RECAP: ODENSE BK 1 - 0 FC MIDTJYLLAND David Smith - Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Danny Califf and the Wolves put in a strong defensive performance under new coach Allan Kuhn, however were unable to muster any goals as they lost on their trip to Odense Monday.
Odense BK 1 - 0 FC Midtjylland
With Kuhn taking the reigns at Midtjylland one week prior, the team new that they would need to put on perhaps their best performance of the year if they had any hopes of starting their new coach's tenure out on the right foot.
While still trailing league leaders Aarhus by a pair of points heading into the weekend, Odense were still arguably one of the early favorites for the league title having gone undefeated through their first four games and were looking for their tenth straight home win.
The Wolves came out strong, applying pressure on their hosts' goal through the early going and should have gone up after 24 minutes when Jonas Borring connected poorly with the ball after being played in behind Odense's defenders.
They were quickly made to regret their wastefulness three minutes later when Iceland midfielder Rurik Gislason set up John Utaka at close range for Odense's 500th Superliga goal in their home stadium and the 1-0 lead.
Midtjylland kept up the fight after the break, several times mounting dangerous initial attacks but failing to link up with frontman Frank Kristensen for the final bite.
Odense nearly went up by two with ten minutes left when the Brazilian Caca had a free run on goal, however a slight hesitation on his part allowed the defense to get into position to block his underwhelming shot.
With two minutes remaining, the visitors had their best chance to bring things even Winston Reid beat new Odense keeper Roy Carroll with a scrappy shot after receiving a pass in the box from Ken Fagerberg, however defender Thomas Helveg preserved the three points for his team with a clutch goal-line clearance.
The loss leaves the Wolves with a mere four points from their first five games, setting them just above the relegation spots in tenth place.
They will need to muster another strong performance and find a way to kickstart their attack should they hope to take the three points when they return home to host Copenhagen on Saturday.
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