Arendal secured a 33-29 away win against Follo on Saturday in the opening round of the REMA 1000-liga. The result sees the visitors move off the bottom of the table, while Follo remain fifth after their solitary fixture. and here's the thing — the scoreline suggests a tighter contest than the final tally implies.
Arendal came into the match having drawn their first game, a 22-23 loss to Fjellhammer on 30 August. They had shown they could score freely, putting past Herulf Moss 49-25 just four days earlier. by then the away side had already demonstrated the firepower to trouble any defence.
Follo's recent record reads like a mixed bag. They beat Sandnes 27-22 and Nordstrand 30-24, but lost to Haslum and Elverum. The home side started brightly against Arendal, but held their nerve poorly in the closing stages, allowing the visitors to pull away.
The result leaves Arendal level on points with Follo despite sitting nine places below them. to be fair — one game tells you little. What matters is whether they can sustain this level away from home.