Lokomotiv Moscow - Rosenborg 0-2
By Håvard Lindheim, 10 Februar 2006, 07:27
Espen Johnsen was the man everyone talked about after the victory in the final rehersal: The goalkeeper scored from his own 16-meter when a kick-out bounced into the opposite goal, 90 meters ahead of him!
Photo: fotballmagasinet.no
The incredible score came after 13 minutes: Johnsen made an easy save, picked up the ball and hammered it away. The kick-out bounced at opposite 16, over the head of the Lokomotiv goallie and into the net! The southerner's first and last(?) score of the carreer was a fact!
Bjørn Tore Kvarme, Ørjan Berg, Alexander Tettey and Øyvind Storflor all had to pass the friendly against FC København due to illness, but was reported ready before this game. That gave Per-Mathias Høgmo more choices, and the RBK coach chose to let three of the four start the game, while Berg was placed on the bench. To some surprise, he was accompanied by Roar Strand and Mikael Dorsin. Time will show, then, what Høgmo will do in the premiere against Zenit St. Petersburg on Wednesday.
The eleven men on the field had a great start on the match: After five minutes, the Lokomotiv defender Sergei Omelyanchuk was sent out after having fouled Daniel Braaten as last man, and then Johnsen served his dream goal.
RBK continued creating chances, and Yssouf Kone among others came close on several occations. But, the newly-aquired international forward from Burkina Faso couldn't get the ball in.
Karim Essediri, however, could. He entered the field together with Michael Jamtfall after 68 minutes, and the two wing colleagues didn't use a lot of time to double the lead: Jamtfall was fouled within the box, and Essediri did a safe score from the penalty mark.
Hence, Rosenborg is still unconquered in 2006. Let's hope the trend stays for some more weeks!
PS 1! Johnsen's former goalkeeper rival Ivar Rønningen did three scores on penalties last year: Against Orkla in the cup, and against Kolstad and Lofoten for RBK 2.
PS 2! Skjelbred (leg), Helstad (foot) and Russell (knee) are all still injured, and won't be able to play the Zenit games.
Match Details
Lokomotiv Moscow
0-2
ROSENBORG
Espen Johnsen 13
Karim Essediri pen 71
Thursday 9 February 2006 18:00 Friendly, La Manga Club, Spania
Rosenborg [4-3-3] Espen Johnsen - Christer Basma, Bjørn Tore Kvarme, Vidar Riseth (Miika Koppinen 79), Ståle Stensaas (Karim Essediri 68) - Alexander Tettey, Frode Johnsen (Roar Strand 46), Jan Gunnar Solli (Ørjan Berg 62) - Daniel Braaten, Yssouf Kone (Michael Jamtfall 68), Øyvind Storflor (Mikael Dorsin 46)
Yellow cards RBK: Ståle Stensaas, Daniel Braaten, Ørjan Berg
