3-3 draw with Polissya as Svensson praises fans

Thursday's rollercoaster UEFA Conference League qualifier with FC Polissya ended in a 3-3 draw as F.C. Copenhagen battled to a first-leg result in Košice.

Robert Silva scored either side of half time – his first a rocket to put the Lions ahead after three minutes, his second to level the scores at 2-2 – before Mads Emil Madsen bagged what looked to have been the winner win seven minutes remaining.

But an Oleksandr Filippov strike two minutes from time meant the spoils were shared between the teams, who will meet in the second leg in Parken Stadium on Wednesday.

Four players made their FCK debut – Felix Beijmo, Mustapha Nyassi and Alex Král played alongside 16-year-old Marvin Nasnas, who came on in the final stages of the game.

Around 100 FCK fans made the trip to Slovakia, and head coach Bo Svensson was philosophical about the game afterwards.

"It was exactly as difficult as we expected against a strong Ukrainian team that caused us a lot of problems," said Svensson.

"The result itself is acceptable, because we should be happy that they didn't score more goals from some of their many great chances, and it is completely deserved that they equalised at the end.

"As things stand at the moment, I can't blame the players for anything, because they did what they could and showed good morale. We were just behind in too many parts of the game and for a large part of the game – especially in the first half until we adjusted the formation towards the end of the half.

"We chose a five-man back line from the start, but more out of necessity than desire, because we don't have that many wingers at the moment. Mustapha had a very difficult debut at right wing-back, but he's still a young U19 player and he did well under the circumstances, just as he has in our friendly matches.

"We took him out at half-time to play in our more familiar formation, and that worked well for the first 20-25 minutes, until we started to lose strength and they put heavy pressure on us again. As expected, they were a well-trained and physically strong team, and we still have a long way to go.

"But we have an excellent starting point before the return match, and now we are looking forward to two home matches in Parken, where we will also have Gabriel, Delaney and Birger back, because we were obviously missing them tonight.

"But there are several factors that have played into the moment, where Corner, for example, has only trained once after the blow he received to the head against Viborg, and Suzuki and Dominik have just returned from holiday, which was also the reason why Alex was back, and he cannot be blamed for the three goals today.

"The most important thing is to advance to the next round, and we still have a good chance of doing that with a draw today, and that is the most important thing right now."

Svensson also praised the away fans who travelled down to the game and who displayed a banner with the words "Stay strong Ukraine. Fighter nation."

"It was a strong signal to send to the Ukrainians, so they should be thanked for that, and also for the support down here tonight," the head coach said.

FCK Team
Starting XI: Rúnarsson - Nyassi, Beijmo, Garananga, Suzuki, Lopez - Madsen, Clem - Elyounoussi (c), Moukoko, Robert

Final XI: Rúnarsson - Král, Beijmo, Suzuki, Lopez - Madsen, Clem - Elyounoussi (c), Nasnas, Ndjee - Cornelius