FCK Weekly News: 11th - 17th October
With the international break still in full swing, some of the FCK first team were drafted in to play for the reserves on Monday, against HB Køge at the SEAS-NVE Park in Herfølge, where F.C. København continued their impressive reserve season with a convincing 6-1 victory.
by Joe Short
The match provided a good run out for established first team members Jesper Grønkjær, Hjalte Nørregaard and Thomas Kristensen, while Christian Bolaños and Thomas Delaney were also given a game.
København dominated the possession in the early stages, and went 1-0 up thanks to a Bolaños header after five minutes. Another Bolaños goal after a strike from Morten Nordstrand put the Lions 3-0 up, before Delaney deflected an effort past Kim Christensen to give HB Køge a lifeline.
København run away with the lead
Any thoughts of a home comeback were quashed shortly after the half time re-start however, thanks to a neat header from Kenneth Zohore off a Grønkjær cross made it 4-1. Kristensen then made it five with a delightful chip over the goalkeeper, before getting his second with still 25 minutes of the match to play.
After the game, coach Ståle Solbakken reflected on the significance of giving some of his players a run out:
- It was important that players Grønkjær, Nørregaard, Kristensen, Larsson and Delaney got full games, and also Kenneth Zohore who did very well again today. Bolaños’ ankle is still a little sore, but was helped with 45 minutes of play, so all in all looks really good.
Ekstra Bladet Cup tickets
On Tuesday FCK.dk released ticketing details for F.C. København's fourth round fixture in the Ekstra Bladet Cup against AC Horsens at PARKEN. The match, scheduled to be played on 27th October, is priced as follows:
Prices, presale:
Tickets, adult: 80, - + fee
Tickets, child / pens: 20, - + fee
Lower A: 150, -
A5: 250, - + fee (to be ordered at cn@parken.dk)
Rates, Day:
Doorstep, adult: 120, -
Canvassing, child / pens: 50, -
Season card holders can pay cash on the door: Adults 50, -, while children and pensioners gain admission for as little as 25, -, while F.C. København's Gold Card holders receive complimentary access to the game.
More from the FCK scouts
Wednesday’s edition of the Lion Hour podcast saw FCK’s chief scout Lars Højer chat for a second week about the clubs scouting network across Europe:
- There is no doubt it gets harder and harder to find good players on the Scandinavian market that can just fit in our team. It is still primarily in the North that I spend most of my resources, and maybe other places like the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where the level is also perhaps slightly decreasing, although Holland is certainly a good opportunity, began Højer.
This led the talk over Claudemir’s acquisition and several other buys Højer has been involved in.
- Bolaños is just a special story. I was up and watching him a lot at IK Start, and we saw him perform amazingly for a year; clearly the best player in Tippeligaen. No doubt about it. For N'Doye it was an agent named Michael Jakobsen who approached us, and then I saw N'Doye three times in Crete. We thought we had some deficiencies in attack after Marcus Allbäck was changed, and therefore he was a perfectly obvious choice who was at that high level we were looking for.
Impressive start to the season
For Sports Director Carsten V. Jensen, the international break has been a time to reflect on København's season so far, as he outlined the clubs best start ever to a season:
- We have benefited from the best start to a season in club history. A yield of 2.64 points per match says it all. We have produced many good performances and deserved the benefit of them. The undefeated run gives naturally a great confidence and a sense of being indestructible. It is obviously a very crucial factor for progressing and achieving results, but also a dangerous feeling that requires a particularly strong understanding of failure to prevent this confidence turning to false confidence. We have always played tight matches with Odense, and the quality of and respect for Sunday's opponent will not allow ourselves to fall by the way side.
Back to Superliga action with a bang
So, after a two-week rest from the Superliga, F.C. København were back at PARKEN in front of a 17,000-strong crowd to welcome Odense. And what a welcome it was, as FCK got off to the best possible start: Cesar Santin prodding the ball home after just four minutes to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. Fifteen minutes later and Martin Vingaard made it 2-0, as the midfielder beautifully collected a Santin pass in his stride to knock the ball past the Odense goalkeeper.
It was 3-0 before half time, in what was the best move of the game. Vingaard was the creator, forcing his way through the Odense midfield to set Dame N’Doye free, who in turn played the ball out wide to Zdenek Pospech. The right back’s ball into the box was smartly left by Christian Bolaños, which gave Santin all the time in the world to slot the ball into the bottom left hand corner, all before the half time whistle.
Santin bagged his hat trick on the hour mark, a result of a wonderful cross from the right wing by William Kvist. And, in the final seconds of the game, N’Doye made it 5-0 by following up his own crossbar-bound effort to send the PARKEN faithful into raptures.
Fight for first team action
After the game, Santin was understandably delighted with how the game had played out:
- Of course I am very happy with three goals, but I also know that this is no guarantee of a starting place next time. We have a very strong team, and everyone would obviously like to play every game.
Indeed, competition will be fierce ahead of FCK’s next match against the Spanish champions FC Barcelona at Camp Nou this coming Wednesday. The focus for the week ahead will of course be on the UEFA Champions League, as F.C. København battle to secure top spot in Group D, but must be wary of not letting their minds wander from the important Superliga game against Silkeborg IF at the weekend.