Sandnes Ulf 0 Haugesund 0

Norweigan Tippeligaen, Tuesday 20th May 2014

So my second Tippeligaen match of the week took me to another 'Rogaland' derby as Sandnes Ulf and Haugesund did battle at the Sola Stadion.  Both teams needed the points and they both sat next to each other in the bottom two of the division so the winner would put a little bit of daylight between themselves.   On a very sunny evening both teams struggled to get going at all and the only noteworthy chances of a very poor first half were when Sandnes Ulf reacted quicker to a deflected effort towards goal which was prodded goalwards but the keeper Dalen saved with his legs, and then a few minutes before the break Haugesund's Gytkjaer broke into the box but his effort was too high and wide of the target.  Both teams only managed one effort on target each so the 0-0 half time scoreline wasn't entirely surprising to the 2,905 people who had attended.   To be fair it being a derby match and also a warm day and with a lot riding on the match, it wasn't entirely surprising that it was a tight, cagey affair.   Both teams came out with much more purpose second half and created a few more openings in the first ten minutes of the half then they had done in the whole game thus far.  Haugesund produced a good save from Sandnes stopper Halldorsson from outside the box before Sandnes got in behind the Haugesund defence but the ball across missed everyone.  Sandnes winger Tonne made a couple of good runs down the left hand side but these ultimately came to nothing.   Haugesund were limited to long range efforts which keeper Halldorsson was equal to every time.    Both teams did have goal scoring opportunities wasted, Sandnes again getting in behind a static Haugesund defence but yet again the final finish was poor.  Haugesund then got in down the right but the effort was way off target with Halldorsson having it covered in any case.  Neither keeper had very much to do if truth be told and it was one of the games where they could of played on till the next day and still not have scored.   It was a kind of relief when the referee blew for full time.  Not the best game I've ever seen and it's clear to see why these two are propping up the rest after ten rounds of action.  Both will need to find a goalscorer sooner rather than later if they are to make a fist of the fight for the remainder of the season.