RBK's season opener was a rather dull match.


UN-SPECTACULAR DEBUT: Didier Konan wasn't very visible during the first half.

"This was the first match after Christmas. A fair run-through, but nothing more than that. We met a team with good technical skills and rather high speed," Trond Henriksen told Norwegian Internet daily Nettavisen.

Most Norwegians haven't heard much about the opponent, but the Rumenians did play in the quarter final in last year's UEFA cup, and are still playing in this year's edition. Objectively, then, a draw is not a bad result, especially when we know that RBK used a number of new players and reserves. The starting 11 were picked partially of tactical reasons, and partially because of injuries on Steffen Iversen (back), Vidar Riseth (back), Daniel Braaten (groin), Jan Gunnar Solli (leg), Mikael Dorsin (thigh) and Michael Jamtfall (sick).

"It showed clearly, during the match, that we played with many newcomers. Our gameplay never took the desired shape. Sapara was the best player, the one who distinguished himself. The other ones did ok, but nothing special," Henriksen ascertained.

And, as a result, RBK didn't create much in the way of chances. The one great chance Yssouf Kone had, when he performed a bicycle kick on a pass, and hammered the ball into the post, just before half time. The Burkina Faso international had seven other foreigners with him: In addition to the mentioned Sapara, the debutants Didier Konan and Fredrik Stoor played, as well as Lars Hirschfeld, Abdoulrazack Traore, Alejandro Lago and Miika Koppinen played from start.

"Today it was extreme, but we had a number of local Trøndelag players and other Norwegians that were out due to injuries and illnesses. I doubt that there will be many matches with that many foreigners on the field at one time. But, we have a number of foreigners in the squad now, and it is important to let them play," Trond Henriksen stated.

PS! As the match was a part of the Maspalomas tournament, there had to be a winner, so the match ended with a penalty shoot-out. RBK did lose 2-4 as Sapara and Storflor missed, while Kone and Stensaas scored.

Match Details

Rapid Bucuresti	0-0	ROSENBORG

Thursday 17 January 2007 19:30
Torneo Internacional de Futbol de Maspalomas, Estadio Municipal San Fernando de Maspalomas, Gran Canaria
Attendance: 1200

Rosenborg [4-3-3]
Lars Hirschfeld (Alexander Lund Hansen 68) - Fredrik Stoor, Alejandro Lago (Christer Basma 46), Miika Koppinen (Bjørn Tore Kvarme 61), Ståle Stensaas - Marek Sapara, Alexander Tettey, Didier Konan (Per Ciljan Skjelbred 46) - Øyvind Storflor, Yssouf Kone, Abdoulrazack Traore

Bookings RBK: none