FCK Weekly News: 13th – 19th September
All eyes were fully fixed on the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, as FC Copenhagen opened their group stage campaign with a victory over Russian champions Rubin Kazan in front of a 29,500 strong PARKEN stadium.
By Joe Short
The match began with the visitors on top, and it took a while before Copenhagen could get into their stride. However, in the second half the Lions looked the more pressing side, as Kazan dropped a man back to play five across the defence. It appeared a 0-0 draw was the inevitable outcome, until Dame N’Doye headed in a Martin Vingaard free kick with just four minutes on the clock remaining.
After the game, FCK coach Ståle Solbakken was philosophical about his opponent’s approach:
- They (Kazan) would destroy the game, they had seen us play and would stop our full backs – and they succeeded largely because we were not as creative as much as we would have wanted. We had problems creating chances but we were patient, we waited for our opportunity – and as I said yesterday, we would win 1-0.
- We knew that if we had patience, we would be the strongest in the end. I could see it was getting harder and harder for them to hold positions.
While Solbakken was pleased with the result on the night, Martin Vingaard reflected on the staging of Dame N’Doye’s winning goal:
- Before I took the free kick, N'Doye said to me that I should play it to the back post - and that he would be there - and he was after all!
William’s reaction
On Wednesday’s edition of Lion Hour, William Kvist delivered his verdict of the previous night:
- I think there are many who were surprised at how good they (Kazan) are. We were not however, which is why we're pretty proud to beat them. Our game did not flow the same way as against Rosenborg, but I'm really proud of the team because of the patience in our play.
With the jubilation of Tuesday night still in the minds of FCK fans, the club moved to assure those wanting to attend the away leg on how to apply for tickets and flights. The return match in Russia on 24th November is open to all fans, FCK Away holders or not. This is to maximise the opportunity for Lions fans to see their team in action, while the club have proposed a travel package for the match, costing 2695 DKK. Click here for more information
Back to domestic responsibilities
Attention turned towards FC Copenhagen’s important Superliga game against Brøndby IF on Friday with the news that the league’s most experienced referee, Claus Bo Larsen, would be in charge of the New Firm match. Larsen has refereed twelve of the 71 games between the two sides, most recently this spring, where goals from Martin Vingaard and Kvist secured a 2-0 victory for the Lions.
Sports Director Carsten V. Jensen confirmed the need to change focus back to the Brøndby game on Friday, while reflecting on a successful start of the week for the club:
- It's often said that good teams should be able to play several games a week and can move from European football in midweek to league matches at the weekend. In this case, there would be a major difference in tempo and intensity, and the midweek match against FC Rubin Kazan might just prove to be the perfect prelude to the season’s first test of strength between the country's two biggest clubs.
Welcome back Brøndby
The evening kick-off on Sunday for FCK’s match against Brøndby was foregrounded with a banner from the Copenhagen supporters, depicting a winning blackjack hand with an underlying banner of ‘The House Always Wins’. The confidence in the home crowd was paralleled by the traveling supporters, who were equally vocal throughout the match.
On the pitch, an early foul on Christian Bolaños in the penalty area provided Cesar Santin with the perfect opportunity to open the scoring after just five minutes, which he duly did – slotting the ball in off the left hand post.
In a relatively feisty and nervous game, FCK were forced to sit back for long periods, but 12 minutes after the break doubled their lead. Claudemir played a splitting ball through the Brøndby back line to Santin, who neatly finished through the goalkeeper’s legs to make it 2-0 and maintain Copenhagen’s unbeaten start to the Superliga season.
In his post-match interview, Solbakken was relatively happy with the general performance of the professional victory:
- I am very pleased with the first 35 minutes of the match, but the rest of the game I don’t think was good enough and, among other things, we played too many balls away to nowhere. We got our early goal and then fought well, while we controlled the match throughout. I never really thought our victory was in jeopardy.
The week ahead
Copenhagen must now look towards a week of away fixtures, starting with a trip to Viby IF in their opening game of the Ekstra Bladet Cup. From there, FCK then face a difficult challenge as they travel to FC Midtjylland for the second top-table clash in the space of a week.
