Six of the best for FCK
F.C.COPENHAGEN: 1 RANDERS FC: 0
F.C. Copenhagen: Wiland, Wendt, Antonsson, Zanka, Pospech, Vingaard, Kristensen, Nørregaard, Claudemir, Santin, N’Doye.
Randers FC: Ousted, Ahmed, Egholm, Lorentzen, Pedersen, Movsisyan, Berg, Sane, Jensen, Fischer, Sarr.
Referee: Michael Svendsen
Booked: Zanka, Sarr (Randers FC), Egholm (Randers FC).
Coach Ståle Solbakken chose to make three changes from his side’s 2-0 win over Panathinaikos, as F.C. Copenhagen once again shifted focus to a different competition. The central pairing of William Kvist and Claudemir was split up, as the latter moved to the right wing to accommodate Hjalte Nørregaard for Christian Bolaños, while Thomas Kristensen replaced Kvist.
by Joe Short
Up front, on-fire striker Dame N’Doye kept his place, and was joined by Cesar Santin – the star of F.C. Copenhagen’s most recent match at PARKEN in the win over Brøndby IF last month.
The toils of Copenhagen’s midweek trip to Athens were evident in the opening passages of the match, and it took nine minutes for the first goal scoring opportunity to arise. After a neat one-two between Santin and N’Doye, Martin Vingaard fired a warning shot at David Ousted, but the Randers goalkeeper palmed the effort wide. From the resulting corner Zdenek Pospech crossed for N’Doye, but his header was well wide of the goal.
Referee raises entertainment level
At the other end Mathias Zanka Jørgensen had to be on guard to clear a dangerous cross-box ball from Yura Movsisyan on 11 minutes, while Oscar Wendt produced much the same delivery in the Randers penalty area, but Santin couldn’t stretch far enough to make contact.
After this flurry of half chances, what followed was a considerable dry spell of activity in either area, as Randers packed their midfield to stifle any FCK penetration. With both sides contributing to a slow-paced game, it was down to referee Michael Svendsen to entertain the crowd, slipping dramatically in an attempt to duck a cross-field pass.
The game became more spread after 30 minutes however, as Randers looked to upset the home side themselves. A counter attack lead by Movsisyan generated a corner after Pospech had pushed up too far in search of a goal himself, which in turn put Johan Wiland on guard as he saved from Issah Ahmed’s close-range header. Two minutes later, and Wiland was forced to tip over a delightful Søren Berg chip from the edge of the FCK box.
Randers escape own goal
After a prolonged spell of no-play due to a collision between N’Doye and Søren Jensen, FCK almost took the lead. A simple ball through to Santin was intercepted by Søren Pedersen, but the defender could only direct the ball towards goal. Luckily for Randers, it dribbled wide of the right hand post, Ousted helpless.
The remaining five minutes of the first half generated nothing for either side, while the start of the second half could only be remembered for a weak Vingaard corner. However, in the 51st minute Oscar Wendt delivered a scintillating corner that missed everyone bar N’Doye – unmarked – at the back. The ball hit the Senegalese’s frame and appeared to be heading into the net before a combination of crossbar and Ousted’s right hand kept the scores level. The intent was clearly there however, as Solbakken’s side took control of possession and play.
Home breakthrough
After Movsisyan fired a rare free kick directly at Wiland, FCK pushed up the field and broke the deadlock. Some dogged determination by Santin saw the ball played out wide to Hjalte Nørregaard. The captain's left-footed cross from the by-line was the perfect height for N’Doye to come steaming in and power his header home, much to the tense crowd’s relief.
Pospech found himself free at the back post from a free kick on 61 minutes, but as he pulled the trigger got caught in between a defender’s legs, claiming a corner that was staunchly denied. At the other end, a moment of nervous amusement as Wiland – trying to prevent a corner – gave the ball to Alexander Fischer, while he left his goal completely unprotected. However, the keeper was able to get back in time to rescue the resulting long-range shot.
Zanka rescues the Lions
Randers then had possibly their best chance of the game with 20 minutes to go after neat play by Movsisyan provided Ousmane Sarr with a clear strike at goal. Wiland produced an excellent save to keep FCK in the lead however. And yet, minutes after, he was completely helpless as first Søren Jensen hit the post and then Sarr fired wide. It got progressively worse for the FCK stopper, after he dropped an innocuous cross into the path of Movsisyan. However, the striker’s effort was cleared off the line by the quick-thinking Zanka, and luckily for Wiland bobbled nicely into his grasp.
At this point it was Randers who looked most likely to score, as they enticed Copenhagen to advance against a deep defence before hitting them on the break. Indeed, Saar blazed a shot wide himself on 78 minutes, while Anders Egholm’s header was never troubling the Lions’ goal.
All Copenhagen could offer in reply was a professional winding down to the game, holding the ball up for long periods of time as the clocked ticked down. Their only vague opportunity came from substitute William Kvist, who tried a tricky 50-yard half volley which was never going to trouble Ousted in goal as the ball sailed high into the PARKEN sky.
At full time the relief of securing all three points was evident, in what was a testing encounter for the Danish champions. However, Copenhagen’s sixth win in a row in all competitions gives them a tidy 10-point lead at the top of the Superliga going into the international break.
