It was back to UEFA Champions League action at the start of the week, as the F.C. Copenhagen squad flew out to the depths of Russia for their away tie against Rubin Kazan. Accompanying the squad for the 2,265km trip was a hardy set of Lions fans, committed to braving the cold in support of their team.
by Joe Short
The squad landed in Kazan on Tuesday afternoon after the three-and-a-half hour flight, and in the evening trained on the Tsentralnyi Stadion pitch in front of a huddle of cold journalists. With no injury concerns for coach Ståle Solbakken, his starting XI on Wednesday evening was at full strength.
In -2ºc the match got underway, and the cold conditions were evidently hampering the flow of the game; FCK only created a couple of chances within the first 25 minutes. Mathias Zanka had to be alert to block a shot on 33 minutes, before a penalty scare when Claudemir ran into Aleksandr Ryazantsev in the box. The Russian was booked for simulation, and Copenhagen could breathe a sigh of relief.
Stray arm enough to punish Lions
They were not so fortunate a minute into first half stoppage time however, when Jesper Grønkjær handled a Kazan free kick in the penalty area. Referee Martin Atkinson immediately awarded a penalty to the home side, and Captain Christian Noboa thundered in the spot kick.
FCK had chances to claw their way back into the game: a crossbar was all that denied Dame N’Doye from a certain goal. In the dying seconds Kenneth Zohore turned well and shot at goal, but could only hit goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov. Shortly after the referee brought the game to a close, meaning the 1-0 loss leaves Copenhagen needing a win in their next game against Panathinaikos to guarantee qualification to the knockout stage of the competition.
After the game, Solbakken was understandably downhearted, but still upbeat about his side’s performance in the second half:
Ståle: - I think we probably deserved a point
- I must commend our back four, the game demands high international class, and basically we more or less had control over Kazan in large parts of the match. Defensively we were perfect, but offensively we did not provide Grønkjær and N'Doye properly before the break, and they were too stagnant. But we were promising after the break and were perhaps our best in the second half. N'Doye was a good target man and Grønkjær effective in the creative role.
- I think probably we deserved a point. We got two or three great chances in the second half that is all we can expect against a strong defensive team like Kazan. The goal came at the worst possible time, and it was unnecessary and inexperienced by Jesper; he jumped with his arm that way, so he gave the referee no choice.
The team flew almost immediately back to Copenhagen after the game, in order to prepare for their important Superliga match against Randers FC on Sunday. The only injury concern for the game was with Dame N’Doye, who was eventually deemed unfit the play due to a groin injury picked up in midweek.
Back to Superliga action
So on Sunday, Kenneth Zohore took his place up front, while Cesar Santin also came back into the line up for the evening kick off at Essex Park. The match started brightly with chances for both sides. First David Ousted in the Randers goal almost fumbled a Zohore strike into his own net, before Yura Movsisyan lobbed over Johan Wiland in the FCK goal, only to see his effort bounce off the post.
Zohore had two further efforts as the game settled down, but it was not until 29 minutes that the Lions broke the deadlock. Santin capitalised on a defensive mistake from Søren Pedersen to run through and goal and slide the ball past Ousted. The FCK away fans’ celebration in the snow behind Wiland’s goal would become a ritual fixture as the game progressed.
Zdenek Pospech made it 2-0 on the hour, when a Christian Bolaños corner evaded everyone until the Czech popped up at the back post to head home; while Grønkjær somewhat made up for his defensive mistake in Russia by firing a rocket past Ousted before the keeper could react to give FCK three goals and all three points in Randers.
Kvist: - it is nice that the whole team once again delivered
In the aftermath of the game, club captain William Kvist – who ruled the middle of Essex Park for the majority of the match – spoke assuredly of how the team’s recent performances have gone:
- We've probably played a little below our normal high levels of the three most recent games against Lyngby, SønderjyskE and FC Nordsjælland, but today it is nice that the whole team once again delivered a strong and professional effort in this difficult away tie. Randers is a good team on the counter attack and set pieces, but we kept them down to very few chances today.
The Superliga is almost over for the autumn, with now only one fixture remaining against Esbjerg at PARKEN this coming Saturday. The game kicks off at 15:00 and entry can be paid on the day for as little as 20 DKK, a special thanks from F.C. Copenhagen for your tremendous support over the most successful period of the club’s history.
