Neestrup: Important cup win but 'not quite perfect'

F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup says the 2-1 Danish Cup semi-final first-leg win over Viborg FF on Wednesday was a step in the right direction, even if he wanted more from the evening.

William Clem and Mohamed Elyounoussi scored for the Lions either side of half time in Parken, with the reverse fixture scheduled for 7 March.

Reflecting on the game, the boss said: "It was important for us to win this match, and we got a good starting point with a usable, but not quite perfect, result.

"I'm satisfied with our ability to create opportunities, dangerous situations and big chances, but I'm disappointed that we also gave too much away too easily.

"On a lucky day, we would have won by two goals, but on an unlucky day, it could have ended in a draw.

"But Viborg are also a good team that you don't just run over, and in that respect it was a bit reminiscent of the two cup semi-finals last year, which were also close, and where we won both by one goal.

"When we met Nordsjælland in the semi-finals it was close. We lost up there by one and with some difficulty won by two in Parken.

"The only difference is that we are not in the same place this year as we were last year. But a win is always a good result, and now we have to go up there in three weeks and finish the job."

Next up for FCK is a return to Superliga action on Saturday when FC Nordsjælland visit Parken (5pm).

"Now the main thing is to recover well, because we only have three days until the next important match, when we meet Nordsjælland here in Parken," added Neestrup.

"That is also why we shuffled the deck like we did today and made the substitutions that we did.

"It was also planned for Geovanni to replace Dadason at the end, but when Buta had problems, we put Birger in instead at fullback."