Riddersholm: - Confidence is something we are not lacking
Thursday evening will see FC Copenhagen thrown straight back into Superliga action following their 1-1 draw with Horsens on Monday, and this time it's at home in PARKEN where FC Midtjylland are the visitors, led by their new head coach Glen Riddersholm.
by Joe Short
As most people will be aware, Midtjylland are the only team who have beaten Copenhagen in the Superliga this season. This means that the Lions will be out for revenge – but at the same time Midtjylland would certainly like to beat the Danish champions twice during the season – and still have a chance to finish second in the table.
Before Thursday's game FCK.DK grabbed Glen Riddersholm for a chat and asked him these four questions.
You played a fine game against Brøndby at the weekend and beat them 1-0. What can you take away from the battle?
- We can take a lot of confidence with us, we played our fast-paced game and we continued the good run of form we've had in the past six games. We have lifted ourselves both performance and points wise after a somewhat bumpy start to the spring. The fact is that victories breed confidence and confidence is something we are not lacking at the moment.
How do you think the match will go on Thursday?
- It is clear that we will be up against a skilled, competent and switched on FCK team, not least because we are the only team that has beaten them in the Superliga this season. I think we will see an aggressive FCK team, and this is what we must defend against. We must play to our own strengths and play our own game. If we chose only to defend ourselves, it will be a very long game. Of course we will try to hold onto the ball, thus keeping the pressure away from Copenhagen. We have respect for Copenhagen; we will be in the game and see if we can use the pace of our front men, which is something that most clubs, including FCK, find difficult to curb.
You watched AC Horsens v FC Copenhagen on Monday evening. What did you do there? And do you think something will be changed for Thursday?
- As I saw it, it was obvious that FCK tried something new and had some new players in action. I sat there with a feeling that FCK did not play to their full potential, they did not seem hungry enough and therefore Horsens got the point they deserved. It is always difficult when you gift a goal away, but I think that FCK, especially in the first half, did many things very well, and they probably should have led by half time.
- If I know Ståle right, then there will be a different kind of motivation on Thursday; and at home in PARKEN I expect FCK to deliver an entirely different performance. Clearly there were a lot of chances wasted. But that does not change my belief that if FCK had really wanted it, they would have beaten Horsens.
How do you see your chances of finishing second?
- Overall, we have probably reached our optimal goal. We have many young players; we have an average squad age of 22 and a half years, young players are fighting for positions and it has given us 13 points out of the last 18 possible. There remains a tough fixture list for us, including the match against FC Copenhagen, in PARKEN, where we will try to consolidate our third place. But there are nine points left to play for and should it happen that OB stumble, we are ready to strike.
- We also have the Cup Final on Sunday that should be a great match, and at a young club like ours, we are hungry for trophies; so it is clear that if I could choose between second place in the league or a Cup victory, I would take the latter.
FC Copenhagen v FC Midtjylland
The two sides have met 35 times in all. Copenhagen have won 18 of these, nine have ended even and Midtjylland have won the remaining eight. At home in PARKEN, 16 matches have been played with FCK winning 10, drawing four and losing just twice. Overall, the aggregate score between the sides is 65-36 in Copenhagen’s favour, and 30-13 to the Lions at PARKEN.
The season's first meeting between Midtjylland and FCK was played on 25 September at the MCH Arena, the game ending with a confident 3-0 win for the Lions. Zdenek Pospech, Claudemir and Dame N'Doye were all on target that day.
The MCH Arena also hosted the second meeting this season, where Midtjylland turned the undefeated FCK over the claim all three points in the first game back from the winter break. Jakob Poulsen scored a penalty and Mikkel Thygesen bagged the second in Midtjylland’s 2-0 victory.
