Neestrup: In control from start to finish

F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup praised his side for their control of play on Thursday as they beat Heart of Midlothian 2-0 in the UEFA Conference League.

Amin Chiakha and Kevin Diks got the goals in Parken and three crucial points, which lifts FCK to 16th in the Conference League table.

The win also guaranteed the Lions will play in Europe in the new year, as they are four points ahead of 25th-placed NK Celje in the table – the cut-off point for the knockout stages.

"It was a perfectly executed match, where we were in control from start to finish,” said Neestrup afterwards.

"We were good at pressing, we were good at defending, and we created a lot of chances and should have been leading already at half-time, but I told the players at half-time to just keep going. We had to be sharp if Hearts were to get a set piece and suddenly throw a lot of players forward.

"But we kept them away from having chances across the whole match, and there were only a few minutes in the middle of the second half where I think they got too much play. But that doesn’t ruin the feeling that we played a really great game, and if you have to put your finger on anything, it’s that we didn't close the match out a little earlier and don’t win bigger.

"That has also been a problem for us in some of our previous matches, but we secured a very solid 2-0 win and have now not lost in 13 matches. We put ourselves in a situation where we had to win today, but I don't really have an overview of the table.

"We go to Vienna next week but first we have some work to finish in the cup on Sunday against Kolding."

Chiakha scored the opening goal and was felled for the penalty in the second half. Discussing the youngster, Neestrup added: "I would say that he wasn't given his chance today, he took it himself.

"Amin has done really well in the last five or six weeks, and has had several good starts, where he scored against Basaksehir and Kolding. Of course we are constantly considering when to play him from the start but I don't think we could hold him back any longer. He brings a lot of youthful energy, and I'm not surprised that he played a crucial role tonight."