Against Sarpsborg-08        II

Coach Johansen felt his heart racing as he watched the action in Sarpsborg-08's half. Tobias Mikkelsen, the substitute right forward, had just cut into the pitch from the wing before delivering a grounded through pass to Nicki Nielsen, the Rosenborg number-9, just outside the box.

Nicki managed to latch on to the beautiful through-pass, skipped past a Sarpsborg-08 center-back, and soon stepped into the box. But just as he raised his leg to shoot, another center-back came sliding in to win the ball and sent him tumbling to the ground. The referee immediately blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.

"Yes, yes..." Coach Johansen yelled and celebrated like a kid after letting out a pent-up breath of air. His team's performance had declined during the second half, and he'd been on tenterhooks.