Canadians in Norway 2010

[nolando]

I like seeing Poz racking up 90 mins and helping his club to decent results. Seeing OO not even dressing totally blows though.

[Start fan in exile]

Watched the highlights of the Start-VIF match and agree that Lars made some good saves to keep it 1-0 but was at fault for the 4th goal (I think it was a mix up with Andre Muri); don't know if he could have been faulted for the Kleiven goal (start's 3rd); nice lob over Hirschfeld. Although my team lost, it must have been a good match to watch; although probably not as good as another Brann collapse at Molde. :-)

Kleiven's lob was very nice, but Lars was out of position. Mind you, as a long-time Start supporter, I have to admit few things are as satisfying as beating Vålerenga

[Start fan in exile]

Both Tam Nsaliwa and Olivier Occéan started for the Lillestrøm reserves as they opened the season with a 5-2 win. Both scored a goal in the second half to break the game open after the teams were 2-2 at the half. Lillestrøm's recruits play in the Norwegian 3rd division (4th tier).

Both Nsaliwa and OO were featured on the Lillestrøm homepages the past couple of weeks http://www.lsk.no/ - both make the right noises about working hard to get into the starting 11, bla, bla, bla... Occéan does mention that he feels he is in good form, and is ready for first-team play. I can't imagine he's happy bout being left off the squad two weeks in a row. In the local media coach Henning Berg is quoted as saying there is only one way into the squad: hard work.

[Start fan in exile]

Tam Nsaliwa on the bench, Olivier Occéan still not in the squad as Lillestrøm host Stabæk to kick off round 5 saturday afternoon at 1700 CET.

On Sunda Chris Pozniak and Haugesund travel to Tromsø, while on Monday Lars Hirschfeld and Vålerenga host Molde.

Haugesund are off to the best start of the 3 newly promoted teams, but will have their work cut out for them at a defensive-minded Tromsø team who stifled high-flying Stabæk last week. Vålerenga will hope for a better defensive performance than they had against Start last week. Molde are one of the best offensive teams in the league but are off to a slow start this season.

Standings after 4 rounds:

1	Aalesund	4	3	1	0	9 - 3	10

2	Tromsø	        4	3	0	1	4 - 2	9

3	Start	        4	2	2	0	11 - 7	8

4	Rosenborg	4	2	2	0	8 - 4	8

5	Lillestrøm	4	2	1	1	8 - 3	7

6	Odd	        4	2	1	1	9 - 6	7

7	Strømsgodset	4	2	1	1	6 - 6	7

8	Haugesund	4	1	2	1	8 - 7	5

9	Stabæk	        4	1	2	1	6 - 6	5

10	Vålerenga	4	1	2	1	6 - 6	5

11	Viking	        4	1	1	2	5 - 4	4

12	Sandefjord	4	1	1	2	6 - 7	4

13	Molde	        4	1	1	2	6 - 8	4

14	Brann	        4	1	1	2	5 - 9	4

15	Kongsvinger	4	0	0	4	2 - 7	0

16	Hønefoss	4	0	0	4	1 - 15	0

[Start fan in exile]

The Lillestøm - Stabæk game was a bit of a snooze and ended 0-0. Nsaliwa stayed on the bench.

[Start fan in exile]

Chris Pozniak started on the left side of midfield, but Haugesund lost 2-0 away to Tromsø.

Lars Hirschfeld and Vålerenga defeated visiting Molde 2-1 tonight.

[JamboAl]

Pozniak scores the 1-0 goal for Haugesund away at Lillestrom; nice header into the top left hand corner (although the LSK marking from the corner kick was criminal). Tam Nsaliwa scored the equalizer from the penalty spot.

Valerenga and Lars Hirschfeld currently 1-0 up at half time away at Brann Bergen.

[Start fan in exile]

Just to add: Nsaliwa came on as a sub at halftime, and had the honour of taking the pk just a few minutes into the 2nd half. It was Lillestrøms first goal in over 3 full games. Given their drought I was surprised Olivier Occéan was not in the lineup as coach Berg made several changes to lineup. Haugesund, on the other hand, have been the positive surprise of the early season, not just because they've been collecting points but also because they play some positive football.

Hirshfeld had a monster game for Vålerenga as that match ended 1-1. Brann threw everything including the kitchen sink at him, and he was almost unbeatable. Easily the best gk performance of the year so far in Norway, although it must be said the goal came off an unnecessary rebound.

[JamboAl]

And to add: it looks like Hirschfeld's Norwegian has improved enough that he can do interviews in the language. I remember when he was at Rosenborg, he couldn't speak it well enough to do any interviews (or at least I didn't hear any).

http://msn.tv2sporten.no/fotball/tippeligaen/moa-hyller-hirschfeld-3186405.html

[Lord Bob]

Lars, if memory serves me right, has a bizarrely good facility with language. Ed can probably correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall his German being excellent when he was transferred into Cottbus even though he'd spent all that time away from Germany.

[loyola]

Lars, if memory serves me right, has a bizarrely good facility with language. Ed can probably correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall his German being excellent when he was transferred into Cottbus even though he'd spent all that time away from Germany.

I could be wrong but I think Lars is from German descent.

[Guest Ed]

His Dad is a German baker.

[Lord Bob]

I'm of English descent and ask me how many words of Engl... okay, bad example.

[Start fan in exile]

Current Brann-coach Steinar Nilsen regrets bringing Lars to Norway back when he was Tromsø-coach... (said with a rueful smile)

http://www.vg.no/sport/fotball/norsk/artikkel.php?artid=10000178 (right near the end of the article)

[JamboAl]

Valerenga wins 6-1 at home to Odd Grenland (Lars in goal for that one). Excellent win for Enga.

