Ståle: Did Zlin match finish 1-1?

F.C. Copenhagen manger Ståle Solbakken got the laugh of the press conference when asked if he was placed with the 1-1 result at FC Zlin.

“What was the score?” he said. “I didn’t see much of the second half!”

Thursday’s Europa League match in the Czech Republic was halted midway through the second half due to heavy fog.

The cloud eventually lifted enough for the referee to continue and the two teams to play out the game - although with little incident.

Discussing the performance, Ståle said: "Yes, all in all, I'm happy although they were closer to winning than we were.

“They had the best chances after the first half but we also got better after a bad start and proved we were mentally strong.

“But it was an unnecessary goal (to concede) where the spine of the team went askew and we couldn’t prevent and cross that came too easily to them.

“But all in all I'm satisfied with the first half. After the break they came out well before we also had chances, but the fog then made it a messy affair.”

Discussing the fog, Ståle added: "It was already bad for the last six or seven minutes before the referee interrupted the match.

“I could not see that much and at the end it was bad again. But in the end it's nice enough that it was finished and the score was even. And it was probably good that no one scored at the end as that’s what everyone would have been talking about.”

The draw leaves FCK second in their Europa League group on three points - two points off leaders Lokomotiv Moscow after three games.

Lokomotiv also drew 1-1 at Sheriff, meaning five of the six games played in Group F have finished level.

On the other fixtures, Ståle said: "It would have been best if Lokomotiv had won, but by our calculations we need to pick up four points against Sheriff and Zlin if we win the two home matches.

“Today we took a little risk by resting some players but we have problems in the league and an important match on Sunday.

“It was important that both Uros Matic and Youssef Toutouh got a whole game, and Andrija Pavlovic looked better than previously.

“Carlo Holse gained some important experience from a match in which he succeeded in some things and less in others.”