Neestrup reacts to draw in Aarhus

F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup says the points earned in Sunday's 0-0 draw at AGF could prove pivotal in the Danish Superliga title race.

The Lions were held in Aarhus but remain top of the table with six games remaining.

"We got a big and important point today at a difficult away ground, but it was not a performance I am completely satisfied with," says Neestrup.
 
"We got off to a bad start to the match, and AGF received an energy boost with their early goal, even though it was disallowed. For the first 20-25 minutes we were not in the game at all, but even though they had many dangerous situations, we kept them from big chances. At the end of the first half, we worked our way back a little.

"After the break, we gained better control of the game but couldn't really get into dangerous positions. Of course it was frustrating (Andreas) Cornelius had to come off a few minutes after we had put him on the pitch, but I don't know yet what happened, so we'll have to deal with that later. But it's a real shame for both Corner and the team, because of course we would have liked to have been able to use his skills in a match like this.

"We had to change a bit when we withdrew Hákon out, so Claesson moved forward, and Isak came into the middle, where he also did excellently, even though he hasn't played that much.

"It was still a very intense match with few chances, and fairly even. Kamil had a great save a quarter of an hour before the end, but all in all I think that both teams can be satisfied with the point."

Next up for FCK is a Danish Cup semi-final with FC Nordsjælland, before a derby clash against Brøndby at the weekend.

"It's clear that we would like to perform better over 90 minutes than we did today, and have also struggled in some of our recent games, but that is how it is over a long season," adds Neestrup.

"We have to fight harder for points at the moment, but we will get them.

"I also faced AGF in my first game as head coach, and at the time everything looked pretty bleak, so we can't take for granted that now in the middle of April we're leading the Superliga by two points and can decide the championship ourselves. It's a huge performance by the whole team, and I still firmly believe in this team.

"But there are still six rounds to go, and even though everyone is talking about Nordsjælland losing today, we must also remember who beat them. We have had big challenges against Viborg, who are now only six points behind and still in the picture, and had we lost today, AGF would also have been much closer. They are two teams who are playing really strong at the moment, so we still have the utmost respect for all our opponents and must give everything we have every single time."