N'Doye delivers in PARKEN
Following a last-minute Esbjerg equaliser in Jutland last week, head coach Ståle Solbakken decided a change was needed in his FCK side. Christian Bolaños, a substitute a week ago, returned to the staring XI on his natural right side of midfield. Claudemir moved into his more comfortable central position to partner captain William Kvist, as Thomas Kristensen moved to the bench in the only change to the team.
by Joe Short
In the opening minute of the game FCK should have taken the lead when Jesper Grønkjær found space down the left wing and crossed to Dame N’Doye. The striker’s shot was blocked however, while Johan Wiland pulled off a neat save to collect Jonas Kamper’s drive.
The early burst of energy didn’t continue however, as Randers were happy to sit back and let the Lions spread the play. Indeed, it appeared the flanks would be Copenhagen’s main point of attack and, in the 19th minute, some patient play from Grønkjær provided N’Doye with the chance to open the scoring.
After a scramble in the penalty area, Grønkjær picked up the ball on the edge and chipped delicately to the back post. N’Doye rose above the defence – a picture we’ve witnessed on so many occasions – and powered down his header. Goalkeeper David Ousted blocked the initial effort, but couldn’t prevent N’Doye prodding over the line on his second attempt.
First half surge
The goal opened up the game, and suddenly FCK were flowing forward with real purpose. Zdenek Pospech found himself on the penalty spot with the ball after a penetrating run, but couldn’t squeeze his shot off. César Santin then had a claim for a penalty turned down on 29 minutes after the striker had done well to get away from his man.
Seconds later and it was 2-0 to the Lions thanks to some great team vision. Neat Kvist footwork set Santin free in space behind the Randers midfield. Bolaños made a diagonal run from the right, pulling defenders across and leaving a huge gap for Pospech to move in to. Santin found the Czech, who composed himself before drilling low past Ousted to finish off a perfect team goal.
Three minutes after the restart N’Doye bagged his second of the game. Randers defenders failed to clear a corner kick and, after a dramatic overhead effort from Santin that proved no threat whatsoever, N’Doye knocked home from five yards into the roof of the net.
Flurry of Randers chances
The 3-0 half time scoreline suggests FCK were cruising, but this was certainly far from the case in the second half. Randers came out of the traps well, Kasper Lorentzen blasting over seconds after kick off. Mikael Antonsson was then forced to block an effort, while Kamper beat Pospech on the Randers left wing and fired across goal, narrowly avoiding Wiland’s far post.
Solbakken then made two substitutions, bringing off N’Doye and Antonsson for Kenneth Zohore and Jos Hooiveld respectively. Zohore looked hungry for a goal, and almost got one on 64 minutes when he out-muscled Christian Traoré for the ball on the right wing, entered the penalty area at a tight angle and, rather than pass back across goal, went to score himself. The ball hit the inevitable side netting.
Seven minutes later and only a Søren Pedersen clearance off the Randers goal line prevented it being 4-0. Bolaños led a four-on-two counter attack from deep inside the FCK half. Having sprinted the length of the pitch, the Costa Rican passed wide to Santin, who beat Ousted in goal. However, in slid Pedersen to rescue his side.
Pospech gifts late goal
If Pedersen’s efforts were an example of how to defend properly, Pospech proved the opposite on 76 minutes. The age-old warning ‘don’t pass across your goal’ lives with everyone from a young age. And yet, sometimes it seems one can forget such advice. Following an offside decision, Pospech took a quick free kick in hope of finding Jos Hooiveld. The ball never reached the defender however, as Ousmane Sarr intercepted the pass, surged away from the Copenhagen defence and finished neatly for 3-1.
Sarr then went close after Oscar Wendt gave away possession on the other side of the pitch, but at 3-1 Copenhagen wound down the game as gently as possible. The risk of conceding such a soft goal again was too much, and so the home side settled for ball retention for the remaining ten minutes, only Zohore coming close with a header.
FC COPENHAGEN: 3 RANDERS FC: 1
FC Copenhagen: Wiland, Pospech, Zanka, Antonsson, Wendt, Bolaños, Claudemir, Kvist (C), Grønkjær, N'Doye, Santin.
Randers FC: Ousted (GK), Pedersen (C), Fenger, Traoré, Jensen, Kamper, Jaiteh, Kamper, Hansen, Lorentzen, Rise, Beckmann.
Goals: N’Doye (19’), Pospech (30’), N’Doye (33’), Sarr, Randers FC (76’).
Referee: Nicolai Vollquartz.
