Tribal Football

Brondby snatch late win as Copenhagen regain top spot

Svend Bertil Frandsen
Brondby celebrate their late winner against Randers
Brondby celebrate their late winner against RandersČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Gonzales Photo/Dennis Jacobsen
Brondby on Monday recorded their fourth victory in the last five matches with a last-gasp win against Randers while FC Copenhagen overtook FC Midtjylland in the race for the title with a narrow win against AGF. At the other end of the table all hope seems gone for Vejle while Lyngby and AaB appear to be locked in a battle to escape relegation.

Brondby - Randers

After their goalless draw against FC Nordsjaelland, Brondby got back on winning track in their efforts to keep up with FC Midtjylland and FC Copenhagen for the Danish title, when they made their numerical advantage tell on the field after Norman Campbell was handed his second yellow card after 64 minutes, by recording a last-gasp 4-3 win against Randers.

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The home side did manage to restore parity twice after being behind and already looked to be heading for an all-important win in the race for the Danish title, when Japanese striker Yuito Suzuki converted a penalty committed against himself after 59 minutes. But just two minutes later Nikolas Dyhr brought the seven-goal triller back on level terms with a terrific volley after the ball fell kindly in his direction following a poor clearance inside the box.

Brondby launched a virtual siege on the Randers goal towards the end of the match and were rewarded deep into injury-time, when Noah Nartey struck a superb long-distance shot into the corner from the edge of the box. 

Brondby - Randers - Player ratings
Brondby - Randers - Player ratingsFlashare

Vejle - Silkeborg

After a bright start to their relegation playoff campaign, bottom-placed Vejle took another deep blow to their ambitions of avoiding relegation, when they on home turf were dealt a humiliating 4-0 defeat by in-form Silkeborg.

Vejle, otherwise, had a bright start to the match, and could have taken the lead through a great effort from Lasse Flo, before Callum McCowatt opened the account for the visitors after 17 minutes of play.

Thanks to their creative one-touch football, Silkeborg dominated proceedings from the start of the second half and effectively put the game out of reach for the home side with two goals within five minutes.

First Anders Klynge curled a great shot into the far corner after 51 minutes and then Younes Bakiz tripled the lead with a low shot that went in off the post. Alexander Simmelhack then completed the humiliation five minutes from the end with an easy tap-in.

Vejle - Silkeborg - Player ratings
Vejle - Silkeborg - Player ratingsFlashare

Viborg - Lyngby

Struggling Lyngby were handed a lifeline in their desperate efforts to escape relegation, when a goal from Christian Gytkjaer gave them a late equalizer in Viborg.

The home side went into the match with plenty of confidence after having won four out of their last five matches. And Viborg also had a superb start to the first 45 minutes, when in-form striker Serginho gave them the lead after 17 minutes, when he finished off a counter-attack with a low shot past Jonathan Aegidius.

Subsequently the home side continued to dominate and had further chances to double the lead during an entertaining first half, where Thomas Jorgensen was guilty of squandering a big chance to put Viborg further ahead. The home side continued putting Lyngby under plenty of pressure in the second half and were unfortunate to see Amosike Ementa denied by the woodwork.

Still Viborg looked to be headed for another three points, when a shot across goal from Oskar Buur was guided into the net by Gytkjaer.

Viborg - Lyngby - Player ratings
Viborg - Lyngby - Player ratingsFlashare

FC Copenhagen - AGF

FC Copenhagen recaptured the lead in the Danish Superliga, when they recoreded a 3-1 win in the Parken Stadium in a heated clash against bitter rivals AGF. While the creativity in the two sides left a lot to be desired, the first half was certainly not short of man-to-man action. 

The home side were keen to exploit the space behind Henrik Dalsgaard in the visitors' three-man rearguard and they succeeded after 13 minutes, when Jordan Larsson escaped the marking of Dalsgaard to square the ball across goal for the on-rushing Viktor Claesson, who was left with an easy tap-in to open the score for FC Copenhagen. 

AGF, who were without a win in their last three fixtures, attempted to get back into the match after the break without being able to create any clear-cut scoring opportunities. And instead the home side doubled the lead after 63 minutes, when Elias Achouri provided a wonderful assist for the unmarked Larsson to cooly slot the ball past Jesper Hansen. Amin Chiakha made it 3-0 for the visitors with a free header after 81 minutes while Tobias Bech reduced the deficit shortly before the end. 

FC Copenhagen lead the table with 50 points, one ahead of FC Midtjylland who will be in action against FC Nordsjaelland on Tuesday. Brondby are in third spot with 46 points.