Neestrup: Fans deserved our derby win
Jacob Neestrup says the 1-0 win over Brøndby in Sunday's derby was hard-fought and deserved, as the Lions round out the result in front of more than 34,000 fans.
Parken was rocking when Jordan Larsson converted his second-half penalty and the supporters helped the team battle through to the end during a tense finish.
"It was a hard fight that I think we deserved to win," said Neestrup after the game, which keeps the Lions six points off the top of the Danish Superliga.
"It was of course a very important victory. It's always important to win a derby, but especially after the period we have been through recently. And it was also important to win in Parken in front of our fans, many of whom have traveled around and supported us all autumn and have also quite rightly criticised us.
"They have been very positive leading up to this match, both yesterday when we were supposed to train here, and before and during the match today. That is also why it was nice that we could pay them back a little with this victory."
The game was sparse of chances in the first half but opened up after the break. But it was a penalty that split the teams in the end.
Neestrup added: "We played under a lot of pressure today because of the situation we found ourselves in, and although we could have done many things better in the game, we managed to play more simply and directly. And we were really good at defending our area, so I'm very happy with both Kotarski and the back line.
"There weren't many chances in general in the game, but we forced and took advantage of a penalty during our best period, and it was crucial that we took advantage of that opportunity. I still don't think that such a penalty should be awarded, but that's the rules, and it has happened to us before.
"But regardless of the way we won, it was a good and important step forward. Not that everything gets better from one day to the next. We have to take more steps forward and end the year well, so that it doesn't become one forward and two back."
Next up for FCK is our home clash with FC Kairat Almaty in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. There are still some tickets on sale for the game, which kicks off at 6:45pm.