solskjær shines in norway triumph published: saturday 2 september 2006, 23.12cet hungary 1-4 norway ole gunnar solskjær struck twice as norway broke hungary hearts with an outstanding away performance in budapest.
ole gunnar solskjær struck twice as norway broke hungary hearts with an outstanding away display in budapest.
fit again the 33-year-old manchester united fc forward, fully over the knee troubles that have plagued him for the past two seasons, started and finished the scoring either side of goals from fredrik strømstad and morten gamst pedersen. hungary were given a consolation in the dying seconds when zoltán gera converted from the spot, but it is the visitors who have joined bosnia-herzegovina and greece in recording wins in their first group c encounters.
defensive error norway dominated the opening stages and took the lead in the 15th minute as solskjær capitalised on a defensive error from lászló éger to fire in from the edge of the area. hungary pressed for an equaliser as csaba fehér's drilled effort and zsolt löw's long-range left-foot volley were well saved by thomas myhre, while martin andresen also drove wide for norway.
carew denied the visitors doubled their advantage after 32 minutes when strømstad beat gábor király from inside the box. király was called into action four minutes later as solskjær threatened but the custodian stopped his strike from distance before denying john carew. pedersen finally put the game beyond the hosts four minutes before the break with a volley from 15 metres.
job done hungary tried to reduce the deficit in the second half but roland juhász headed over after being picked out by szabolcs huszti's free-kick, while király did well to keep out carew's close-range attempt. solskjær slotted his second of the match, and his side's fourth, nine minutes after the restart with a well-taken volley from just outside the box. gera finally gave the home team something to cheer in the last minute, netting a penalty after erik hagen had fouled substitute sándor torghelle.
