FCK Weekly News: 27th September – 3rd October
The start of the week was dominated by FC Copenhagen’s visit to Athens, in wake of their first away game in the UEFA Champions League. Panathinaikos, currently battling for top position in the Greek Super League, lost their first round game to Barcelona 5-1, yet was to prove a tough test for the Danish champions as they touched down on Greek soil on Monday.
by Joe Short
On Tuesday both Jesper Grønkjaer and Johan Wiland were on hand to answer questions at a press conference in Athens, where the anticipation of a lively atmosphere from a reported 71,000-strong crowd was evident in the players’ minds:
- We’re in the Champions League, so whoever we meet there will be pressure. We are in the south now and people are more fanatical down here, so there is no doubt that there will be more noise in the stands. But we must turn it into something positive. We're really keen, and we are mentally ready, so we must use the stunning backdrop as motivation and not be afraid of it, claimed Grønkjaer.
- This is the stuff you've dreamed about since you were a child, commented the FCK goalkeeper Wiland.
Clear heads key to victory
The anticipation was evidently increasing as the match approached, and on Wednesday it all kicked off under the fading Grecian sky. Copenhagen took time to work their way into the game, after initially coming under a brace of Djibril Cissé chances. Somewhat out of the blue, FCK took the lead: Dame N’Doye shooting from distance past the on-rushing Panathinaikos goalkeeper to put the Lions 1-0 up.
And it got even better for FCK, as Martin Vingaard’s drilled free kick beat everyone on its path to goal on the half hour mark to make it 2-0. With this lead, Copenhagen played a commanding, professional game, committing men forward when necessary, but crucially protecting that lead.
Just after half time, Panathinaikos midfielder Gilberto Silva was adjudged to have handled the ball to prevent an FCK counter attack, and was given his marching orders by the referee. Copenhagen coped well with their 10-man opponent to earn a historic victory at the Olympic Stadium.
Brimming with confidence
After the game, a proud head coach Ståle Solbakken gave his summation of the performance to the eagerly awaiting press:
- I don’t know what to say, everything just goes our way at the moment, opened Solbakken. - We seemed a little nervous in the first 10-15 minutes, and missed some easy balls, but from then on we controlled the match and created many chances and could easily have scored more goals. We found the perfect balance between keeping the ball and preventing the opposition before counter attacking, of which we had many well-conducted ones during the game. Following the sending off in the second half (of Gilberto), it was almost game-set-and-match, and we could look forward to the FC Randers game on Sunday.
- We had great faith in the team and the players have been working hard on the training ground for this, and the ability to really get the maximum when it is needed most. Now we have maximum points, and the next two games against Barcelona is important. I'm almost more pleased with our victory over Rubin, for they are very, very strong and have taken points off Barcelona again today, said Solbakken, who also welcomed the fact that the club has taken another step in its history, as the 2-0 win was their first away one in the Champions League.
Turn to face Superliga action
With the jubilation of European success over, the team travelled back to Copenhagen on Thursday to turn attentions back to the Superliga, ahead of Sunday’s clash with FC Randers at PARKEN. The stat book showed only two wins for Randers in Superliga competition this season, with six of their twelve points coming from draws – mainly away from home. Caution must be exercised therefore, something Sports Director Carsten V. Jensen alluded to on Saturday afternoon:
- Make no mistake: Randers FC has the potential quality both defensively and offensively to be able to tease any team in the league. We look forward to a hopefully well-played and entertaining match – and maybe even a good result at our advantage of course.
Addressing the Lions’ triumph in Europe, Jensen was all praise:
- Nothing less will describe the performance at the beautiful Olympic Stadium in Athens on Wednesday night, which laid the foundation for the club's first away victory in the UEFA Champions League. A new milestone for FC Copenhagen and another win in the line of what is indisputably the best start to a season in the clubs history. The result puts FC Copenhagen top of the Champions League Group D - and who had dared to hope that before the season?
Jaded performance enough for win
And so, with that famous night still at the back of everyone’s mind inside PARKEN, FC Randers kicked off the late Sunday match of the Superliga. With a few squad changes from mid-week, it took a while for the home side to impose themselves upon the game. However, in the late first half chances began to arise – yet there was no real success on goal until mid-way through the second half, where N’Doye rose to beat two defenders to a Hjalte Nørregaard cross and thunder Copenhagen into the lead.
At 1-0 FCK sat back, determined to protect their lead. Three times they could have conceded, were it not for the persistence of Wiland in goal and an off-the-line clearance from Mikael Zanka. In the end, 1-0 proved to be enough to mark the sixth win in a row for Solbakken’s side, and yet the coach was critical of a few aspects of the game:
- We played probably too slow. It led to Randers creating some good attacks – but we were good in defense and prevented danger every time. At the same time we also missed too many easy chances, and overall it cost us too much effort, which was not really what we needed today.
After four weeks of almost consecutive football, six wins out of seven games shows the impeccable form of the Danish champions. The team can now rest easy for a few days as the international break comes as a relief from continual matches. It will be two weeks now before Copenhagen face OB at PARKEN, which will surely come as a welcome spell to rest tired European legs.
