Santin penalty enough for Copenhagen

Copenhagen-players celebrating their 14th win of the season

Photo: Lars Møller, Sportsagency.dk

A newly laid PARKEN turf awaited F.C. Copenhagen and FC Nordsjælland on Sunday, following the Danish National Stadium’s hosting of the 30,000-strong Sensation dance event last weekend.
 
by Joe Short
Two changes were made to the FCK starting XI that drew with SønderjyskE last Sunday. Mathias Zanka and Martin Vingaard came in to replace Sölvi Ottesen and Jesper Grønkjær respectively for the Lions.
 
Yet it was the away side that started the strongest, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead on eight minutes. Matti Lund Nielsen played Patrice Bernier through; the winger opened up his body to place it past Johan Wiland, but the FCK goalkeeper got down well to save and pounce on the rebound.
 
Christian Bolaños had a header tipped over the crossbar a minute later from a Claudemir throw; two minutes after that Claudemir himself could have scored when his deflected half volley rebounded off the corner of the woodwork, bouncing back into play to the feet of a Nordsjælland defender.
 
Utter confusion in front of goal
William Kvist shot low at Jesper Hansen in a spell of little opportunities for either side, while in the 18th minute Andreas Granskov’s free header flew way wide of Wiland’s goal. A complete scramble in the Nordsjælland penalty area saw a Dame N’Doye effort blocked before Bolaños had successive efforts stopped by away defenders.
 
A moment of madness gifted FCK the lead on 29 minutes, when Nordsjælland captain Andreas Bjelland bent down and picked up the ball in the middle of the penalty area. Had he heard a whistle? In the melee beforehand Zanka had seemed to foul his man, but with no whistle coming from the referee Peter Rasmussen, he was forced to award Copenhagen a penalty in all the confusion.
 
A bemused PARKEN watched on as Cesar Santin stepped up, but his shot was well saved by Hansen. Three FCK players were on the scene at the rebound however, and it was Claudemir who squeezed in a shot before Hansen could smother, to give the Lions the lead.
 
Second penalty in as many minutes
FCK had barely time to settle down before Nordsjælland forced a corner seconds after the restart, but a quick counter attack suddenly gave the home side breathing space. Santin and N’Doye exchanged passes before spreading wide right to Bolaños. The Costa Rican wasted no time in chipping over to Zdenek Pospech, amazingly the spearhead of the Copenhagen counter attack. The Czech was through on goal, but a pull on the shirt from Enoch Adu brought the right back down before he could score.
 
Rasmussen awarded another FCK penalty, although the away side were adamant the foul was committed outside the area. Adu was booked for his foul. Santin – who two minutes earlier had seen his penalty saved – stepped up and went the same way, but made sure his effort was neatly tucked in the corner this time.
 
At 2-0 the Lions cruised to the half time whistle, without any team threatening either goal. The start of the second half saw a much greater improvement from the first. Bolaños missed a volley while Oscar Wendt drilled wide. At the other end Zanka was alert to the danger of Tobias Mikkelsen; a last ditch tackle preventing the striker from shooting at goal.
 
Gytkjær provides nervy showdown
In the 65th minute N’Doye set Pospech forward on the right, but his eventual left-footed shot was weak and at Hansen. Claudemir also headed straight at Hansen after good work from Bolaños on the left, while N’Doye curled an effort wide of goal with twenty minutes to go.
 
FCK were looking comfortable, quite happy to let Nordsjælland dominate possession without any real penetration. However, on 75 minutes the away side pulled a goal back when Anders Due crossed in for substitute Christian Gytkjær to head powerfully past Wiland, setting up a nervous finale in PARKEN.
 
Indeed, with three minutes to go Zanka was again there to block a goal-bound effort, while Copenhagen settled to holding the ball in the corners as the clock ticked down. N’Doye almost made it three in the last minute of the match, but his shot was deflected wide.
 
Nevertheless, the Lions emerged with all three points as Rasmussen blew the full time whistle. An important win for the team as they vie to maintain the gap at the top of the Superliga. It was a cold night in PARKEN, but nothing to what the squad can expect on Wednesday evening, when FCK fly out to Russia for their final away match of the UEFA Champions League group stage. A win in Kazan would see Copenhagen qualify for the knockout stages in the spring, but their Russian opponents are sure to make it difficult for Ståle Solbakken and his side.
 
 
 
 
F.C. COPENHAGEN: 2                        FC NORDSJÆLLAND: 1
 
FC Copenhagen: Wiland, Pospech, Zanka, Antonsson, Wendt, Bolaños, Claudemir, Kvist (C), Vingaard, Santin, N'Doye.
 
FC Nordsjælland: Hansen (GK), Kildentoft, Bjelland (C), Adu, Bernier, Mikkelsen, Parkhurst, Lund Nielsen, Laudrup, Granskov, Bengtsson.
 
Referee: Peter Rasmussen
 
Goals: Claudemir (30’), Santin pen. (32’), Gytkjær, FC Nordsjælland (75’).