Vikingur Olafsvik came into today’s match at the Fylkisvöllur needing a win to have a chance at avoiding relegation, and for the first 45 minutes, it looked like it could happen.  Vikingur controlled the play and built up well on the attack, but was unable to finish, while Fylkir was limited to defending and counterattacking.  The teams entered halftime in a tight scoreless draw.

In the second half, however, Fylkir came out aggressively, playing a tight pressing defense, and getting the ball into striker Viðar Örn Kjartansson.  Kjartansson had three good opportunities in the first ten minute of the second half, firing a shot outside the post, banging one off the crossbar, and having a third saved by Hjörleifsson.  In the 62nd minute, Pablo Punyed and Kjartansson connected on a corner, with Kjartansson sliding it in at the far post.  Five minutes later, Kiko Insa brought Kjartansson down in the box, and Emil Berger converted the penalty.

Vikingur threw everyone forward in the last 20 minutes, subbing in forward Magnusson for defender Hjaltalin and bringing in Birgisson’s fresh legs for Palsson.  Two quick opportunities came to naught, as Eldar Masic shot wide and Guðmundur Magnússon’s goal was disallowed due to offside.  After Farid Zato hit the crossbar from 25 meters and Eyþór Helgi Birgisson went over the top of the frame, the two connected to bring Vikingur back within one goal, with Zato passing into the box to the feet of Birgisson, who calmly slotted it home.

There were no more miracles for the men from Olafsvik, though, as time ran out on their attempts to equalize.  With the loss, Vikingur stayed at 17 points as Fylkir moved to 23.  Thor’s 1-0 victory at IA moved them to 21 points, dooming Vikingur to relegation.

Vikingur Olafsvik went into Akranes today desperately needing three points to gain ground on Thor at the edge of the drop zone, and left with five goals, a clean sheet, and a dominating victory.

In the 16th minute Toni Espinosa buried a free kick, and two minutes later Juan Manuel Torres took a cross from Captain Hafsteinsson and fired a laser into the bottom corner.  After some back and forth with no scoring, IA midfielder Arnar Mar Gudjonsson picked up his second yellow card, and the rout was on.

Kiko Insa took a pass from Samu Jimenes in the 43rd minute and slotted it past the Akranes keeper to send Vikingur into half time up 3-0.  Vikingur controlled play in the second half, with Alfred Mar Hjaltalin and Gudmundur Magnusson finding the back of the net to close out the match, sending Vikingur home to Olafsvik with the most lopsided victory scored by any team in the Urvalsdeild this season.

About a week ago, I noted that Vikingur Olafsvik could not afford to play for draws, even against teams like KR.  With four weeks left, they were trailing Thor by three points, and needed to get some wins to avoid relegation.

Today, they certainly played like a team going for a win.  Emir Dokara fired a shot over the crossbar in the second minute, and six minutes later Samu Jimenez pushed forward from the back line and fed a cross to Alfred Hjatalin, who put the ball on frame but was turned away by the KR keeper.  Throughout the first half, Vikingur continued firing on the KR goal, with shots from Dokara, Eythor Birgisson, Togo national team callup Farid Zato, and Captain Gudmunder Stein Hafsteinsson peppering the KR keeper, but couldn’t find the back of the net.

The barrage continued in the second half, as Birgisson and Hafsteinsson had shots saved, but in the 57th minute, KR midfielder Sigurdarson scored against the run of play to put Vikingur down 1-0.  For the last half-hour the Vikings pushed forward to try to get an equalizer, and things could have gotten ugly fast if not for the stellar goalkeeping of Einar Hjörleifsson, who had five saves in the final 15 minutes.  The whistle blew with KR still up 1-0 on Vikingur.

When the day ended, the bottom of the table was just like it was when the day started, as Thor fell to Stjarnan and IA lost to Keflavik.  Vikingur Olafsvik trails Thor by three points, while IA is six points further back with a game in hand.  A win Sunday at Akranes – losers of five of their last six matches – would give Vikingur a shot at escaping relegation with some help and a strong finish.  But like today, it’ll be a day to go out for a win.

Things started slowly for the first quarter-hour in Hafnarfjörður, but the home side quickly got into gear and it looked like it was going to be a long day for Vikingur.  With possession deep in the Vikingur end, FH broke through in the 27th minute with a header in off a corner.  Vikingur was unable to capitalize on some opportunities late in the first half, with Hafsteinsson heading off the crossbar and Torres’s strike going wide, and halftime saw them down 1-0.

Early in the second half, things got worse for Vikingur, with another FH goal off a corner, to put the visitors down 2-0.  It looked bleak until Hafsteinsson was taken down in the box by FH keeper Róbert Örn Óskarsson, who got sent off and brought Toni Espinosa to the penalty spot.  Espinosa’s shot snuck past backup FH keeper Dadi Larusson, and the match was on, with Vikingur bringing on Björn Pálsson to put more pressure on the attack.

The pressure paid off in the 79th minute, as Kiko Insa scored off a corner from Espinosa.  The last twenty minutes was a wild run up and down the pitch, with both sides getting opportunities but being unable to convert.  Vikingur comes away with the road point against a top-class team, and will enjoy the long break until facing off at home against perennial powerhouse and top-sitting KR.