Valerenga vs Brann 3-1

Valerenga came from a missed penalty to beat Brann 3-1 at Intility Arena, with Lucas Janus Ravn-Haren scoring twice after the interval. Brann had more of the ball and more passes, but Valerenga took the chances that mattered.

The first goal arrived in the 36th minute when Sebastian Jarl put Valerenga 1-0 up. Brann levelled in the 44th minute through Kristian Eriksen, who finished from Joachim Soltvedt’s assist, and the teams went in at 1-1 after Valerenga had seen Petter Strand’s 12th-minute VAR award for a penalty confirmed before Lucas Janus Ravn-Haren missed it in the 14th minute.

Valerenga regained control in the 62nd minute when Ravn-Haren struck from Mathias Grundetjern’s pass to make it 2-1. Brann made two changes in the 71st and 78th minutes, while Valerenga also turned to the bench, and the home side then sealed it in the 81st minute when Ravn-Haren claimed his second of the match from Håvard Nielsen, who had come on in the 76th minute, to make it 3-1. Valerenga made two more changes in the 86th minute to see out the closing stages.

The numbers pointed to a tighter contest than the score suggested. Brann had 68% possession and 649 passes to Valerenga’s 32% and 309, while the away side also had more corners, 8-4, and more shots, 22-20, although Valerenga led 10-7 for shots on target and finished with 2.8 expected goals to Brann’s 2.81. Both goalkeepers made 6 saves, and Valerenga were flagged offside 3 times compared with none for Brann.

Håkon Sjåtil was booked for Valerenga in the 57th minute. Brann’s Jacob Lungi Sorensen was booked three minutes into stoppage time.