Ir Reykjavik took all three points against Njarðvík in the nineteenth round of the 1. Deild, closing out a 3:1 victory on Monday evening. The result shifts a little pressure off the hosts, who had been searching for consistency. By then, the pattern of the afternoon was already clear enough to anyone watching from the terraces.
Etienne Sigurhjartarson opened the scoring in the twentieth minute, a quiet but decisive moment before the game had settled into rhythm. Njarðvík responded with a booking for A. Hjorleifsson just before half-time, and O. Einarsson picked up a yellow shortly after. The visitors had more possession but struggled to turn it into something meaningful.
The second half brought a swift change of momentum. A. Hjorleifsson equalised for the visitors in the forty-sixth minute, but Ir Reykjavik did not wait long to strike back. G. M. Magnusson restored the lead in the sixtieth minute, and that was the point where the match turned. B. Helgason added a fourth goal in the seventy-sixth minute to put the game to bed early.
Substitutions followed the usual pattern, with Ir Reykjavik bringing on L. Fernandes and V. Johannsson in the sixty-first minute, while Magnusson himself was replaced in the seventy-fifth. The visitors made changes in the eighty-third and eighty-ninth minutes but could not find a way back into the contest. The stadium fell silent after that fourth goal.
On the statistics, it was an uneven display. Njarðvík held 52 per cent possession and registered 128 attacks against 121, but their shot accuracy told a different story. Six shots on target from the hosts produced three goals, while the visitors managed only two shots on target across seven attempts. And here's the thing about these numbers — they rarely capture what actually happens on the pitch.
The result leaves Ir Reykjavik in sixth place with 29 points from 22 matches, while Njarðvík remain fourth with 38 points. The gap between them is now nine points, and the hosts will need to find consistency if they want to close it. For now, the victory gives them something to build on.