Haugesund wins 3-0 at home to Kongsvinger (Chris Pozniak plays 90 in the win.). FKH doing very well in 1st season back in the Tippeligaen.

Rosenborg-Lillestrom 0-0 at the half. No Occean (Nsaliwa on the bench).

[Start fan in exile]

Occéan finally gets a chance to play, coming in as a sub in Lillestrøm's 4-0 defeat of Sandefjord. He responded by scoring the final goal of the game.

Highlights in this article: http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=10005003 - In it coach Henning Berg also praises OOs attitude and states he deserved the goal.

Tam Nsaliwa started for Lillestrøm and played 83 minutes. Nsaliwa had the chance to open the score with an early PK, but his weak effort was easily stopped.

On Saturday, Lars Hirschfeld and Vålerenga travelled to Strømsgodset where they lost 1-0. Lars had no chance on the goal.

Haugesund had another strong result, travelling to Stabæk and holding them to 0-0. For the first time this season, Chris Pozniak did not play.

[JamboAl]

Latest cup update from the 1st round in the Norwegian Cup...all the sides from the 1st 2 divisions played away as usual and there were some pretty big scores.

Lillestrøm won 5-0 at Hauerseter. Occean scores the 2nd goal for LSK.

Vålerenga won 11-1 at Oppsal. Hirschfeld started for VIF. (11-1 wasn't the biggest score either, Stabaek won 12-1).

Haugesund won 4-0 at Klepp. Don't know if Pozniak played though.

[nolando]

Latest cup update from the 1st round in the Norwegian Cup...all the sides from the 1st 2 divisions played away as usual and there were some pretty big scores.

Lillestrøm won 5-0 at Hauerseter. Occean scores the 2nd goal for LSK.

Vålerenga won 11-1 at Oppsal. Hirschfeld started for VIF. (11-1 wasn't the biggest score either, Stabaek won 12-1).

Haugesund won 4-0 at Klepp. Don't know if Pozniak played though.

Yep, I think he did: http://www.fkh.no/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=984&Itemid=221

He really seems to be a fixture in their side. Good for him.

[JamboAl]

On the eve of Norway's national holiday, Lars Hirschfeld played well in a 3-0 Vålerenga win at home to Aalesund (couple of good saves before VIF scored midway through the 2nd half). Big match for VIF at table topping Tromsø next weekend.

Chris Pozniak played 67 mins for Haugesund in a 2-1 loss at Molde. He was also booked.

In the late match, neither Nsaliwa or Occean got off the Lillestrøm subs bench in a 1-1 draw at Brann.

[Start fan in exile]

13 of 30 rounds are completed in Norway, and one more round to go (june 5/6) before the World Cup, and time for a summary.

First the standings:

Chris Pozniak and Haugesund have been doing much better than expected, keeping themselves out of the relegation battles so far. Poz has also been a key performer for the team. Lars Hirschfeld has also been central to Vålerengas early season surge. Lillestrøm hve also been a hus surprise, based on the poor season they had last year, but Canadians Tam Nsaliwa and Olivier Occéan have played much smaller roles.

Some stats.

Chris Pozniak:

• games played:12
  
• minutes played:1051
  
• average rating (100% fotball):4.18
  
• average rating (VG): 4.09
  

Lars Hirschfeld

• games played:13
  
• minutes played:1170
  
• average rating (100% fotball):5.30
  
• average rating (VG): 5.54
  

Tam Nsaliwa

• games played:5
  
• average rating (100% fotball):n/a
  
• average rating (VG): 4.5
  

Olivier Occéan

• games played:3
  
• minutes played:57
  
• average rating (100% fotball):not enough min. (need 30 in a game to get a rating)
  
• average rating (VG): as above
  

[Lennie]

Good summary. Thanks.

[jpg75]

Seeing the lack of depth in central midfield for the MNT i think we need to see Tam Nsaliwa back in the fold. I really hope he can find his way back to Canada and play with either Toronto or Vancouver next season so he can get his passport back...

[nolando]

Seeing the lack of depth in central midfield for the MNT i think we need to see Tam Nsaliwa back in the fold. I really hope he can find his way back to Canada and play with either Toronto or Vancouver next season so he can get his passport back...

I agree...he is a perfect candidate for MLS - Vancouver especially, with their problems in midfield.

[Grizzly]

Seeing the lack of depth in central midfield for the MNT i think we need to see Tam Nsaliwa back in the fold. I really hope he can find his way back to Canada and play with either Toronto or Vancouver next season so he can get his passport back...

Since he denounced his passport I hope he never gets it back or plays again for the national team. Regardless, he is way overrated here. He was another young Canadian talent who seemed destined to be a top player and ended up being very mediocre. He was a borderline starter/substitute player for 5 years in the 2nd Bundesliga, never establishing himself as a particularly good player at this level. Then he had one fairly successful year on a small mid to lower table Greek team. Then he transfers to a big Greek team where he again alternates between starting and being a substitute and now he is sitting on the bench for a Norwegian team. With our full squad healthy he is also a borderline starter for us along the lines of Bernier. Certainly it never hurts to have as much depth as possible but I think he receives way to much attention here for the quality of player he is. He is not really an upgrade on the players we have available.

[jpg75]

^ The type of player you just described is better than half of our player pool. If we're missing De Guzman and Hutchinson then which 2 would you want in the lineup out of Bernier, Nsaliwa, Ledgerwood, JBB or Johnson? Nsaliwa can also play in the back in a pinch. Last time he played for us against Brasil i thought he looked pretty good.