Ossidien and Notodden met in Round 1 of the Norwegian Cup on 22 August, and the visitors left with a comfortable 4-0 victory at Ossidien Stadium. The result was not a surprise given what both sides have been doing lately, and here's the thing — Notodden had already shown they could string results together.
S. Jorgensen opened the scoring in the fifteenth minute, and it was a clean finish that set the tone. E. Leandersson doubled the lead just after the break with a forty-sixth-minute strike. By then Ossidien were chasing shadows, though the statistics tell a different story entirely.
Notodden added two more goals in the closing stages — one in the eighty-seventh, Leandersson completing his brace in the ninetieth. The away end never stopped, but that is an assessment, not a fact. The fact is the visitors controlled the tempo even when the numbers did not show it.
The match statistics are an oddity worth noting. Both sides are credited with zero corners, zero shots on target, zero shots off target, and possession split at 0.5 each. No cards were recorded for either team. To be fair, when a team wins 4-0 with no shots registered, you have to wonder what the camera missed.
Ossidien's recent form does not inspire confidence. They lost 1-4 to Mjndalen, 0-4 to Stabæk, and have only one victory in their last four meetings with Notodden — a 1-2 defeat in 2022. That run of results suggests they were always likely to be outclassed.
Notodden, meanwhile, extended their unbeaten run with this cup win. They had beaten Arendal 1-0 and Jerv 2-1 in late March, then thrashed S.F. Gray 5-0 before drawing 1-1 with Hern Horde. The visitors were a menace all night, even if the official tally says otherwise.
The 4-0 scoreline and goal difference give Notodden a comfortable advance. Ossidien were beaten in the first round again, and by then most people had seen it coming.