"It is always exiting to begin working for a new club. One has a lot of new ideas and those are easier to implement if one gets a good start," Hamrén said with a smile.
However, his fellow countryman, John Pelu, got most of the attention after the match. Early in the second half, Pelu, who made his debut in the starting line-up as strikers Konè and Konan were unavailable due to international call-ups, went down in the area although there was no physical contact between him and Viking defenders Soma and Pereira.
"I got the ball and ran into the area. There was no physical contact, but I lost my balance. I did not dive," Pelu claimed.
Nonetheless, referee Terje Hauge gave a penalty, and gave Viking assistant coach Gunnar Halle a red card for his protests. The protests lasted for two minutes, but Iversen kept his nerves and sent Rosenborg in the lead with a shot to the left, while Viking goalie Thomas Myhre went to the right.
Iversen and Myhre were involved in the second decisive moment of the match, as Myhre wrestled Iversen to the ground when Iversen was in a scoring position. The ref had no choice but to give Rosenborg a penalty and Myhre the red card.
Viking had made all their substitutions and thus had to give the gloves to midfielder Nikolai Stokholm. Amazingly, he saved Marek Sapara’s unconvincing penalty, but he had to give a rebound which a relieved Sapara converted into a goal.
The victory was obviously a great start for Hamrén. He contributed to the victory with his tactical response to the Skjelbred injury. Skjelbred picked up a groin injury while playing for the national team and had to start on the bench. Sapara was given a “Beckham-role” at the right side of the midfield, and he had some nice crosses in the first part of the match.
However, he was moved more to the center of the field when Øyvind Storflor had to go off in the first half due to an ankle injury. The new midfield constellation effectively shut of most attempts from Viking, while Stadsgaard and Lago took care of the rest. Stadsgaard-Lago looked like an unlikely combination when the season started, but are now among the best (if not the best) in the League!
The visitors from Stavanger had the initative for in period right before the break, but the two penalties in the second half put the match beyond reach for Viking.
"We controlled the match, although we didn't create that many chances," John Pelu said.
PS! This was the 75th match between Rosenborg and Viking; 25 Rosenborg victories, 25 Viking victories, and 25 draws!
PPS! Despite this being Hamrén’s first match in charge and an attractive opponent, only 18000 people showed up (the lowest number of the season). Fellow supporters, you should come for the next match!
Match facts
ROSENBORG
2-0
Viking
Steffen Iversen pen. 58
Marek Sapara 86
Sunday 1 June 2008 18:00 Tippeliga, Lerkendal stadion
Attendance: 17,930
Rosenborg [4-4-2] Rune Jarstein - Christer Basma, Kris Stadsgaard, Alejandro Lago, Roy Miller - Marek Sapara, Vadim Demidov (Per Ciljan Skjelbred 75), Alexander Tettey, Øyvind Storflor (Roar Strand 38) - John Pelu (Jo Sondre Aas 60), Steffen Iversen
