Santin leveller earns Euro point

21/10 2011 11:16

Head coach Roland Nilsson chose an unconventional 4-1-4-1 formation for his side’s visit to Hannover in the UEFA Europa League, with Thomas Delaney playing the defensive anchor role behind a four-man midfield, Dame N’Doye up front on his own.

by Joe Short

The game started with a bout of heavy pressure from the home side, but the FC Copenhagen defence stood strong to see clear any vague threat on goal. Indeed, the game played out at a stalemate until a quarter of an hour in, where chances began to materialise. Christian Bolaños delivered a wonderful ball from the wing for N’Doye, who had beaten the offside trap, but couldn’t stretch far enough to deflect the ball home.

At the other end Johan Wiland was forced into low saves from Christian Pander, before Didier Konan Ya also tested the Swede. The Hannover pressure would eventually pay off in the 29th minute however, when Pander intercepted a slack Claudemir pass. The German had all the time in the world to look up and pick his spot from the edge of the area, Wiland stunned.

At 1-0, Copenhagen took decisive action, pushing forward and putting their mark on the game. However, they couldn’t materialise anything worthwhile in the Hannover half, and indeed it was the home side who should have doubled their lead before the break.

Wiland reactions save blunder

First Konan Ya found room outside the box to fire narrowly wide of Wiland’s left-hand post, before Sölvi Ottesen was almost punished for a moment of nonchalant defending. The Icelandic international tried to turn his man, but lost the ball in the process. Jan Schlaudraff had a free run on goal, but his chip in front of Wiland was excellently palmed away by the goalkeeper, preventing a sure goal.

The half time break may have been seen as an opportunity to settle the side down by Roland Nilsson, but the second half started much like the first, Hannover surging forward. Moments after the restart a mix up in the FCK penalty area gave Mohammed Abdellaoue the chance to nod past Wiland, but Ragnar Sigurdsson recovered himself to clear the danger off the line.

The scare was enough for Copenhagen to gather round and close up. Their dogged determination paid off on 66 minutes when a towering N’Doye leap beat goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler to a loose ball to head it into a heavily guarded net.

Pinto stuns FCK

The equaliser gave the Lions a new breath of life, and before long they were on the attack again: Christian Grindheim volleying over after good work from Bolaños on the right wing.

The confidence was clear, and yet – as FCK started to look for a winning goal – Hannover retaliated with a clinical finish. N’Doye, in an attempt to do his share of the defending on a free kick, gave the ball away cheaply to Sergio Pinto who – like Pander – took his time to find his spot and send the AWD Arena wild.

The 81st minute goal had come at a time when Copenhagen were looking fresh and alive, having brought on Bryan Oviedo and Thomas Kristensen. After the goal Kristensen headed over, but that was all they appeared to muster. César Santin entered the field with six minutes remaining, but it looked all over the FCK at this point.

Climactic goal for Santin

However, one should never write off the Lions, especially in Europe. Their grit and determination paid off in the closing seconds, as Santin ran on to a throughball to nutmeg Zieler and watch agonisingly as the ball trickled over the Hannover goal line for 2-2.

The celebrations on the pitch mirrored those in the stand, as FCK came out of Germany with a well-earned point. With three games remaining in Group B, Copenhagen are in a promising third place – considering two of the final three games will be played at home in PARKEN.

HANNOVER 96: 2 FC COPENHAGEN: 2

Hannover 96: Zieler, Haggui, Pogatetz, Cherundolo (C), Pinto, Konan Ya, Schlaudraff, Schulz, Pander, Abdellaoue, Stindl.

FC Copenhagen: Wiland (C), Thomsen, Ottesen, Sigurdsson, Bengtsson, Claudemir, Diouf, Bolaños, Delaney, Grindheim, N’Doye.

Goals: Pander, Hannover 96 (29’), N’Doye (67’), Pinto, Hannover 96 (81’), Santin (89’).

Referee: Laurent Duhamel (FRA).