Askers and Quick Halden met at Føyka Stadium on 22 August for the opening round of the Norwegian Cup, and Askers ran out 7-0 winners. The scoreline tells you everything about a match where the hosts pinned the visitors back from the first whistle and never let up.
And here's the thing — you remember the twentieth minute. R. Fazi struck his second of the afternoon just before the break, a moment that shifted the momentum completely. E. Fredriksen had opened the scoring five minutes in, and J. Johansen added a third twenty-seven minutes on, but that Fazi double before half-time was where things came to a head.
The visitors gave the full-back a torrid evening, and Askers found a way back into it twice more. Fredriksen netted his second in the fifty-sixth minute, while A. Heggset rounded off the scoring in the seventy-second. By then, the game was already decided.
Statistics
- Askers: 74 attacks, 12 shots on target, 53% possession
- Quick Halden: 86 attacks, 2 shots on target, 47% possession
It is a curious match when the team with fewer attacks registers six times more shots on target. Quick Halden dallied on the ball in dangerous areas and paid for it, while Askers were clinical and efficient. Three yellow cards for the hosts suggest a physical contest, but the result was never in doubt.
Askers have not won since losing 2-3 to Lørenskog in March, but this is a statement performance. Quick Halden arrive here with mixed recent form — a 3-0 win over Kjelsås contrasted with a 1-3 defeat to Fram — but neither run prepares you for this. The goal difference tells the story.