A great night in Valencia

On the back of a stunning home defeat against bottom-seeded St. Etienne, F.C. Copenhagen needed to get something from what looked before hand to be the most difficult game in group G of the UEFA Cup; playing away against Valencia. The F.C. Copenhagen side rose to the challenge however, played a superb game, and with a well-deserved draw they put themselves right back in contention for a place in the knockout stages in the spring.

By Lars Kristensen
After a shaky start, F.C. Copenhagen quickly changed things around and began to exert some real pressure on the hosts. The Lions came close to scoring on quite a few occasions whereas the Spanish struggled to get through the tightly organized Copenhagen lines. Thus, up until the 60-minute mark, F.C. Copenhagen looked the better side but then the home team suddenly woke up and shortly thereafter Morientes struck a half-cleared ball into the net. Harmed but by no means beaten, the F.C. Copenhagen players continued to find weaknesses in the Valencia defence and finally, in the 85th minute, they got their reward as a free throw was headed on and fell down in front of Santin inside the goal area.

Mikael Antonsson
- Today, we stuck to the game plan 100%. The team created many excellent opportunities as of course, Valencia did too and so, I think the draw was a fair result. We kept believing all the way through and naturally I am delighted with my assist on Cesar’s goal.

Ståle Solbakken
- We felt forced to make up for the first round defeat against St. Etienne and the players delivered a superb performance here. I would have been very disappointed if we would have had to leave Mestalla with zero points because with the way they played today, the players deserved more. It was magnificent! We left them no space while Santin and Ailton challenged them relentlessly creating numerous opportunities and, mind you, that is not easy playing against Valencia. I am very proud of the team.

Hjalte Nørregaard
- During the first ten minutes of the game, we were very much on our heels but after that, we had the game under control. I am a little surprised that we got as many chances as we actually did but in the end, we just played really well today.

Copenhagen is still only in fourth place; however, only goal difference separates the them from Valencia in second and with four teams all on equal points, the Lions are now very much back in the group.

F.C. Copenhagen sits out the next round but then on Dec 4 they face Rosenborg of Norway in a crucial tie that most likely will require a win if hopes of progressing to the knock out stages are to remain intact. Fortunately, Copenhagen has home advantage.

Game stats:
Valencia CF - F.C. Copenhagen 1-1
1-0, Morientes (61)
1-1, Santin (85)