13th July 2024 – Mid-season friendly – Nadderud Stadion, Bekkestua, Norway

There is an unwritten rule that states you can’t play a friendly against another team in your own league.  However, the lure of vast wealth put pay to that gentlemen’s agreement in recent years, with Premier League clubs happy to take on each other in various parts around the world during the close season, then moaning about fixture congestion and cup replays.

But generally, it’s not the done thing.  However, call it a “training game” and it’s all good and dandy.  There’s a logic in it.  You know that the teams are roughly at the same level, meaning it shouldn’t be one sided, and if one side does get spanked, well, there’s always a league game (or two) to put it right.  That’s the view of sides in Norway’s OBOS-Ligaen as they come out of enforced hibernation due to a bizarre mid-season break.

I wasn’t complaining.  A 1pm kick-off between two tier two sides in the suburbs of Oslo was a perfect appetiser for my main course at Lillestrøm SK at 5pm.  They were taking on Sogndal IL, one point and one place above them when the season broke in late June for, well nobody can quite understand why.  Speaking to Stabæk’s media guy Joachim, he said it was perhaps due Midsummer celebrations, the Euros, and crayfish, in that order.  I wasn’t complaining though – timing wise, I could squeeze in two games and a visit to the Røør brew pub in what was the best super Saturday ever.

Stabæk entered the “break” just five points off top spot, with a game in hand over cross-city rivals Vålenga in top spot, after relegation from Eliteserien last season had hurt.  The club are managed by former US national coach, Bob Bradley, here for his second stink, obviously loving life in Norway, and who wouldn’t?

The visitors had travelled over five hours from Vestland for the game, perhaps combining it with some sightseeing in the capital on a hot afternoon, although the gathering clouds threatened a storm that would ruin, what a Norwegian colleague said was the “last proper day of summer”.  He’s lucky, that occurred in England in late May.

This wasn’t my first time watching Stabaek, although it was my first visit to their new home at the 5,000 capacity Nadderud Stadion.  Fifteen years ago, they were enjoying their “golden” years, league champions in 2008 for the one and only time and qualifying for the Champions League.  Back then, the used the Telenor Arena, and indoor sports hall that had seating for around 4,000.  I’d hopped over from Copenhagen to see them host Partizan Tirana from in their first ever Champions League tie and they duly dispatched the Albanians 4-0.  

It was a first for me watching a game indoors, but it later turned out that there was another first as the game was identified by UEFA later in the season as one of those in their match fixing investigations (to be clear, it had nothing to do with the Norwegians).

The game kicked off in hot sunshine but with what appeared to be gathering storm clouds overhead.  De Blau (the blue ones) neat, possession-based football wins them friends but often doesn’t result in an end product.  Whilst they took an early lead in the 9th minute from William Wendt, they found themselves back on level terms, out of nothing in the 26th minute which raised a single cheer from the stands.

The second half saw both sides give their squads game time, and whilst Stabæk took the lead again through Rasmus Vinge, the visitors replied within seconds of the restart.  A third, thanks to Tobiassen put the home side ahead again only for Sogndal to grab a share of the honours in injury time.

Both managers will have been pleased with the run out and for the couple of hundred of fans who took advantage of free entry before the serious stuff starts again next week.