New recession for Lars Arne Nilsen

The famous margins are still absent for the Aalesund jumbo table. On Sunday, the team lost 1-0 to Sarpsborg, where an old favorite became the big hero.

Aalesund 0–1 Sarpsborg

The decisive goal came just after the break. Tobias Heintz gave Sarpsborg the lead with a well-placed shot behind Andreas Lie in the Aalesund cage. The goal should also be the only goal of the match, in what became a lesson in efficiency for a home team losing opportunities.

Heintz is back in Sarpsborg on a loan deal until 2020. The winger was sold to Turk Kasımpaşa a year and a half ago. There he has struggled for playing time in recent months.

The loss was Lars Arne Nilsen’s second in as many attempts at the Aalesund coach position, when he lost by the same numbers to his tailmate, Start, before the national team break. Therefore, Nilsen’s men still have a lousy seven points at the jumbo spot in the Elite Series.

Sarpsborg, on the other hand, recently broke a series of weak results. With three losses in the last four games (the win was against Molde), it was time to score three new points. The victory gives the Blue and Whites a break in the climax battle, with four points less to start in the standings.

Terror tackle

After a new Sarpsborg start, the home team took more and more charge. Aalesund’s top scorer, Hólmbert Fridjónsson, had a gigantic chance to put the hosts ahead after the half of the first half. Simen Bolkan Nordli’s post found the Icelander, who finished directly at the goalkeeper and was ugly planted in the same sling.

– We think we should have had a penalty kick, Aalesund coach Lars Arne Nilsen told Eurosport during the break.

Fridjónsson’s explosion was so severe that he could not continue the fight. This is bad news for an Aalesund team that already seems out of place in the battle for survival in the Eliteserien.

Just before half-time, Sigurd Haugen handed the ball to a waiting Niklas Castro, who hit the post twenty feet away. Last year’s tango jerseys were probably left with the feeling that those opportunities were what he turned into scoring last season. Despite the lead throughout the round, he was still scoreless when referee Tommy Skjerven blew in for the break.

Effective Sarpsborg

Lars Arne Nilsen’s men had barely made it out of the locker room when Sarspsborg’s returning son Tobias Heintz scored in his re-debut for the Eastfolds. Joachim Soltvedt served Kasımpasa’s hired player with a classic 45-degree pass, and Heintz dispatched the ball in a controlled manner into the box.

After starting the second part slowly, Aalesund recovered again. Castro hit the metal a second time in the middle of the second half when his shot attempt sank off the crossbar.

Aalesund’s attempts to establish a final sprint towards the Sarpsborg goal were convulsive and the big chances did not materialize. Thus, the match ended 0-1 in the autumn weather at Sunnmøre.

Aalesund’s tough survival march continues with a trip to Stavanger and a tough encounter with a strong Viking, while Sarpsborg takes on Mjøndalen on his own artificial turf.

(© NTB)