Bjørlo was involved in defeating Rosenborg earlier this season when FFK sent the Trøndere out of the cup on May 1, but in Saturday’s match at Fredrikstad Stadium, the 28-year-old was even more influential.
The midfielder equalized with a precise finish after 14 minutes of play. Jesper Reitan-Sunde had already given RBK the lead after two minutes. After a little over half an hour, Bjørlo set up a fantastic play, allowing Mai Traoré to score to make it 2-1.
However, after 55 minutes, Bjørlo was substituted, which he was not pleased about. The midfielder kicked some water bottles as he made his way to the bench.
Shortly after, Ole Sæter was substituted in for RBK, and the striker responded with an equalizer to make it 2-2. That ended up being the final score.
Fredrikstad will face KFUM on Sunday in just over a week. Later that same evening, Rosenborg will play at home against Tromsø.
This will be the first match at Lerkendal since the game between RBK and LSK was halted due to VAR protests last weekend. During that match, fish cakes, tennis balls, and flares were thrown onto the field before the game was stopped for good.
Calm before the storm
In Saturday’s match in Fredrikstad, there were no objects thrown onto the field, but both teams’ supporter groups had agreed on a silent protest against VAR in the first ten minutes of the match.
As a result, Rosenborg’s opening goal was met with a lukewarm response, even from the away fans. However, the home supporters had much more to cheer about in the first half, largely thanks to Fredrikstad’s outstanding midfielder.
Four minutes after the fans had started to make noise again, Bjørlo equalized for FFK. The midfielder skillfully carried the ball into the box before sending it into the net with a well-placed low shot.
Twenty minutes later, he was even more elegant in his ball control as he danced past RBK defenders along the goal line before the pass into the box went via Stian Stray Molde to Mai Traoré, who converted to make it 2-1 for Fredrikstad.
Displeased
Shortly after the break, Bjørlo was close to providing an assist when he set up Sondre Sørløkk, who was able to shoot from a good position. Luckily for RBK, Sander Tangvik was up to the task and kept RBK in the match.
It is not easy to say why Fredrikstad substituted Bjørlo after 55 minutes, but the former RBK player was far from satisfied with the decision.
Ole Sæter was also not particularly pleased to start the match on the bench, but after an hour, the striker was substituted in for Rosenborg. He took advantage of that opportunity, as eight minutes later he headed in the equalizer for 2-2.
Thus, the match ended with one point for each team. Fredrikstad remains in 5th place with 27 points. Despite only one point, RBK moves up four places in the table, standing with 18 points.