The battle for the top-6 is really exciting after the match against FC Helsingør. With a 3-3 draw against FC Helsingør, AB Gladsaxe lost two important points in the battle to play in the top-6.
AB fielded the same line-up that secured the victory over Ishøj in the previous match. In goal was Marcus Bobjerg, and in central defense were Noah Ibsen and Pachanga Kristensen. On the right side of the defense was Steven Simpson and on the left side Rasmus Brodersen. In the central midfield were Ægir Jarl Jonasson and Agust Hlynsson. On the wings, O’Vonte Mullings and Casper Grening. At the top played Tobias Hageltorn and Noah Engell Christensen, who was also captain.
From the start of the 2nd half, Frederik Lindgaard came on the field and replaced Tobias Hageltorn. O’Vonte Mullings was laid all the way forward and Frederik Lindgaard took over the right wing. Later in the 2nd half, Adrian Koudelka replaced goal scorer Noah Engell Christensen, and that meant that AB switched to a five-man defense. Onesime Tembe replaced Steven Simpson, and Mikkel Nielsen replaced Casper Grening on the right defensive side. At the end of the game, Søren Ilsøe came on the field and replaced Agust Hlynsson.
From the start of the match, AB played fast, moved well for each other and played very direct. Already after 8 minutes, Steven Simpson passed to Noah Engell Christensen, who quickly played O’Vonte Mullings, who sought into the box and was felled. The referee awarded a penalty, which Noah Engell Christensen safely scored on to lead 1-0.
After 20 minutes, Noah Engell Christensen sent a good shot into the box, where Casper Grening scored in the best way, but the referee ruled offside.
A few minutes later, a Elsinore player got past AB’s defense on the edge and headed for the back line. He sent a flat cross into the box, and it was converted into a shot from Elsinore’s Hjalte Lærke, which equalized to 1-1.
AB did not let themselves be knocked out, and barely 10 minutes later, Noah Engell Christensen dribbled his way through Elsinore’s defense and scored to make it 2-1. Tobias Hageltorn fought his way to the end, but it ended in a corner kick that Rasmus Brodersen shot. In front of goal, Noah Ibsen appeared and headed the ball into the goal for a 3-1 lead, which lasted until the break.
The start of the 2nd half went well despite aggressive duel play from Elsinore’s side, who also tried to play the ball down behind AB’s back line. It was not the best conditions for a good 2nd half, as Elsinore’s Oliver Vugrin Flindt Drost reduced the score to 2-3.
With half an hour left of the game, things tightened. After a duel on the sidelines, a Elsinore player sent a cross into the box. Elsinore’s Mathias Minik Schandorff Christensen scored and thus he equalized to 3-3.
Elsinore sped up the game with quick kicks from the goalkeeper, and they pressed on in an attempt for another goal. Although AB also had chances in the latter part of the game, it was not enough to secure the victory. One point was scored and now it is really tightening.
A disappointed head coach Joey Gudjonsson was annoyed by the result of the match:
“It was a big disappointment because we allowed them to get into the game. A mistake from our goalkeeper gave Elsinore the ball, and they scored to make it 2-3. The defense should have kicked away the high ball, which landed inside the box. Instead, it ended with a penalty, which I don’t think there was. Our goalkeeper goes out to get hold of the ball and the striker runs into our goalkeeper – there can never be a penalty.”
“It was frustrating, but we still had some opportunities in the second half to score more goals. O’Vonte Mullings had a few, and Frederik Lindgaard had three good shots inside the penalty area. We had opportunities to score the fourth goal in the second half, but we stopped playing the way we did in the first half – and that’s very disappointing.”
“It went back and forth a bit in the last part of the game, but I don’t think Elsinore had obvious chances. They got hold of the ball and that can provide opportunities to score, but if you don’t hit the goal, then the ball doesn’t go in either.
It didn’t look like there was offside when Casper Grening scored, but it was judged. But overall, it was a good 1st half and a disappointing 2nd half,” Joey Gudjonsson concluded.
Captain and two-goal scorer Noah Engell Christensen thought it was good to get the one point after all:
“It was a game of two halves. We get ahead quickly and get a lot of chances. We win a lot of duels and second balls. Still, they get a goal, but we score two more goals and go to the break with lots of energy and momentum and lead 3-1. We come out for the 2nd half, and there are still a lot of duels, but it’s going well for us. We make a personal mistake and they score to 2-3 and then the momentum shifts a bit.
Then they get a dubious penalty and equalize. From here, it becomes a fight that could have gone either way. A sad feeling, but we just have to move on to the next game. It is important that we do not lose the battle – it could have happened. There are lots of positive things to take with you.
We need a game where we run the opponents over in two halves. We have to aim to get three points against Nykøbing. I feel confident that we will probably get into the top-6. We have the quality and the belief in it, so it was good to get a point,” concludes Noah Engell Christensen.
The next match will be played on Friday 4 April 2025 at 19:00 against Nykøbing FC at Gladsaxe Stadion.t
