Ulrik Mathisen's second-half header rescued a 1-1 draw for Brann at Stayen after Nelson Ishiwatari had put Sint-Truiden ahead, a result that keeps both sides unbeaten on seven points in the Conference League.
Both teams arrived in Sint-Truiden with perfect records — two wins from two — and something had to give. Ishiwatari broke the deadlock three minutes after half-time, but Mathisen rose to head the equaliser on 78 minutes from Kristall Mani Ingason's delivery. The numbers told a strange story: Sint-Truiden fired 18 shots to Brann's nine, yet the Norwegians controlled 58 per cent of the possession.
Ishiwatari breaks the deadlock at Stayen
The first half was a chess match between two well-drilled sides who clearly respected each other's perfect starts. Brann saw more of the ball, circulating it patiently, while Sint-Truiden were content to stay compact and strike quickly in transition — a plan that brought them the game's best early openings without quite producing a goal.
The breakthrough came on 48 minutes and it went to the hosts. Ishiwatari, the young Japanese midfielder who has been one of the revelations of Sint-Truiden's season, found the finish to put the Canaries 1-0 up and ignite Stayen. It was no more than the hosts' attacking intent deserved — they would finish the night with 18 attempts on goal — and for a while it looked like the goal that would end Brann's perfect record. The full match timeline is available in the Sportradar match centre.
Brann, though, refused to panic. They kept playing through midfield, kept their width, and their pressure finally told with 12 minutes remaining. Ingason delivered from the flank and Mathisen attacked the cross with a firm header to level at 1-1 — a striker's goal that his movement all evening had threatened.
A draw neither side will complain about
There is a version of this match report that focuses on Sint-Truiden's wastefulness: 18 shots and only one goal is a poor return, and the hosts will know they let two points slip at home. But Brann's resilience deserves equal billing. Away from home, against a side with a perfect record, trailing with the clock running down — lesser teams fold. Brann instead trusted their possession game, all 58 per cent of it, and were rewarded.
Ishiwatari's performance was another statement from the 21-year-old, whose energy and timing around the box have quickly made him a fixture in this Sint-Truiden side. For Brann, Mathisen's equaliser was his side's most important goal of the European season so far, preserving an unbeaten record that now stretches across three very different tests.
So what does this draw actually mean?
Both clubs move to seven points from three matches — two wins and a draw apiece — and both remain firmly on course for the knockout rounds. Neither will fear the second half of the league phase, and both have shown they can hurt opponents in different ways: Sint-Truiden through volume and intensity, Brann through control and patience. On a night when fine margins decided games across the competition — see our report on Mjallby's 2-0 win over Borac Banja Luka — a point each at Stayen feels like a fair reflection of two evenly matched, well-coached teams.
The rematch in the standings race will be watched closely: if both keep this pace, the fight between them for a top-eight place — and a direct ticket to the round of 16 — could run until the final matchday.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: Two perfect records met at Stayen and neither blinked. Ishiwatari announced himself again, Mathisen delivered when Brann needed him most, and both clubs leave stronger than they arrived. Which of these two sides goes further in the Conference League — the shot-happy hosts or the possession kings from Bergen? Let us know what you think in the comments.
