FC Midtjylland-FCK 1-4 (0-2)
Copenhagen totally dominated the Easter Monday-clash in Herning against their nearest rivals from FC Midtjylland, and a dazzling 4-1-win secured a 9 point gap in the top of the table,
Copenhagen controlled the game right from the kick off, and Michael Silberbauer and Ailton Almeida could have scored within the first 10 minutes. But it took 15 minutes before the champions took the lead on a free kick from Michael Silberbauer from around 30 metres, when FCM-keeper Lasse Heinze seemed to react a bit too late.
Hattrick-hero Silber on the run
FCM - on the day looking like they were heavily over-matched - had great difficulties producing chances, and the top-concentrated FCK-defence forced them to try from the distance. And when Simon Poulsen eventually slipped through and fired from a good position, the shot was blocked by tower-of-power-Hangeland.
Four minutes before halftime Silberbauer struck again with a characteristic Silber-goal. He received the ball from Hjalte Nørregaard in the mid-circle and produced a trademark-rush down the middle towards the penalty area, shrugged off the attempts to tackle him and fired from around 20 metres - 2-0!
Despite four bookings for FCK, it had been a rather fair-played first half with a highly deserved halftime-lead for the champions.
18 minutes after the break, Marcus Allbäck made his comeback after the knee injury, he picked up in a Royal League-game in February, and when he got a fine chance in the area, it was evident – and understandable - that there is still a bit to go before he is back on his normal level.
Ailton and the rest of the team were clearly ahead of their opponents today
2-0 would have been an excellent result in the difficult away-match against number two in the league, but instead of backing home and defending the lead, Copenhagen tightened their grip of the game and kept Midtjylland out of the game. And just to underline their dominance, they added two more goals, which caused a huge part of the disappointed home crowd leaving their seats long before the end.
First, Linderoth initiated a counterattack with a fine pass to Grønkjær, who cleverly held the ball long enough for Atiba Hutchinson to run into position, and when the Canadian received the ball in exactly the right moment, he brought into the penalty area and sent it past Lasse Heinze. And a few minutes later Hutch set up Silberbauer for his third goal of the day.
Christian Olsen got a consolation goal in injury time, but couldn’t prevent a remarkable big defeat for FC Midtjylland after an unbeaten run of 13 games. Their latest defeat was also against FCK in PARKEN in September. Midtjylland can revenge themselves on Thursday night, when the two teams meet again in Herning in the quarter finals of the Danish Cup.
Top class players appreciating top class supporters
All photos by Carl Redhead
Matchfacts:
FC MIDTJYLLAND-F.C. COPENHAGEN 1-4 (0-2)
15.: 0-1 Michael Silberbauer
41.: 0-2 Michael Silberbauer
74.: 0-3 Atiba Hutchinson
80.: 0-4 Michael Silberbauer
90.: 1-4 Christian Olsen
Attendance: 11.488
F.C. Copenhagen: Jesper Christiansen – Lars Jacobsen, Michael Gravgaard, Brede Hangeland, Niclas Jensen – Michael Silberbauer, Tobias Linderoth (82.: Dan Thomassen), Hjalte Nørregaard, Atiba Hutchinson – Jesper Grønkjær (77.: William Kvist), Ailton Almeida (63.: Marcus Allbäck). (Un-used substitutes: Fredrik Berglund, Oscar Wendt, Benny Gall)
Bookings: Niclas Jensen, Tobias Linderoth, Jesper Grønkjær and Ailton Almeida
