Stormy Seas Ahead

In the next two weeks, Vikingur Olafsvik takes on the top two teams in the Urvalsdeild.  Sunday they travel to Hafnarfjörður to take on an FH squad which will be smarting from its ejection from the Europa League qualifying play-off round.  Then after a long week, they will host KR Reykjavik, who has a 13-1-2 record in 16 matches played.  Their next match, against bottom-table IA, comes on a short turnaround, only three days after playing KR.

Finding a way to get 4+ points out of the next three games seems to be almost essential to escape the drop zone.

Advertisement

Kissing Your Sister

No team in the Urvalsdeild has more draws than Vikingur Olafsvik.

Unfortunately, no team in the Urvalsdeild has fewer wins than Vikingur Olafsvik.

Vikingur pulled off another draw Sunday against a very solid Breiðablik side, with keeper EInar Hjörleifsson putting up another clean sheet.  Getting a result against a team in the running for a Europa League spot isn’t something to scoff at.  On the other hand, time is running out in the season to get out of the relegation zone, and things don’t get any easier over the next two weeks with matches against top squads FH and KR.

Come to think of it, draws over the next two weeks might not be such a bad thing.

Elfar Árni Aðalsteinsson Released from Hospital

Breiðablik striker Elfar Árni Aðalsteinsson was released from the hospital today after spending the night in the aftermath of a serious head-to-head collision in yesterday’s match against KR.  Aðalsteinsson needed to be resuscitated as he lay prone on the pitch, and the match was suspended as he was taken to the hospital.

Doctors reported that Aðalsteinsson did not suffer intracranial bleeding, but still continues to suffer headaches.  While he will likely be out of action for the next several months, it’s good to see he’s healthy enough to return home.

Vikingur Falls into Relegation Area

Vikingur’s inability to come away with a win over the course of the season is putting them in danger of falling back to 1. Deild after only a single season in the Úrvalsdeild.  With a 2-0 win over Valur, Keflavik moves ahead of Vikingur, 13 points to 12, and has a game in hand.  Vikingur has a 3-point edge in goal differential, but needs to win some matches.  It won’t be easy, with the next three coming against three of the top four teams in the league.

Vikingur Grabs a Road Result

For the first hour or so, it looked like the Vikingur squad had left their ability to create at home in Olafsvik with captain Guðmundur Steinn Hafsteinsson.  Vikingur didn’t have a scoring opportunity until the 57th minute, when Damir Muminovic came close on a header off a free kick, and only some stellar goalkeeping from Hjörleifsson kept the game scoreless.

IBV broke through in the 67th minute off a corner, with Þorvarðarson putting away a rebound from the edge of the penalty area after Hjörleifsson saved a header from Gauta.  The mood was low as interim captain Masic went down and had to be helped off the pitch for five minutes and the rain came down in Vestmannaeyjar.

Everything turned around the 80 minute mark, as Farid Zato, who may have gotten away with handling earlier in the second half, put the club on his back and carried them to a result.  He cracked a shot from distance, just off frame but putting IBV keeper David “Calamity” James on notice.  Then, after Vikingur got possession off the ensuing goal kick, he broke through three IBV defenders and buried a shot past James from the edge of the area to level at 1-1.

The last 10 minutes was a flurry of activity as Vikingur pushed forward to try to steal two more points.  Birgisson fired home a header after a give-and-go with Toni Espinosa in the 89th minute, but was ruled offside.  Two minutes later Espinosa set up another opportunity, this time for Sami Jimenez, whose shot sailed just over the crossbar.  Alas, it wasn’t to be, but Vikingur came home with a well-earned point.

Hafsteinsson and Insa Suspended

KSI announced that Vikingur midfielder Gudmundur Steinn Hafsteinsson and defender Kiko Insa will receive one-match suspensions this coming week.  Hafsteinsson was issued a straight red in the week 14 match against Thór, and though there were questions as to whether it was merited, the disciplinary committee apparently thought it was, deciding to suspend Hafsteinsson after only his first card of the season.  While Insa received no cards against Thór, he has accumulated five yellow cards in ten appearances this season.

It’s not clear who’ll wear the captain’s armband for this week’s match at ÍBV.