Big win in Europe

After Thursday night’s 4-0 victory in the away game against Cliftonville, F.C Copenhagen already seems certain of a place in the 2nd qualification round of the Uefa Cup. The return leg is still to play, of course, but, as coach Ståle Solbakken notes, advancement ought to be a mere formality now.

By Lars Kristensen

With all 11 men defending, The North Irish underdogs fought bravely throughout the game, but they just could not keep up the pace for the entire 90 minutes. Even despite Cliftonville’s efforts, the lions still managed to get the opening goal as early as the 22nd minute and from then on F.C. Copenhagen were in complete control of the game. As the strength of the Cliftonville players began to weaken, the Copenhagen side cruised through the second half while easily scoring another three.

Coach Ståle Solbakken:
- The game went exactly as I had anticipated. Cliftonville defended as best they could, but we always knew that we would have plenty of room in the last 30 minutes of the game and being four goals up before the return leg is certainly approved on my account.

Two Time Goalscorer José Junior:
- Two goals in the first game is a great confidence-booster going into the new season. I have worked very hard during our preparations and I am very glad to see it pay off so soon. However, credits also go to Ailton for doing such a great job of wearing the defenders down, thus making things much easier for me.

Czech International, Libor Sionko:
- Cliftonville focused entirely on defence and really had no strength for offence. In such a game, it is always important to score early and fortunately, we did.  4-0 is a great result.

Danish International, Jesper Christiansen:
- I was never really tested. They had just one shot on target and it was only a matter of time before we would close the game.

The return leg against Cliftonville will be played at the PARKEN stadium in Copenhagen July 31, but until then, F.C Copenhagen will focus entirely on the SAS Liga. The Lions begin their domestic league campaign with a home game against Esbjerg this coming Monday at 19:00.

Game stats:
Cliftonville – F.C Copenhagen 0-4
0-1 Nørregaard (22)
0-2 Junior (67)
0-3 Pospêch (77)
0-4 Junior (82)