Liberia international striker Sam Johnson was the hero for the Norwegian Valerenga Football Club over the weekend after the helping the club earn a win following three consecutive defeats.
The 26-year-old attacker registered his name on the scoresheet twice and provided an assist to help Valerenga overcome IK Start with a 3-0.
With IK Start lying second from bottom of the league table, Valerenga went into the match as the favorites to clinch the three points. As expected, Valerenga dominated the play in the opening minutes and took the lead within just 25 minutes.
Sam Johnson’s brilliant finish after an assist from Bard Finne gave Valerenga a flying start to the match. Johnson’s 25th-minute strike became the difference between the two teams in the first half with IK Start failing to level the score and Valerenga being unable to score additional goals.
In the second half, Valerenga took just 12 minutes to register their second goal. It was another coordination from Bard Finne and Sam Johnson. Finne provided his second assist in the match to help Johnson score his second goal.
Valerenga enjoyed their 2-0 lead until the 88th minute when IK Start pulled a goal back. Norwegian attacker Mathias Bringaker reduced the deficit for IK Start and Valerenga had the remaining two minutes of the full time plus added time to defend their lead.
However, Finne and Johnson struck again, this time with Johnson being the assist provider. The duo coordinated to restore Valerenga’s two-goal lead just one minute after IK Start made the score 2-1. With a 3-1 score, Valerenga were the clear favorite to win, but IK Start continued bringing the heat, adding another goal in the added time. Herolind Shala got the second goal for an IK Start team that could not add yet another goal to tie the game. The game ended 3-2.
Sam Johnson’s brace took him to the fourth position on the goals log with 10 goals from 20 games while Valerenga moved up to the sixth place on the Norwegian Eliteserien with 36 points from 24 games. They are 16 points behind league leaders, Rosenborg.
Featured photo courtesy of Terje Pedersen           Â
