F.C. Copenhagen defeats CFR 1907 Cluj

F.C. Copenhagen on second place in Europa League Group K

It is has been a bumpy ride in Europe so far, but at the closing stages of the EL group phase F.C. Copenhagen have finally placed themselves on that qualification spot for the spring knock-out rounds which the team has in fact been seeded for all along.

The squad did so by beating Cluj of Romania 2-0 in game five and as the players now prepare for the sixth and final game against Sparta Prague, they may do so knowing that they simply need to avoid defeat in order to extend their Europa League campaign. In Thursday night’s game F.C. Copenhagen happened to display some of the best football the team has played all season and so, as the season comes to a close with some very important games, the F.C. Copenhagen side fortunately appears to be at their very best.

Mathias Zanka Jørgensen

- If they ever get another chance to do so, I don’t think Cluj would chose the same starting eleven to play against us again. We were ready for them and had the game all locked up by half time. It felt great to be in such complete control and it got the spectators going too, so all in all it was really great evening in PARKEN.

Martin Vingaard

- We play a great game and manage to expose all their weak spots. Our team made great use of the space behind their defenders and we end up producing a lot of chances. Those three points were crucial! Now we go to Prague with the option of deciding it for ourselves.

Zdenek Pospech

- Sparta needs to win, their tactics will therefore be highly aggressive and we have to exploit this in our counter-attacks. They are in great shape at the moment, but they are also a young and inexperienced side and our chances ought to be something like fifty-fifty. The game against Sparta Prague is of huge importance to us - it would be really great to have at least two more European games to look forward to during the winter break.

The last game in the group will be played away in Prague against Sparta on 16 Dec 2009. Kick-off is at 21.05 CET.

Game stats:

F.C. Copenhagen – CFR 1907 Cluj  2-0 (2-0)

1-0 Vingaard (37)

2-0 N’Doye (43)

Spectators: 11,567