Yesterday, AB Gladsaxe met BK Frem in Valby Sports Park. The match was attended by 1,636 spectators, who formed a fantastic setting for the match. The sun was shining and the atmosphere was high, and it was AB who ran away with the victory on a goal by O’Vonte Mullings after 37 minutes. Not least in the referee’s 11 minutes of injury time.
AB fielded almost the same starting line-up that has won the last two games. It was Marcus Bobjerg in goal, in central defense Adrien Koudelka, Mikkel Brund and Pachanga Kristensen played, who replaced Daniel A. Pedersen, who was out with an injury.
Rasmus Brodersen played on the left side of the defence and on the right side of defence Yael Liesdek. In the central midfield were Søren Ilsøe and Ægir Jarl Jonasson. On the wing was Ágúst Hlynsson and in front was O’Vonte Mullings together with Emil Mygind, who replaced Marco Ramkilde, who was injured during the warm-up.
A quarter of an hour into the 2nd half, AB made substitutions of three players. Darren Sideol replaced Ágúst Hlynsson, Christian Wagner replaced Emil Mygind and Steven Simpson replaced O’Vonte Mullings. With 10 minutes left of regular playing time, Frederik Lindgaard replaced Søren Ilsøe. In the referee’s overtime, Flamur Dzelili came on the field and replaced Pachanga Kristensen.
In the beginning of the match, Frem sat on much of the game. The home team played with quick combinations, and AB fought to get the game under control. AB fell into many and long balls, and had difficulty pushing the team forward on the field.
AB came up with opportunities, where O’Vonte Mullings and Ægir Jarl Jónasson, among others, had good finishes. Frem got several corner kicks, but most of them were taken care of by Marcus Bobjerg. Fram had several transitions. Among other things, this resulted in a free runner, where a Fram player could run alone into the goal area, but Søren Ilsøe managed to fend off the shot.
In the 37th minute, problems arise in Frem’s defense, which does not shoot the ball away. O’Vonte Mullings takes advantage of the confusion and pokes the ball into the goal for an AB lead of 1-0. That was also the score at half-time.
AB starts the 2nd half energetically and gets the game pressed higher up the pitch. Again, it was good to see that there were also finishes from players like Ágúst Hlynsson and Søren Ilsøe.
A Fram striker gets free run on their left side and can run alone towards goal, and again Marcus Bobjerg saves. A loss of the ball in the middle of the pitch gives Frem another opportunity, but the finish ends up in the side netting.
With half an hour left, AB made substitutions of Darren Sidoel, Christian Wagner and Steven Simpson. Simpson showed speed and understanding of the game, and he had a very good debut that bodes well for the future. The substitutions immediately gave AB peace of mind and renewed strength.
The game surged back and forth, and chances arose at both ends. AB’s defense withstood the pressure well. However, Frem got a huge chance right in front of goal, which Marcus Bobjerg saves on the line. The home team saw the ball inside, and it subsequently caused a bit of a commotion between the players. However, the referee and the linesman were in no doubt.
After two yellow cards, Frem’s Emil Schou Jørgensen saw red in the 86th minute and had to leave the field. In the referee’s overtime, Frem has a shot on the post, but AB fights bravely and after 11 minutes of overtime was able to raise their arms and cheer over a strongly played and well-fought game – and a victory that here and now puts AB in first place in the table.
Head coach Joey Gudjonsson was pleased with the team’s effort and the third win in a row.
“We played against a really good team. They are promoted and they have not lost a single game until today. It is a strong team and they are difficult to play against. Good support, plastic grass with lots of rubber in it – it’s a different kind of football for us. I think the players did really well. Our plan was to stop them doing what they are good at. We succeeded for most of the game. We probably could have scored more goals, because there were opportunities along the way,” Gudjonsson said after the game.
“There was a lot of fight today, and everyone took part in the fight. We were unlucky that Marco Ramkilde was injured during the warm-up. All the players showed good tactics and also that they wanted to win. I am very happy about that. Now we are number one, and it is at the top of the division where we want to be.”
AB’s captain in the Fram match, Søren Ilsøe, also emphasized the strong team effort.
“It was a fantastic win today. We knew it would be an insanely difficult game against Frem with a lot of people on the stands. Frem had a number of former AB players on the team who wanted to go out to show something. So we knew it was going to be difficult. It was a fight with lots of fight, but it worked,” Ilsøe said after the match.
“We have become really good at keeping our game plan. Things are starting to click. We have started to get the good performances and relationships all around. We have a great squad. A really strong team. We just had to get used to the artificial turf, but it was okay already after the warm-up. We just had to find the rhythm, but it’s just something completely different to play, and a completely different way you get tired. Then it’s also warm in a different way with the black granules.”
According to Ilsøe, the high level and breadth of the AB team are crucial for AB now being at the top of the table.
“As we talked about before the game, it doesn’t matter who we play against, where we play and at what time. We must always be strong. We have a strong squad, so when someone has to go out, like myself, a really strong player just comes in instead. Now we are just looking forward to the upcoming matches. It’s really a pleasure to play.”
The next match is on Saturday 7 September 2024 at 15:00 at Gladsaxe Stadion, where Thisted FC takes the long way from North Jutland.
