second half. But despite their dominance, they were unable to double their advantage against Lillestrøm Sportsklubb until late in the second half.
It was Mix Diskerud, Rosenborg's defensive midfielder, who bagged Rosenborg's second goal. With a thunderous effort from outside the 18-yard box during the 70th minute, he managed to beat the keeper and fire Rosenborg into a seemingly unassailable position.
However, that wasn't the end of the tantalizing action that day. That was because the action on the pitch grew more exciting and pleasing to the eyes after Coach Johansen introduced both Zachary and Nicki Nielsen into the game in the 80th minute.
Zachary, on his part, was on fire right after entering the field of play. He immediately linked well with John Chibuike before unleashing a long-range missile of a shot towards the goal. However, the Lillestrøm keeper was alert and managed to save the effort, thus keeping the score 0:2 in favor of Rosenborg.
Nonetheless, Zachary was not discouraged by his failure to score. Instead, he continued pushing forward and linking up well with Nicki Nielsen until he managed to bag a goal on the counterattack in the 87th minute. With that, he'd taken his season tally to twenty-one goals, thus cementing his position as top scorer for the Tippeligaen that year.
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