National cup

National Stadium
Spectators: 1031 (Terracing: 774, Seating: 237, VIP seats: 20) Ruud Gullit started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. Lek Xhika hit a great freekick 2 minutes into the match. 11 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Ruud Gullit came free, but Nexhat Laçka reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Thomas Neset during the 16th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. After 17 played minutes U21 Norway got a freekick which was hit by Thomas Neset. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Ruud Gullit in the 22nd managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Nexhat Laçka saved U21 Albania from getting behind. U21 Norway were awarded a corner in the 24th minute after U21 Albania's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Bernt Benonisen took the corner. With a little luck, U21 Norway's Karsten Stålesen got control of the ball when Dëfrim Premci tried to sneak it across the goal line. Ruud Gullit sent away a hard shot on goal in the 35th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. 39 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Ruud Gullit came free, but Nexhat Laçka reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Nexhat Laçka made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Ruud Gullit in the 40th minute of play. Nexhat Laçka stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Ruud Gullit's shot from short distance in the 45th minute. Af the end of the first half the score was 1-0. The first half had gone as expected for the home team.

U21 Norway made a substitution. Mike Hawk replaced Noe Galt. The wind increased when Dëfrim Premci made the kick off in the second half. An unexpectedly hard shot by Torgeir Myrstad in the 52nd minute of play forced U21 Albania's goalkeeper Nexhat Laçka to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. With an all-out effort, U21 Norway's Nexhat Laçka threw himself towards the right post 54 minutes into the match and grabbed hold of the ball from Torgeir Myrstad, which otherwise would have been placed in the net. An unexpectedly hard shot by Eri Perla in the 55th minute of play forced U21 Norway's goalkeeper Karsten Stålesen to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. U21 Albania were awarded a corner in the 56th minute after U21 Norway's defender lost control of the ball, allowing it to roll out over the line. Eri Perla took the corner. When Geni Gjyla fell near the penalty area in the 59th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored U21 Albania's protests and gave Geni Gjyla a yellow card for diving instead. In the 59th match minute, U21 Albania was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Geni Gjyla to maneuver through the defense. The audience was convinced that Dëfrim Premci's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Karsten Stålesen was relentless in the 66th minute of the game. After a defensive mix-up in U21 Norway's zone, Geni Gjyla stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Karsten Stålesen came out of the goal and Geni Gjyla tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. U21 Norway made a substitution. Ole-Petter Fossum replaced Ruud Gullit. With a little luck, U21 Albania's Nexhat Laçka got control of the ball when Ole-Petter Fossum tried to sneak it across the goal line. In the 77th match minute, U21 Norway was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Eilif Sørlie to maneuver through the defense. When the match had gone on for 80 minutes, Sivert Jensen took a quick shot and it went in 1-2 without a chance for Nexhat Laçka to make any attempt to save it. 82 minutes into the match, U21 Albania's goal looked a bit too open when Sivert Jensen came free, but Nexhat Laçka reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. U21 Albania's defense didn't have a chance, in the 86th minute, when Mike Hawk scored to the left of an out of position Nexhat Laçka, making the score, 1-3. In the 89th match minute, U21 Albania was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Eri Perla to maneuver through the defense. Nexhat Laçka acted impressively in front of the goal and made a superb save when he, in the 90th minute, took the ball on the long shot from Bernt Benonisen. The audience thought a goal was coming when Torgeir Myrstad got free with Nexhat Laçka in the 91st minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. If Torgeir Myrstad had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 92nd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Nexhat Laçka made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Sivert Jensen in the 96th minute of play. U21 Norway played a much better game than U21 Albania and deserved their victory. The U21 Albania players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.