National stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725,
Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Aivars Rudzis took the kick off in the first half of the match. With a little luck, Latvia's Miķelis Somass got control of the ball when Espen Valberg tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 3rd minute Norway were awarded a corner. Adrian Ranheim went to the cornerflag to take it. 10 minutes into the match, Norway's goal looked a bit too open when Anvars Straders came free, but Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. If Birk Gudbrandsen had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 15th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. 18 minutes into the match, Latvia's goalkeeper Miķelis Somass had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Jarl Munkvold. In the 20th minute Anvars Straders shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Jarl Munkvold's shot straight on target was not completely harmless. The ball had pretty good speed, but Miķelis Somass firmly grabbed it by the left post. Latvia's Miķelis Somass played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Birk Gudbrandsen in the 24th minute of play. The audience was convinced that Birk Gudbrandsen's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Miķelis Somass was relentless in the 27th minute of the game. Jarl Munkvold could have scored with his fast shot on goal in the 28th minute of the match, but Miķelis Somass made a huge save. Aivars Rudzis took the ball and in the 30 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen. Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 1-1. After 32 played minutes Norway got a freekick which was hit by Roger Carlos. Norway's Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Anvars Straders in the 33rd minute of play. Miķelis Somass showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Krister Fredriksen in the 36th minute of the match. Espen Valberg came free with the goalkeeper in the 37th minute of the match, and shot straight on target. The shot was a little too simple and Miķelis Somass could save by the left post. The audience was convinced that Arvils Kivliņš's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen was relentless in the 39th minute of the game. Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Arvils Kivliņš's shot from short distance in the 39th minute. The Norway fans' excitement grew in the 43rd match minute when Norway's Runar Haaland looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 2-2 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. When the referee blew for the end of the half the home team players were clearly happier, as they went in to the break leading 3-2.
Norway made a substitution. John-Einar Lønne replaced Ivar Bang. When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Jarl Munkvold made a kick off. Arvils Kivliņš's shot was meant for the net just under the crossbar, but Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen read the situation well and was quickly in position to make a wonderful save in the 53rd minute of play. Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Helvijs Birmans, who was totally free with the ball in the 54th minute. After 55 played minutes Latvia got a freekick which was hit by Anvars Straders. When Helvijs Birmans fell near the penalty area in the 58th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Latvia's protests and gave Helvijs Birmans a yellow card for diving instead. A collision led to Latvia getting a freekick after 58 minutes play. Helvijs Birmans hit a great ball. Helvijs Birmans hit a great freekick 60 minutes into the match. In the 61st minute Andžs Bilders shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. With a little luck, Norway's Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen got control of the ball when Aivars Rudzis tried to sneak it across the goal line. Miķelis Somass made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Krister Fredriksen in the 64th minute of play. Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Arvils Kivliņš in the 65th minute of the match. When Norway's Jarl Munkvold in the 67th minute got a chance for a shot 67th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye Latvia's goalie prevented a goal. Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Andžs Bilders, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. An unexpectedly hard shot by Jarl Munkvold in the 75th minute of play forced Latvia's goalkeeper Miķelis Somass to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Latvia's Miķelis Somass played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Kristian Hamre in the 78th minute of play. In the 81st minute Jarl Munkvold shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Miķelis Somass saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 84th minute Krister Fredriksen shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Miķelis Somass saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Miķelis Somass showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Espen Valberg in the 85th minute of the match. Miķelis Somass showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Adrian Ranheim in the 86th minute of the match. Jarl Munkvold fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 88th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Miķelis Somass having to interfere. After 92 minutes of play, Norway's Kristian Hamre made it 4-2 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Miķelis Somass was left in no man's land by his defense there! After a rather tough play, Norway's Roger Carlos got a free kick in the 95th minute. Aivars Rudzis took the ball and in the 96 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen. Jens-Åke í Lon Jacobsen dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 4-3. For all the effort they put into the match, the Latvia players left disappointed. They had fought hard, but couldn't break down the home team's defense. The match ended in a win for Norway.
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